On 17 September, the Khmelnytskyy Court of Appeal left unchanged the sentence handed down to Metropolitan Antoniy (Fiyalka), the former head of the Khmelnytskyy eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), UOC (MP). The court upheld the main punishment of two years’ imprisonment. The additional penalty — a two-year ban on holding leadership posts in religious administrations and eparchies — was also confirmed, LB sources reported.
Under Article 75 of the Criminal Code, the metropolitan was released from serving the main sentence on probation, with a two-year probationary period set. The defence now has three months to lodge a cassation appeal against the appellate court’s decision.
The metropolitan was convicted under Part 2 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code — violation of citizens’ equal rights on the basis of their racial, national or regional affiliation, religious beliefs, committed with violence, deception or threats, or by an official. The penalty under this article ranges from a fine to up to five years’ imprisonment.
In May, the Khmelnytskyy City District Court found the 79-year-old Metropolitan Fiyalka guilty of inciting interreligious hatred after a 2022 call to “take pitchforks, rakes and sticks” to oppose supporters of a move to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), ZAXID.NET wrote. A fragment of that sermon was published on social media in 2024.
Fiialka, who after his dismissal became a vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC, did not admit guilt and said the video could have been edited or created using AI.
In 2023, Metropolitan Antonii (Fiialka) claimed he was dismissed by a decision of the Holy Synod because of rumours about a move to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The dismissal was preceded by UOC (MP) priests beating a serviceman in a Khmelnytskyy church. In protest, members of the community gathered outside the church where the incident occurred and decided to join the OCU. After that, Antoniy (Fiyalka), Metropolitan of Khmelnytskyy and Starokostyantyniv of the UOC (MP), handed over the cathedral keys, and representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate left the church.