Patriarch Kirill was about to exile Metropolitan Hilarion to Brazil. Now he’s sending him to a convent near Moscow instead.

Per Meduza, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has temporarily suspended a June decree transferring Metropolitan Hilarion to Brazil. Instead, Hilarion will serve at a convent near Moscow, allowing him to remain in Russia to care for his mother. Hilarion once stood among Kirill's most senior advisors and was even considered a possible successor. In twenty twenty-four, his former personal assistant accused him of sexual harassment, leading to his demotion from his post as metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary. In May of this year, Czech police discovered drugs in his car—he was briefly detained but released without charges and has denied involvement. According to religion observers, his new posting at the Exaltation of the Cross Jerusalem Convent places him under an abbess considered close to Patriarch Kirill.

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