Czech Police Detain Russian Orthodox Bishop Over White Substance

Czech police detained a Russian Orthodox cleric on Sunday evening after discovering four containers of a white substance in his car on a highway between Karlovy Vary and Prague. The cleric, identified by his defence team as Bishop Hilarion, heads the Russian Orthodox congregation in the western Czech town.

Police said the stop followed an anonymous tip about the transport of narcotic or psychotropic substances and that interrogations are continuing; no charges have been filed.

Hilarion’s defence team stated on his Telegram channel that police offered no clear reason for the stop and that two patrol cars appeared to be waiting for the vehicle. The cleric was not allowed to observe the search, and his lawyer requested independent forensic testing of the substance along with fingerprint and DNA analysis.

Bishop Hilarion, whose secular name is Grigory Alfeyev, denied any connection to illegal drugs. “I have no connection and have never had any connection to the illegal trafficking of narcotic substances,” he said in the statement.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the detention an “orchestrated provocation” aimed at discrediting the bishop and demanded his immediate release. She said the head of the Czech diplomatic mission in Moscow would be summoned to receive a formal protest.

Russian media reported that the bishop had received anonymous threats of physical violence in recent months urging him to leave his post. Bishop Hilarion, once considered close to Patriarch Kirill, was assigned to the Czech Republic in 2022 after sexual-misconduct allegations that he denied.