God is the judge

Metropolitan Halarion, exiled to the Russian Orthodox Church in the Czech Republic, is trying through the court to get rid of accusations of harassment, corruption and someone else's authorship of books

From the editorial office
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), the hero of the resonant investigation of Novaya Gazeta Europe, exiled by the Russian Orthodox Church Synod in Karlovy Vara, began the campaign to “rehabilitate his honest name”.

In the event of his victory in court, the Patriarch and the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church will be forced to return Hilarion to the department, with which he will again be able to shine with his talents and demonstrate the patriarchal ambitions.

Two claim

The lawsuit of the citizen Alpheev Grigory Valerievich, wider than the Metropolitan Halarion, to his former cell nurse, Japanese citizen George Suzuki, on the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation entered the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow at the end of July, according to the nominal place of residence of Hilarion in the Russian Federation. In fact, the hierarch, which received the citizenship of Hungary in September 2022, now lives in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), where the beautiful temple of the Russian Orthodox Church in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is located, where the Synod ordered Hilarion.

Vladyka spends a significant part of the time in his palace near Budapest and in the French cottage on the shores of Lake Geneva, about which the New Evropa was talking about . The case in the lawsuit of the metropolitan was assigned number 3359/2025, it is in the production of Judge Elena Viktorovna Perepechina, who gave the plaintiff the time until September 9 to eliminate formal shortcomings of the statement of claim.

As far as you can understand from the decision of the judge, citizen Alfeev did not fully indicate his passport data, did not explain what property rights the defendant possesses, and also referred to YouTube, to which, according to the judge, the Russian court has no access.

The Metropolitan was invited to submit to the court electronic media of information, which, according to Hilarion, defams his honest name.

No further than August 12, the former permanent member of the Holy Synod, the former chairman of the department of external church ties (ACCS) of the Moscow Patriarchate and the former manager of the Budapest-Hungarian diocese, has already lost a similar thing in the Ostankino District Court of Moscow to the Rain TV channel (case No. 02-2659/2025-M-0226/2025/2025/2025/2025/2025/2025/2025/2025 (M-7400/2024)).

Based on the conclusions of the examination, which we will talk about a little below, Metropolitan Hilarion demanded that the video clip of the bed scene with his own and George Suzuki, secretly shot by the former cell -cellet. The lawsuit was filed in early December last year, even before at the end of December the ROC Synod in general found Hilarion to be guilty, “exiled” him from Budapest to Karlovy Vary ( magazine No. 141: “Pay the attention of Metropolitan Hilarion to the inconsistency of the nature of his relationship with the closest environment and his life to the image of the monk and the clergy”).

The case was examined by judge Olga Evtheeva, who replaced her surname in Lukyanova during the process. Three meetings took place, and after the involvement of some third parties to the process on May 20 and 19, the case file was actually classified - the case card on the court’s website indicates: “There is no publication”. It is only known that the motivated definition was made on August 12, the lawsuit was refused the lawsuit, but until September 11 he has time to appeal the decision.

Expertise

The examination, which allegedly established “falsification facts” by George Suzuki, video and audio recordings with Metropolitan Hilarion, published first by the “new newspaper Europe” and then “rain”, was held in October “The Center for Law and Judicial Expertise“ Truth ”by order of the Russian agency of legal and judicial information ( RAPSI ), which consisted of very good relations with the Russian judicial system. So, in 2023, the editor-in-chief of RAPSI, Irina Novikova, was awarded with an honorary diploma of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Probably, according to the Metropolitan’s plan, an examination organized by such structures should become especially authoritative for obedient Russian courts.

True, as can be seen from publications on the official website of the Center “Truth”, accredited in the arbitration courts of Moscow and the Moscow Region, it specializes in arbitration affairs itself, primarily in assessing the value of companies or commodity experts. Three conclusions of experts regarding the records with the participation of the Metropolitan, links to which are hanging on the RAPSI website, are now removed from free access, so you have to be content with their brief retelling in the presentation of the agency. “The video,” says RAPSI, “consists of various fragments ... The presence of signs of intra -gas installation was revealed. There are also signs of a video graph (video file) in the boundaries of the fragment, signs of transcoding, editing. The mentioned fragment in the presented video is subject to modification. ”

From a fairly large volume of Ilarion’s conversations from Suzuki published by the New-Europe, the examination of “Truth” for some reason has for some reason only one file was subjected to Metropolitan_Ilarion_ READS_O_O ROLEXIA_VINA.MP3 ”. RAPSI peremptorily claims that this file discredits Hilarion, because, according to unnamed experts, “contains traces of suppressing a useful signal containing the individualizing part of the speech recorded on it, which makes it impossible to establish voting.”

