Czech police release Russian bishop after ‘white powder’ found in his car

Russia says arrest of Bishop Hilarion, who heads Orthodox congregation in Karlovy Vary, was politically motivated ‘setup’ Czech police have released a Russian Orthodox bishop who had been detained on suspicion of drug possession, after Moscow condemned the arrest as a politically motivated setup. Bishop Hilarion, also known by his secular name Grigory Alfeyev, was stopped by police on Sunday in Karlovy Vary, a spa town in western Czechia popular with Russian tourists, after officers discovere...

By Pjotr Sauer

Czech police free Russian Orthodox cleric detained over white substance in car

Czech police free Russian Orthodox cleric detained over white substance in car - The Straits Times

Czech police free Russian Orthodox cleric detained over white substance in car  The Straits Times

Foreign Ministry Summons Czech Diplomat Over Detention of Orthodox Church Cleric

Metropolitan Hilarion, born Grigory Alfeyev, was detained on Sunday after Czech police found four containers of a “white substance” in the trunk of his car.

Once considered a possible successor to Patriarch Kirill, Metropolitan Hilarion fell from grace amid sexual misconduct allegations. Now he’s embroiled in a drug scandal in the Czech Republic.

Metropolitan Hilarion, a Russian Orthodox Church priest based in the Czech Republic, spent two days in police custody. On May 24, his car was stopped on the basis of an anonymous tip and the trunk was searched. Officers found “four small containers with a white substance” that turned out to be an illicit drug. Hilarion insisted he had no idea how the substance ended up in his car. On May 26, he was released without charges. But the incident was unprecedented for the Russian Orthodox Church, w...