Kyiv: Protesters faced off outside a historic monastery in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday after the home of a leading clergyman was raided by the security services.
Metropolitan Pavlo of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been charged with inciting religious hatred despite denying any ties to Moscow, was called in for questioning.
According to the SBU security service, Pavlo is suspected of "violating the equality of citizens on racial, national, regional, and religious grounds" as well as "justifying and denying the aggression by the Russian army against Ukraine and of glorifying its members."
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Russian officials are using religion "to promote propaganda and divide Ukrainian society," SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk charged in a statement. "The law and the responsibility for breaking it are the same for everyone, and a cassock is no guarantee of pure intentions," Maliuk added.
An AFP reporter observed Pavlo being taken to court for a hearing to determine whether or not he should be detained after the SBU claimed it had raided his home.
Initially postponed due to Pavlo's complaints of health problems, the hearing was later resumed with the court imposing a 60-day house arrest. As the investigation goes on, he will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device and "refrain from communicating with witnesses."
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The news comes three days after a deadline for the Ukrainian government's eviction order for Ukrainian Orthodox Church monks who reside in a section of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery passed.
The country's most important Orthodox monastery is located at the site, an ancient complex with golden-domed buildings overlooking the Dnipro River, where the monks have declared they will stay as long as possible.
On Saturday, a small group of opponents could be seen praying in front of dozens of Church supporters, including clergymen, who were waving religious flags.
Security services searched the Pechersk monastery and other Church locations last year because of possible connections to Russian agents.
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Additionally, the nation is home to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a distinct organization that is totally independent of Moscow. Pavlo refuted supporting the Russian invasion in a statement that was made on camera and aired earlier on Saturday by Ukrainian media.
"They claim that I support Russia's aggression against Ukraine. I have stated that I condemn all attacks on our state and that what Russia and Putin have done is unjustifiable, and I will continue to do so, he added.