The guarantee of the upcoming civil law and church-canonical rehabilitation of Hilarion was the series of publications of “patriotic” bloggers and the main state agency of Russia in the style of “Vladyka by the Western special services” that followed immediately after the appearance of the “examination”.

Quite influential among the Z-audience Dmitry Puchkov, known as a goblin, so directly said : Suzuki-“The Project of the Western Special Services”.

RIA Novosti spread the promise of Hilarion that the materials of the examination of “Truth” would form the basis of the criminal case against Suzuki. Since last fall, the official position of the Metropolitan is as follows: "Records contain fragments of artificial origin and are not reliable."

In this context, “business proposals” that Hilarion made Suzuki back in the beginning of last year become very difficult: “I will transfer you the same amount ( 2000 euros. - Approx. Ed. ) From the fund at the beginning of each month, and in the middle of the month - from myself personally.”

The arguments of the plaintiff

Georgy Suzuki, who managed to leave Hungary at the beginning of last year to his native Japan, received a 56-page claim to him by Metropolitan Hilarion at the end of August by mail, devoted a rather large video on his channel. The fact is that, on the initiative of Metropolitan Suzuki, he was on the international wanted list, which was initiated by Hungary: at first, Ilarion interpreted as theft the fact that the cell took from him “as a deposit” of an expensive watch and several thousand euros (now they are returned to the metropolitan), and now accuses him of slandering and falsification of evidence. The authorities of Japan do not intend to issue Suzuki to Hungary, while the lawyers of Hilarion and his former cell are in constant contact.

Suzuki published in his YouTube channel a request from the Hungarian parliament deputy Agnesh Vadai dated December 30, 2024 and the response to him by the chief prosecutor of Hungary Peter Polta of January 8 this year. From these documents it became known that Hungarian law enforcement agencies investigate the case No. 2711/2024 “on the fact of coercion to sexual relations” on the basis of the complaints of George Suzuki, but do not present any suspicions to Metropolitan Hilarion.

As the New Evrope wrote , the hierarch is famous for a trusting relationship with Viktor Orban, who studied at the same Pembroble College in the UK, where Hilarion wrote his dissertation. In 2022, when the metropolitan was transferred from Moscow to Budapest, Hungary issued him and his close people to him for three months (!), Although the standard period established by law for this is eight years of permanent residence in the country. Over and over, Hungary blocked the introduction of Patriarch Kirill into the EU sanctions lists, and in June 2023, Cyril thanked Orban with the Order of the Russian Orthodox Church of Glory and honor of the first degree.

But back to the lawsuit. According to the document, the interests of Hilarion, that is, a citizen Grigory Alfeev, is represented by the lawyer of K & P. ​​Group Nadezhda Emelina. The actual head of the company, the honorary lawyer of Russia Natalya Kanishevskaya, works as an arbiter of the International Commercial Arbitration Court under the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, and lawyer Nadezhda Emelin runs in the company “Bankruptcy Practice”.

Again, as in the case of experts from the Center “Truth”, for some reason, the arbitration process and commercial disputes are engaged in the honor and dignity of the metropolitan.

In addition to the actual refutation of the common Suzuki of records and evidence, as well as their removal from the Internet, Hilarion demands to recover 1 million rubles from the former cell as compensation for non -pecuniary damage. The information that Metropolitan intends to refute include six points:

1. allegations that the plaintiff does not belong to the authorship of books and articles published on his behalf;

2. an indication of criminal cases against Hilarion;

3. His suspicions of cooperation with Western intelligence services;

4. accusations of sexual harassment;

5. allegations of corruption of Hilarion;

6. Accusations of immoral behavior and inconsistency with the image of a clergyman.

These requirements precedes the impressive - on five pages - a list of scientific, church and creative titles and awards of Hilarion - an outstanding theologian, writer, composer, shepherd, author of films, etc., etc. Almost the same list, despite all church transformations, can be read on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to Suzuki, the legal recognition of Hilarion’s innocence by the Russian court will allow him to again receive an appointment to the bishop’s department, and his financial and administrative resources will apply to the prospect of the patriarchate. The former Kelenik believes that in this regard, in connection with this, the promotion of the case of former hypodiacons close to Putin Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) is quite beneficial - another potential candidate for a patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church, which “generally turned out to be terrorists”.

