A former cell-attendant accused Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), who was Patriarch Kirill’s right-hand man, of sexualized harassment, writes Novaya Gazeta Europe.

In the summer of 2022, Hilarion, who was described as the second man in the Russian Orthodox Church, was sent to Hungary without explanation, appointed head of one of the Russian Orthodox Church’s tiniest dioceses.

A few months later, Georgy Suzuki, an 18-year-old Orthodox youth from a Russian-Japanese family with whom Hilarion had been in correspondence, moved in with him and became his cell-attendant.

According to Suzuki, Hilarion forced him to live together and sleep in the same bed, and threatened him with problems if they broke up. In January 2024, the young man managed to escape on the pretext of visiting a doctor – he took an expensive watch and €30 thousand from the Metropolitan’s house and went to his family in Japan. For this, a criminal case was opened against him in Hungary.

The clergyman gave “Novaya Gazeta Europa” photos and audio recordings that confirm his words about threats from Alfeyev, and also show his luxurious life in Europe – the Metropolitan travels to ski resorts, does sailing and goes to expensive restaurants. In addition, the clergyman bought a 2,360-square-meter estate for €2.1 million in the suburbs of Budapest.