Unexpected turn: Russian Orthodox Church’s valuable Czech properties placed in Hungarian ownership
The Czech properties of the Russian Orthodox Church, including the Church of Saint Peter and Paul with the famous golden dome, were unexpectedly acquired by the Hungarian Orthodox Diocese. Based on the sources of a Czech investigative journalist, Jiřà Hynek, the unexpected transaction, done earlier this year, had to be carried out because the Russian Orthodox Church was concerned about new sanctions.
Czech authorities sanctioned Russian Orthodox leader
According to Telex, Czech authorities have examined the operations of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country before. Furthermore, the Czech government put Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, on a sanctions list two years ago for his support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Kirill was included in one of the EU’s sanctions packages, but the Hungarian government baulked that and had Brussels cross his name from the list. Following the Czech sanctions, several other countries introduced restrictions against the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, including Lithuania, Estonia, Great Britain, and Canada.
The Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, said then that the Russian Orthodox Church has a state role instead of a religious one and its leaders are not priests but members of the Kremlin’s oppressive apparatus. Czechia froze Kirill’s private assets. Authorities initiated a probe concerning the properties of the Russian Orthodox Church but did not intervene and refused to comment on the investigation results.
Russian properties in Hungarian ownership for safety?
Earlier this year, some valuable church properties in Karlovy Vary, one of the country’s most popular bath towns, were acquired by the Hungarian Orthodox Diocese. Based on the sources of a Czech investigative journalist, Jiřà Hynek, the Russian Orthodox Church was afraid of new sanctions, so they placed the valuable temple, a villa and the parish in “Hungarian” ownership. This is because they are not afraid of Hungarian sanctions concerning the Russian Orthodox Church or its subsidiaries in Hungary.
Czech authorities believe that the well-known Russian church with golden domes in Karlovy Vary, the Church of Saint Peter and Paul, is an espionage centre for the Russians where agents operating in several European countries regularly pop up. Telex added that the former leader of the Hungarian Orthodox Diocese, Metropolitan Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev), is serving there. Metropolitan Hilarion was called home from Hungary following his sexual misconduct scandal with a young Japanese man, Georgy Suzuki. According to the allegations, he made Suzuki share his bed with him, although sexual intercourse did not happen between them. We summed up the embarrassing issue involving even a robbery in THIS article.
Metropolitan Hilarion is close to the Russian state
In any case, the former right-hand of Patriarch Kirill, Hilarion, was called home to Moscow and then deployed again to a Schengen member state, Czechia. Péter Buda, a former Hungarian national security expert, suggested that Hilarion was closer to the Russian intelligence services than to the church, and he was sent to Schengen member states to conduct scheming in favour of the Kremlin. Hilarion received Hungarian citizenship three months after he arrived in Hungary. That means he has a Hungarian passport and can travel freely within the Schengen community.
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