He said this on Espreso TV.
“The statements of the former abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo Lebid, are direct threats to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine during the war. He openly threatens the president's family, and this is the Russian style of intimidation. Metropolitan Pavlo was nicknamed Pasha Mercedes. He is a monk, and how can a monk drive a Mercedes? This is how the Russian church works. A monk in a Mercedes leads a life of luxury, has many different businesses, and has many estates. He behaves like a glamorous person. This is what the Russian church looks like,” Ilienko emphasized.
According to Andriy Illyenko, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) is staffed by thieving officials in cassocks who still work for the Russian special services.
“Metropolitan Pavlo allowed himself to cross certain boundaries. The reaction of the authorities should be serious. The entire leadership of the UOC MP must be held accountable under the law, they must be behind bars. Ukraine's Security Service has a lot to deal with, from high treason and subversion during the war to the business activities of the UOC MP,” added Ilienko.
On March 10, it became known that the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra was terminating its building lease agreement with the UOC MP and demanding that the premises be vacated.
The former head of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo ‘Mercedes’ Lebid, recorded a video threatening Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.