Russian Orthodox Church Dismisses Metropolitan Hilarion Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has removed Metropolitan Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev) from his governance of the Budapest-Hungary diocese. This was reported on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.

According to the report, the Synod has decided to establish a "Commission to Investigate the State of Affairs in the Budapest-Hungary Diocese." The Synod also relieved Metropolitan Hilarion of his positions as Chairman of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and Chairman of the Commission on the Presence of Theology and Theological Education in Councils.

In early July, former steward of Metropolitan Hilarion's cell, 21-year-old subdeacon Georgi Suzukin, who comes from a Russian-Japanese family, accused the clergyman of inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct. As evidence, he cited several recordings of their conversations.

In response, Hilarion made counter-accusations, stating that the steward's mother, Veronica Suzukin, had blackmailed him with these recordings since January, demanding 384,000 euros for their destruction. The Metropolitan also noted that a criminal case has been opened against his former steward in Hungary for theft from the Budapest diocesan house's non-flammable vault.