Former high-ranking Russian Orthodox bishop shown to own prime waterfront real estate in France

Suzuki previously told Novaya Europe he had accompanied Hilarion to a “lavish mansion” the bishop owned on the French side of Lake Geneva, where Suzuki said the first instance of alleged sexual misconduct took place. Alfeyev denied all of Suzuki’s allegations and said that Suzuki had tried to blackmail him before the article was published.

Metropolitan Hilarion had headed the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department of External Church Relations since 2009 and was touted as a possible successor to Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, until he was suddenly removed from the post in 2022 and appointed head of one of the smallest dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.

The Novaya Europe investigation into Alfeyev’s life showed that he received a Hungarian passport within months of living in the country, acquired a luxurious palace near Budapest and spent all his free time on entertainment.

Alfeyev told Novaya Europe that he had been able to purchase expensive property and afford a less than monastic lifestyle from “royalties” he received for his books and films.

Suzuki also covertly recorded Alfeyev telling Suzuki he wanted to “lay down in bed” with him. In another recording, Alfeyev appears to be threatening Suzuki with excommunication for expressing his discomfort with the metropolitan’s behaviour.

RAPSI, a state-run Russian news agency which specialises in legal matters, said earlier this month that its forensic analysis of the recordings showed “signs of transcoding and editing”. It said nothing, however, about how the bishop had accumulated so much luxury real estate.