Denys Popovych is a native of Ukraine, a graduate of the Sretensky Theological Seminary, a former instructor at the Pskov-Caves Theological Seminary, and a former secretary and treasurer to Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov). He was initially detained on January 13, 2025, on a fabricated charge of petty hooliganism and was subjected to administrative arrest twice in succession. While he was in the detention center, a friend—also a church worker, Nikita Ivankovich — brought him care packages. Ivankovich was detained on February 12, and on February 13, both young men were remanded to a pre-trial detention center. They were accused of plotting a terrorist act—an assassination attempt against Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), who is considered Vladimir Putin’s "spiritual father." Allegedly, the young men planned to detonate a bomb in the Metropolitan’s living quarters at the Sretensky Monastery in order to "disrupt peace negotiations between the US and Russia regarding the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict." They were also charged with possession of explosives found by security forces in a cache in a Moscow park. In May 2026, it was revealed that a criminal case had been opened against Popovych under two additional articles of the Russian Criminal Code: participation in a terrorist organization and unauthorized access to computer information. Popovych maintains his innocence and has stated that torture was used against them to coerce confessions. Based on the aggregate of the alleged crimes, he faces a potential sentence of life imprisonment.
