Retired Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), in a wide-ranging interview with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, hinted at his dissatisfaction with the Moscow Patriarchate’s decision to remove him from active ministry, while also speaking in detail about the events surrounding his detention in the Czech Republic and his encounter with the country’s police.
The former Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR) also revisited the case of his arrest in the Czech Republic, maintaining that there is no evidence linking him to the narcotics allegedly found in his vehicle.
Remains in Russia
The Press Service of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia announced that, by a decision of the Patriarch dated July 29, the June 3 decree assigning Metropolitan Hilarion to Brazil has been suspended. Hilarion said he welcomed the decision not to transfer him, as it will allow him to care for his elderly mother in Moscow.
He has now been assigned to reside and serve at the Women’s Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross near Moscow.
Metropolitan Hilarion expressed his gratitude to Patriarch Kirill and said he was pleased to continue serving at the monastery while having more time to devote to study and writing.
He also revealed that he is preparing new books on Dmitri Shostakovich, Michelangelo, and the angels, while completing a volume on St. John the Theologian.
“Ι did not retire of my own initiative”
Metropolitan Hilarion said that his retirement from active ministry was not his own decision, although he now sees it as part of God’s providence.
“My dream is to spend the rest of my life in peace, following the example of St. Theophan the Recluse, who retired shortly after turning fifty and later lived in seclusion. He used to say: ‘I shut myself away not for the sake of stricter asceticism, but so that I could devote myself undisturbed to writing.’ This is an attitude that I fully understand and with which I strongly identify,” he said.
The Metropolitan added that he continues to work steadily on his books and usually writes two or three works simultaneously.
What he says about his arrest in the Czech Republic and his return to Russia
Metropolitan Hilarion was detained by Czech police on May 24 together with his cameraman on suspicion of possessing narcotics that, according to the authorities, were found in his vehicle. Two days later, he was released without charges and returned to Russia on May 30.
He has consistently maintained that the substances had been planted in his vehicle by third parties, describing the incident as a provocation.
Citing a letter from his lawyer, Hilarion said forensic examinations found no fingerprints or DNA linking either him or the passengers in the vehicle to the seized items. Instead, according to him, only the fingerprints of the police officer who discovered them were identified.
His lawyer also argues that the vehicle was stopped following an anonymous tip-off and that the officer conducting the search appeared to know exactly where to look for the alleged evidence. According to the Metropolitan, both he and his passengers were taken inside a nearby gas station while the trunk was being searched.
He further claimed that the officer did not wear gloves during the search, which, he argues, explains why only the officer’s fingerprints were found on the plastic bags, the wallet, and the banknotes.
Metropolitan Hilarion also said that Czech police subsequently suspended the case against him and the passengers. Quoting his lawyer, he stated that this decision means investigators found no evidence linking him to the items discovered in the vehicle.
However, he stressed that the suspension of the case does not amount to its formal closure.
“In practice, the suspension of the case means that it can be reopened at any time—for example, if I were to return to Karlovy Vary to resume my ministry there. But as long as I remain in Russia, I hope they will leave me in peace,” he said.
According to his lawyer, the investigation is now focused on identifying who placed the narcotics in the vehicle and why. Metropolitan Hilarion added that this part of the investigation is confidential and that he no longer has access to information regarding its progress.
Finally, he claimed that anti-Russian sentiment has intensified in the Czech Republic in recent years, saying that he had received letters demanding that he leave the country. He also alleged that local media portrayed the Russian Orthodox metochion in Karlovy Vary as a base for Russian intelligence services.
Read more:
Metropolitan Hilarion to remain in Russia under Patriarch Kirill’s decree
Metropolitan Hilarion to ministry in Argentine and South American Diocese
Metropolitan Hilarion describes his adventure with the Czech authorities
Metropolitan Hilarion released without charges by Czech Authorities — Investigation remains ongoing
Metropolitan Hilarion: Accused by the Czech authorities of possession of narcotic substances
