From the summit to the shadows

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)

To whom could this passage from the Gospel of Luke apply more fittingly than to the once-powerful hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hilarion Alfeyev?

Metropolitan Hilarion, formerly Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, former chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, and regarded by many as the most likely successor to Patriarch Kirill, was arrested in Karlovy Vary, Czechia, on charges of possessing narcotic substances. It was there that the Moscow Patriarchate had “sent” him to serve following his retirement at the end of 2024.

His lawyers have raised numerous complaints regarding the manner in which the authorities conducted the search of the Metropolitan’s vehicle, where the narcotic substances were allegedly discovered.

We will neither play the role of police officers nor investigators. Yet one cannot help but reflect on how far the once-powerful Metropolitan has fallen.

The thread that connected him to the summit of the Russian Church had begun to unravel shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

As was quietly whispered from the very first months of the war, there was growing dissatisfaction with Metropolitan Hilarion’s “lukewarm” support for Russia’s military campaign. In May of that same year, during the Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly Consultation of the World Council of Churches held in Paralimni, Cyprus, the communiqué issued by the Council “unanimously” condemned the war in Ukraine. In such cases, “unanimously” means that no objections were raised by those present. The Russian Orthodox Church attended the gathering with a large delegation headed by Metropolitan Hilarion.

During his stay in Cyprus, the Metropolitan also met with the late Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, whom the Russian Church had relentlessly castigated following his recognition of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Two weeks later, Patriarch Kirill “relieved” Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk of his duties and removed him from his position as a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, assigning him instead to oversee the Diocese of Budapest. Yet even there, he was not destined to remain for long. In December 2024, the Moscow Patriarchate decided to retire the 58-year-old hierarch. The immediate trigger was a series of reports alleging that the Metropolitan had maintained a close relationship with a subdeacon, as well as revelations concerning property acquisitions in France and Hungary.

For those familiar with the inner workings of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion’s trajectory comes as little surprise. A dynamic hierarch, constantly in the public eye and known for his strong views, disappeared from the ecclesiastical forefront within just a few years. Who could have imagined that the once all-powerful Hilarion would meet such an end?

Some hierarchs remarked that this is precisely why synodality—and the ecclesiology that underpins it—exists. As one of them put it, “Changes cannot simply be made by a ring changing hands.”

Melchizedek