Metropolitan Hilarion Retired by Russian Patriarchate

Patriarch Kirill revoked the June 3 decree that would have transferred Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfejev, 60) to Brazil, instead placing him in retirement. He will reside at the Women’s Monastery of the Elevation of the Holy Cross near Moscow.

Hilarion, a former Russian‑Orthodox bishop in Vienna, headed the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations from 2009 to 2022 and maintained close contacts with Popes Benedict XVI and Francis. After publicly criticizing the church’s role in the Ukraine war, he was removed from that post in 2022 and later dismissed from his metropolitan duties in Budapest and Hungary amid abuse allegations. Earlier this year he was briefly detained near Prague when drugs were found in his car, a charge he denied.

In a RIA Novosti interview, Hilarion said the retirement was not his own initiative but a “part of divine providence.” He expressed gratitude for the chance to serve in the monastery, study, write, and care for his mother.