The head of Ukraine's world-famous Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv was placed Saturday under a 2-month house arrest amid a stand-off with the country's government.
Metropolitan Pavel is suspected of fueling religious strife and justifying Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to local media reports from the courtroom.
The court ordered him to wear an electronic tag and he is banned from contacting members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Pavel denied the charges and slammed the proceedings as being politically motivated.
The case concerns the use of the cave monastery complex and more broadly, the position of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
For now, Pavel must leave the monastery. He is to serve his time under house arrest at the address where he is registered, which is not on the monastery grounds.
Earlier in the day, the police searched the residence of the head of the church at the site.
"They told me in two words that I am suspected of working for Russia," Pavel said in a video released by the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.
He was also summoned for questioning on charges of religious agitation and insulting the Ukrainian president, Pavel said.
The dispute over the use of the cave monastery has been going on for months. The Ukrainian leadership suspects the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which runs the monastery of espionage and agitation for Moscow.
Before the Russian invasion, the church had aligned itself with the Patriarchate in Moscow. Although it broke away after the war began, it is accused by the Ukrainian government of continued cooperation.
In 2018, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia had already led to the establishment of an Orthodox Church of Ukraine, independent of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In the meantime, Kyiv has withdrawn the right of the original Ukrainian Orthodox Church to use the cave monastery. The monks living there were supposed to leave on March 29 but refused to go. The government in Kyiv has therefore applied for a court eviction order.
