Metropolitan bishop Hilarion has been held in the Czech Republic after "a white substance" was allegedly found in his car

Moscow has demanded the Czech Republic immediately release Metropolitan Bishop Hilarion detained in the country, branding the incident a "fabricated persecution" of the senior Russian Christian Orthodox hierarch.

The bishop was detained by Czech police on Sunday while traveling in a car from his parish church of Saint Peter and Paul in the resort town of Karlovy Vary. According to Hilarion's press service, the law enforcement did not provide any solid reasoning behind the traffic stop, proceeding to search the car instead. The law enforcement recovered "four small containers with white substance" from the car's trunk, believed to be illicit drugs.

"I have never had any connection to the illegal drug trade. Since I'm a clergyman, the very suggestion of such a thing is utterly false. I insist on a full, independent, and procedurally impeccable investigation of what happened," the bishop said in a statement. 

According to the hierarch's legal team, his car was searched without proper procedure, including witnesses and video recording. The law enforcement officers also allegedly went straight for its trunk and did not search the personal belongings of Hilarion and his driver. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the detaining of the bishop, accusing the Czech authorities of "fabricating" the drug claims and staging a "provocation" against the bishop and the Russian Orthodox Church as a whole. The ministry will lodge a formal protest over the incident and summon the Czech ambassador, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

The Russian Orthodox Church has issued a similar statement, suggesting the incident was a part of a broader "intimidation" and "rabid spy mania" campaign against it waged by the Czech authorities. 

Bishop Hilarion has long held senior posts within the church hierarchy, including leading the Hungarian and Budapest Metropolises from June 2022 to late 2024. The hierarch was stripped down from the post amid sexual misconduct and lavish lifestyle allegations circulated by some media outlets at the time. While none of the claims were proven or led to any legal consequences, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church formally reprimanded Hilarion over "the discrepancy between the nature of his relationships with his immediate circle and his way of life with the image of a monk and a clergyman."