Lyrical retreat

The former cell, dedicated to all the secrets of Hilarion, describes in detail the techniques of selecting his cells, which only young men of Asian appearance began to become from some moment. Thanks to lectures at universities, Ilarion met the current deacon Vyacheslav Lee, who remained to serve in Budapest, and with the current hieromonk Nikolai (it), who returned to his native Japan. Hilarion himself ordained both the holy sanarion in the Moscow temple in the Horde, and both, according to the Suzuki, receive a monthly reward “through funds” from their lord. In one of the Suzuki’s conversations with Hilarion, he admits : “We get everything from the fund as if for work on the project, but this is a cover.”

This is mainly about the Foundation of Metropolitan Hilarion, the charitable foundation of St. Mark of the Ephesus and the Cognition of the Charitable Foundation, in which Hilarion accumulates the means of his main sponsors, among which the names of Dmitry Pumpyansky, the year of Nisanov, Peter Avena and Valery Kogan were named .

Among the other Kelenikov, who are also close to Hilarion, who also receive a reward on a regular basis, the sources of Novo-Europe called Philip Champion, accepted by the Metropolitan to the post of assistant to the Assembly and who moved with him to Budapest, and Hieromonk John Kopeikin, now working at the University of Friburg in Switzerland. The name of Hieromonk Ioanna, a graduate of the Penza Theological School, who headed the magistracy of the general church graduate school and the doctoral studies of the Russian Orthodox Church, appeared in the first media scandal associated with the foreign real estate of Hilarion, namely his penthus in the prestigious complex of Mare Nostrum II in the Spanish resort city of Altea (Alicante Province).

In addition to the actual monetary allowance, people close to Hilarion had the opportunity to save on housing. Georgy Suzuki says: “I lived in the House of Hylryon <in Hungary>, and his many close associates occupied apartments belonging to the Hungarian diocese. Some of them continue to live in these apartments to this day ” - at the church account.

The arguments of the defendant

The contours of the line of its judicial protection in case the process begins, Suzuki outlined like that. The fact of Hilarion recognition that the video in the bedroom was conducted is confirmed by the fact that the Metropolitan called the police to the place of events, which established the exact place of shooting and removed the fingerprints of the cell of the cell. The former cell plans to submit the originals of the video disputed by Hilarion and the video and audio recordings.

The statement that Hilarion is not a genuine author of his works (by the way, this is a rather common opinion in the church environment), Suzuki argues the experience of his permanent residence with the Lord: “From September 2022 to January 2024, I lived with Hilarion in his house in Hungary. During this period, I did not have a single weekend. I watched his way of life daily. And for all this time I have never seen him engage in writing, or at least just reading books. ”

But back in 2016–2022, being the chairman of the Association, the rector of the general church graduate school and doctoral studies, the rector of the temple and held many more positions in Moscow, Hilarion managed to publish more than 20 impressive folios, several hundred pages each.

He had only four months to have a medium -sized book of 500 pages, and at the same time giant musical works signed by his name, and films and television programs ...

The sources of the Novo-Europe called some names of “literary blacks” who worked in the sweat of the face all these years on Hilarion, but without sufficient evidence and without the consent of the writers themselves, we do not consider it correct to make them out. This is a task for future investigations, which will probably provoke the active return of Hilarion to the media and church-political field.

The former cell pursued by Metropolitan Hilarion intends not only to defend himself. “I am creating an organization,” he said at the end of August, “to protect other victims ( hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church . - Approx. Ed. ), Not only sexual, to help them and make them hear.”

Having overcome the initial shock from the scandal that happened last summer, Metropolitan Hilarion enters the path of his rehabilitation. This is also evidenced by the activation of its video channel with almost 600 thousand subscribers supported by the Jesus portal, an update of its style and formats.

But it is difficult to get rid of the feeling that the former permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church falls into a trap, known in mass culture as “ Barbara Streisand's effect ”. Attempts to achieve a ban on information that compromises a media person cause a multiplier effect, attracting more and more attention to this information, highlighting more and more details.

So, perhaps, in the interests of the Karlovar hierarch, so that the court helps him, refusing to accept the claim.