{{Short description|Ukrainian Orthodox religious leader (1929–2026)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox Christian leader | honorific-prefix = Hero of Ukraine<br/>His Holiness and Beatitude | name = Filaret | title = Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kyiv – Mother of the Rus Cities and of Galicia, Patriarch of All Rus-Ukraine, Holy Archimandrite of the Holy Assumption Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaiv Lavras | honorific-suffix = | image = Philaret (Denysenko).jpg | caption = Filaret in 2018 | church = Kyiv Patriarchate | see = Patriarch of Kyiv and all Ukraine | birth_name = Mykhailo Antonovych Denysenko | enthroned = July 1995 | ended = 15 December 2018 | predecessor = Ioasaph II (ROC)<br/>Volodymyr (UOC-KP) | successor = {{ubl | Volodymyr II (UOC-MP) | Epiphany I (OCU) | himself as "Honorary Patriarch" }} {{Collapsed infobox section begin|Previous posts |titlestyle=border: 1px dashed lightgrey;}} | previous_post = {{ubil | Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia, Exarch of Ukraine (1966–1990) | Locum tenens of the Patriarchate of Moscow (1990) | Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine (1990–1992) }} {{Collapsed infobox section end}} | birth_date = {{birth date|1929|1|23|df=y}} | birth_place = Blahodatne, Amvrosiivka Raion, Stalino Okrug, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|3|20|1929|1|23|df=y}} | death_place = Kyiv, Ukraine | ordination = 18 June 1951 | consecration = 4 February 1962 | consecrated_by = Pimen I of Moscow | signature = Philaret (Denisenko) Signature 2014.png }}
'''Patriarch Filaret''' (secular name '''Mykhailo Antonovych Denysenko''';{{Family name footnote|Antonovych|Denysenko|lang=Eastern Slavic}} {{langx|uk|Михайло Антонович Денисенко}}; 23 January 1929 – 20 March 2026) was a Ukrainian religious leader, serving as the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC–KP). The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which he left in 2019, viewed him as the Honorary Patriarch emeritus, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized him as a former Metropolitan of Kyiv.<ref name=":30" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pomisna.info/uk/episcopate-post/filaret-denisenko/|title=Filaret (Denysenko)|website=www.pomisna.info}}</ref>
Denysenko was the Metropolitan of Kiev and the Exarch of Ukraine in the Patriarchate of Moscow (1966–1992). After joining the Kyiv Patriarchate, he was defrocked and in 1997 excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 11 October 2018, the Patriarchate of Constantinople reinstated him in church communion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.patriarchate.org/-/communiq-1|title=Announcement (11/10/2018). – Announcements – The Ecumenical Patriarchate|website=www.patriarchate.org}}</ref> However, while restored to the episcopate, the Ecumenical Patriarchate never recognised him as Patriarch and views him as the former Metropolitan of Kyiv.<ref name=":30">{{Cite web|url=http://spzh.news/en/news/56602-fanar-schitajet-filareta-prostym-jepiskopom-bez-kafedry|title=Phanar considers Filaret an ordinary bishop without an episcopal see|date=14 October 2018|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=29 October 2018|archive-date=29 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191756/http://spzh.news/en/news/56602-fanar-schitajet-filareta-prostym-jepiskopom-bez-kafedry}}</ref><ref name=":69">{{Cite web|url=https://www.romfea.gr/epikairotita-xronika/25568-apokleistiko-bartholomaios-se-onoufrio-den-mporeite-na-exete-pleon-ton-titlo-kiebou|title=ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΣΤΙΚΟ {{!}} Βαρθολομαίος σε Ονούφριο: ''Δεν μπορείτε να έχετε πλέον τον τίτλο Κιέβου''|date=7 December 2018|website=ROMFEA|language=el-gr|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://users.sch.gr/markmarkou/1962/new/filaretos_denisenko.htm Ο Σεβασμιώτατος Μητροπολίτης πρώην Κιέβου και Γαλικίας κύριος Φιλάρετος. (γεν. 1929). (Εκκλησία της Ουκρανίας).]</ref><ref name="ecpatrukr">{{cite web |url=http://users.sch.gr/markmarkou/2019/ukr2019.htm |title=ΙΕ. ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΟΥΚΡΑΝΙΑΣ|language=el |date=16 February 2019 |access-date=17 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecupatria.org/2019/06/08/ecumenical-patriarch-met-the-national-union-of-journalists-of-ukraine/|title=Ecumenical Patriarch met the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine|date=8 June 2019|website=Ecumenical Patriarchate Permanent Delegation to the World Council of Churches|language=en-US|access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref> On 15 December 2018, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate united with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unian.info/politics/10378089-unification-council-taking-place-at-kyiv-s-st-sophia-cathedral-live-video.html|title=Unification council taking place at Kyiv's St. Sophia Cathedral (Live video)|date=15 December 2018|website=unian.info|language=en|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref> and some members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Moscow Patriarchate (UOC–MP)<ref name=":802">{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/the-council-started-late/|title=The council started late|last=Cazabonne|first=Emma|date=15 December 2018|website=Orthodoxie.com|language=en-US|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref> into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine; the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate thus ceased to exist.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46575548|title=Ukraine priests establish new Church|date=15 December 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=18 December 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> On 20 June 2019, however, a conflict between Filaret and the new metropolitan of the OCU, Epiphanius I, over details of the unification lead to Filaret declaring continuation of the UOC–KP with himself as the metropolitan. The continued UOC–KP is not currently recognized by any of the major Eastern Orthodox churches, nor the Government of Ukraine.
