Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Detained in Czechia Over Suspected Drug Possession

Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev), a senior cleric previously linked to the Moscow Patriarchate’s operations in Hungary, was detained by Czech police in Karlovy Vary after officers discovered containers holding a white substance during a vehicle search.

According to statements published on the cleric’s official Telegram channel on May 25, the incident took place a day earlier shortly after Hilarion left the Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Karlovy Vary. Police stopped the vehicle carrying the metropolitan and a cameraman accompanying him before conducting a search of the car.

During the inspection, officers found four small containers with a white-colored substance in the trunk of the vehicle. The substance has not yet been publicly identified. Hilarion denied any involvement with illegal substances and described the case as a provocation.

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“I have never had and do not have any connection to illegal drug trafficking. For me, as a clergyman, even the suggestion of such a thing is absolutely false. I insist on a full, independent, and procedurally flawless investigation into what happened,” Hilarion said in a statement published on Telegram.

The case comes after several controversies involving the metropolitan over the past two years. Hilarion previously headed the Budapest-Hungarian Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and later obtained Hungarian citizenship.

In 2024, he was reassigned to Karlovy Vary after allegations of sexual misconduct were made by his former assistant, Georgy Suzuki. According to Czech outlet Deník N, Czech authorities were also considering adding Hilarion to the country’s national sanctions list in late 2025 over suspected links to Russian intelligence structures.

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Deník N previously reported that ownership of Russian Orthodox Church property in Czechia was transferred to the Hungarian diocese after Hilarion’s arrival in Karlovy Vary, amid concerns that Czech authorities could freeze assets connected to the Moscow Patriarchate.

Earlier, Swedish authorities investigated a Russian Orthodox church in Västerås over suspected ties to Russian intelligence. According to a France24 investigation, the Moscow Patriarchate-linked church near a strategic airport raised concerns about possible espionage and hybrid warfare activities.

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