==Early years== Mykhailo Denysenko was born on 23 January 1929,<ref name=":7" /> into a worker's family in the village of Blahodatne in the Amvrosiivsky Raion (district), now in the Donetsk Oblast (province) in Eastern Ukraine. His parents were Anton and Melania Denysenko.<ref name="finallyaref">{{cite web|url=https://ukrainianweek.com/Society/64554|title=Filaret: A Statehood-oriented Patriarch|last=Losiev|first=Ihor|date=8 November 2012|website=The Ukrainian Week|access-date=6 January 2019}}</ref> As a teenager, Mykhailo was greatly affected by his father's death on the frontline in 1943, which contributed to his turn to religion.<ref name=zbr>{{Cite web|title=Помер почесний патріарх ПЦУ Філарет|date=20 March 2026|url=https://zbruc.eu/node/123879|access-date=22 March 2026}}</ref> Starting from 1946,<ref name=zbr/> he obtained his theological education at the Odesa Seminary (Moscow Patriarchate) and the Moscow Theological Academy where he became a close associate of Patriarch Alexius I of Moscow. He took monastic vows in 1950 assuming the monastic name ''Filaret'' and was ordained hierodeacon in January 1950 and priest in June 1951.<ref name=finallyaref/> After his graduation he stayed at the Moscow Theological Academy as a professor (from 1952) and Senior Assistant to the Academy inspector,<ref name=finallyaref/> simultaneously serving as archpriest of Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.<ref name=zbr/> In 1956 he was appointed Inspector of the Theological Seminary in Saratov and elevated to the rank of hegumen. In 1957 he was appointed Inspector of the Kyiv Theological Seminary.<ref name=finallyaref/> In July 1958 he was further elevated to the rank of Archimandrite and appointed seminary rector.<ref name=finallyaref/>
==Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church== thumb|Filaret during his tenure as Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych in 1972 In 1960 Filaret was appointed manager of the Ukrainian exarchate of the ROC and became prior of St Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv.<ref name=zbr/> In 1961, Filaret served in the ROC mission to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. In January 1962 Filaret was elected vicar Bishop of the Leningrad Eparchy and, in February, was ordained bishop in Leningrad by Metropolitan Pimen (later Moscow Patriarch) and other bishops. Filaret was appointed to several diplomatic missions of the Russian Orthodox Church and from 1962 to 1964 served as ROC Bishop of Vienna and Austria.<ref name=finallyaref/> In 1964 he returned to Moscow as the Bishop of Dmitrov and rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary.<ref name="interfax">{{cite news |title=Помер патріарх Філарет |url=https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/1153122.html |work=Interfax-Ukraine |date=20 March 2026 |language=uk |trans-title=Patriarch Filaret has died}}</ref>
In 1966, he became archbishop of Kyiv and Halych. At that time he also became a permanent member of the Holy Synod, the highest collegiate body of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has the responsibility of electing the Moscow Patriarch.<ref name="interfax"/> Two years later, Filaret became Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia, which was the second-highest position in the church hierarchy after the Patriarch.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chervonenko |first1=Vitaly |title=Помер патріарх Філарет: життя, успіхи і конфлікти батька автокефалії |url=https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c72e2eyplp5o |work=BBC Ukraine |date=20 March 2026 |language=uk |trans-title=Patriarch Filaret has died: the life, successes, and conflicts of the father of autocephaly}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Losiev|first1=Ihor|title=Filaret: A Statehood-oriented Patriarch|url=http://ukrainianweek.com/Society/64554|newspaper=The Ukrainian Week|edition=International|publisher=Ukrainian Week LLC|date=8 November 2012|access-date=22 November 2016|quote=Held several top offices in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1960–1990, including Exarch of Central Europe, Bishop of Vienna and Austria, Rector of the Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy and Seminary, Exarch of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia (since 1968)}}</ref>
As the new head of Ukrainian Exarchate, Filaret inherited a church, which had been severely damaged by Nikita Khrushchev's anti-religious campaign. In order to revive spiritual life in Ukrainian lands and restore the local church autonomy, he promoted the causes of religious education and publication of prayer books in Ukrainian language before his leadership in Moscow. As a result of Filaret's initiatives, the exarchate started publishing a magazine and religious books in Ukrainian. Ukrainian language was used by the metropolitan in his Christmas and Easter addresses, and priests also received education in Ukrainian. Filaret explained the necessity of Ukrainian-language religious publications with the need to reduce the risk of local faithful in Galicia and Transcarpathia being alienated from the Russian Orthodox Church and rejoining the Greek Catholics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Радянська Православна Греко-Католицька Церква|date=2023-01-09|url=https://localhistory.org.ua/texts/interviu/radianska-pravoslavna-greko-katolitska-tserkva/|access-date=2026-03-30}}</ref> As late as October 1989, Filaret was still saying, "The Uniates will never be legalized in our country."<ref>Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, ''The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB'', (1999). Page 503.</ref>
On 3 May 1990, Patriarch Pimen of Moscow died and, the same day, Filaret became the locum tenens of the Russian Orthodox Church. Filaret lost the election to the post of Patriarch of Moscow receiving less votes than his competitors, Rostov and Novocherkassk metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan and Leningrad and Novgorod metropolitan Alexey Ridiger, the eventual winner.<ref name=zbr/><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-h6r57lDC4QC&q=locum+tenens+filaret&pg=PA173|title=Historical Dictionary of Ukraine|author1=Ivan Katchanovski|last2=Kohut|first2=Zenon E.|last3=Nebesio|first3=Bohdan Y.|last4=Yurkevich|first4=Myroslav|date=11 July 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7847-1|page=173|language=en|chapter=FILARET DENYSHENKO (SECULAR NAME: MYKHAILO; b. 23 JANUARY 1929)}}</ref> Retrospectively, in 2019, Filaret declared "it was not by chance that I was not elected. The Lord prepared me for Ukraine".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news24ua.com/putin-zhaleet-chto-patriarhom-rpc-vybrali-ne-menya-filaret-rasskazal-taynu|title=Путин жалеет, что патриархом РПЦ выбрали не меня. Филарет рассказал "тайну" |date=8 January 2019|website=news24ua|access-date=9 January 2019|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109011232/http://news24ua.com/putin-zhaleet-chto-patriarhom-rpc-vybrali-ne-menya-filaret-rasskazal-taynu}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|work=Телеканал Прямий|title=Інтерв'ю з почесним патріархом Філаретом на ПРЯМОМУ каналі|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca5Eddl-cvs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ca5Eddl-cvs| archive-date=12 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=10 January 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
In July 1990 Filaret was elected head of the newly established Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) as part of ROC.<ref name=zbr/> On 27 October 1990, in a ceremony at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the newly elected Patriarch Alexei II handed to Metropolitan Filaret a ''tomos'' granting "independence in self government" (the tomos did not use either of the words "autonomy" or "autocephaly"), and enthroned him, heretofore "Metropolitan of Kyiv", as "Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine".<ref name=finallyaref/> In November 1990 the first synod of UOC adopted its statute.<ref name=zbr/>
In 1992, the Russian Orthodox priest and Soviet dissident Fr. Gleb Yakunin accused Exarch Filaret of having been an informer for the KGB. Father Gleb stated that he had seen KGB files which listed Exarch Filaret's codename as ''Antonov''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1992/0428/28191.html|title=The KGB's Agents in Cassocks|last=Uzzell|first=Lawrence A.|date=28 April 1992|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=13 November 2019 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-05-07-1992128134-story.html |url-access=subscription |title=Covering Up the Kremlin's Agents in Cassocks|last=Uzzell |first=Lawrence A. |date=7 May 1992 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|language=en-US |access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref> The fact of cooperation with KGB was mentioned by people's deputies of Ukraine on 20 January 1992 when they came out with an official statement.<ref>Oleksandr Drabynko. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20240103204141/https://pereyaslav-eparchia.kiev.ua/arkhierej/statti-ta-rozdumy/395-aleksandr-drabinko-pravoslavie-v-posttotalitarnoj-ukraine-vekhi-istorii Православие в посттоталитарной Украине (вехи истории)]". pereyaslav-eparchia.kiev.ua (archived). 1 March 2015</ref> According to internal KGB documents, tasks the KGB assigned Filaret as an agent included promoting Soviet positions and candidates in the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Christian Peace Conference (CPC) and other international bodies, and, by the 1980s, backing the Soviet authorities' attempts to prevent the long-suppressed Ukrainian Catholic Church (disparagingly called 'Uniates') from regaining an open existence, and backing state attempts to prevent religious believers demanding their rights as glasnost and perestroika opened up the sphere of public debate.<ref>The Antonov Files: Patriarch Filaret and the KGB https://www.academia.edu/37256947/The_Antonov_Files_Patriarch_Filaret_and_the_KGB</ref> In 2018, Filaret declared in an interview with Radio Liberty that he, like all bishops under communism, had to have contacts with the KGB.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2018/12/23/7202101/|title=Філарет розповів про вплив КДБ на церкву часів СРСР і погрози розстрілом|date=23 December 2018|website=www.pravda.com.ua|access-date=23 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spzh.news/ru/news/58610-filaret-rasskazal-o-svojem-sotrudnichestve-s-kgb|title=Филарет рассказал о своем сотрудничестве с КГБ|date=23 December 2018|website=spzh.news|language=RU|access-date=23 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/29671187.html|script-title=uk:"Виймає пістолет і каже: ми можемо вас розстріляти" – Філарет розповів про співпрацю церкви і КДБ|date=23 December 2018|website=Радіо Свобода|language=uk|access-date=23 December 2018 }}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Citation|work=Радіо Свобода|title=Якби я не поступився, томосу не було б – Філарет|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xLkhcCl-tA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/8xLkhcCl-tA| archive-date=12 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2019, he declared every bishop of the Moscow Patriarchate had to have contact with the KGB, even when it came to appoint a bishop. He added that he had been trained by the Politburo and Patriarch Alexy by the KGB.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unian.info/society/10415307-unlike-kgb-sbu-doesn-t-tell-church-what-to-do-filaret.html|title=Unlike KGB, SBU doesn't tell church what to do – Filaret|date=21 January 2019|website=www.unian.info|language=en|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref><ref name=":82">{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/ocu/74385/|title=Ukrainian Church split by Moscow and KGB, Honorary Patriarch Filaret says|date=21 January 2019|website=risu.org.ua|access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref><ref name="ru.tsn.ua">{{Cite web|url=https://ru.tsn.ua/interview/ukrainskuyu-cerkov-raskololi-moskva-i-kgb-1283118.html|script-title=ru:Украинскую церковь раскололи Москва и КГБ|date=20 January 2019|website=ТСН.ua|language=ru|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>
==Creation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate== {{Main|Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate}} thumb|St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv, which became the seat of UOC-KP after 1992 Following Ukraine's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991, a national sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held from 1–3 November.<ref name=finallyaref/> At the sobor, the voting delegates, (who included all UOC bishops, clergy and lay delegates from each diocese; a delegate from each monastery and seminary, and recognized lay brotherhood) unanimously passed a resolution stating that henceforth the UOC would operate as an autocephalous church.<ref name=finallyaref/> A separate resolution expressed confidence in Filaret as the Primate of the UOC.<ref name="interfax"/>
Filaret convened an assembly at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in January 1992 that adopted a request of autocephaly for Ukrainians to the Moscow Patriarch.<ref>[http://ukrainianweek.com/Politics/221781 After autocephaly], The Ukrainian Week (26 October 2018)<br />{{in lang|uk}} [https://m.gazeta.ua/articles/life/_vselenskij-patriarhat-oprilyudniv-dokumenti-na-pidtrimku-ukrayinskoyi-avtokefaliyi/859088 The Ecumenical Patriarchate unveiled documents in support of Ukrainian autocephaly], Gazeta.ua (14 September 2018)</ref>
In March–April 1992, the Hierarchical Council of the Russian Orthodox Church met with a single agenda item: to consider the resolution passed by the UOC Sobor four months earlier. Although the issue itself was not discussed, Filaret was asked to resign.<ref name=finallyaref/> On the second day of the meeting, Metropolitan Filaret agreed to submit his resignation to the UOC Synod, and the ROC Synod passed a resolution which stated:
<blockquote>The Council of Bishops took into account the statement of the Most Reverend Filaret, Metropolitan of Kyiv and of All-Ukraine, that for the sake of church peace, at the next Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, he will submit a request to be relieved from the position of the Primate of the UOC. Understanding of the position of Metropolitan Filaret, the Council of Bishops expressed to him its gratitude for the long period of labour as Archbishop of the See of Kyiv and blessed him to carry out his episcopal service in another diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/526289.html|title=Определение относительно обращения епископата Украинской Православной Церкви по поводу дарования ей автокефалии / Официальные документы / Патриархия.ru|website=Патриархия.ru|language=ru|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0" /></blockquote>
However, after returning to Kyiv, Filaret recanted his resignation. On 14 April, Metropolitan Filaret held a press conference in which he alleged that undue pressure was exerted at the ROC Synod in Moscow. Filaret stated that he was retracting his resignation on the grounds that he "would answer before God for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=Jane |title=The Russian Orthodox Church: Triumphalism and Defensiveness |date=2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781349249084 |pages=93-94}}</ref>
==Suspension and anathemization== Shortly thereafter, the Russian Orthodox Church, unable to prevent the creation of what it, and all other orthodox churches within the global communion at the time, viewed as a "schismatic church" in independent Ukraine, helped to organize a rival synod which was held in Kharkiv in May 1992. These bishops elected a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Volodymyr (Sabodan), Metropolitan of Kyiv, and received recognition from Moscow as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).<ref name=":1" />
Filaret was suspended on 27 May 1992 by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://spzh.news/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/42446-to-the-anniversary-of-kharkov-council-or-a-few-words-about-how-m-a-denisenko-was-expelled-from-churc|title=To the anniversary of Kharkov Council, or a few words about how M.A. Denisenko was "expelled" from Church|date=25 May 2017|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=21 November 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://orthochristian.com/116586.html|title=Official History of the Defrocking and Anathematization of Philaret Denisenko. Documents of the June 1992, 1994, and 1997 Bishops' Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church|date=17 October 2018|work=OrthoChristian.Com|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> The bishops loyal to Metropolitan Filaret and a similar group from the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (another recently revived church in Ukraine) organized a unifying sobor which was held on 25 June 1992. The delegates agreed to form a combined church named the ''Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate'' (UOC-KP) under the patriarch they elected, Patriarch Mstyslav.<ref name=finallyaref/><ref name="221781autocephaly">[http://ukrainianweek.com/Politics/221781 After autocephaly], The Ukrainian Week (26 October 2018) {{in lang|uk}} [https://gazeta.ua/articles/life/_vselenskij-patriarhat-oprilyudniv-dokumenti-na-pidtrimku-ukrayinskoyi-avtokefaliyi/859088 The Ecumenical Patriarchate unveiled documents in support of Ukrainian autocephaly], Gazeta.ua (14 September 2018)</ref>
Filaret was defrocked by the Russian Orthodox Church on 11 July 1992.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/06/13/ukraines-top-cleric-defrocked/18c1fa4d-0ace-4adf-8e96-cff335e97d36/|title=UKRAINE'S TOP CLERIC DEFROCKED|last=Shapiro|first=Margaret|date=13 June 1992|website=Washington Post|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> The UOC-KP was not recognized by other Orthodox churches and was considered schismatic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vovk |first1=Dmytro |last2=Clark |first2=Elizabeth A. |title=Religion During the Russian Ukrainian Conflict |date=2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781000710830 |quote=Moscow, in the meantime, did not recognize the UOC-KP and the UAOC. Other canonical Orthodox churches also regarded them as schismatic groups.}}</ref>
Filaret was then anathemized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/15/news165263/|title=Statement by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the encroachment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Russian Church|author=The Russian Orthodox Church|website=mospat.ru|language=en-US|access-date=31 October 2018|quote="By the decision of the Bishops' Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which took place on May 27, 1992, in Kharkov, Metropolitan Philaret (Denisenko), for his failure to fulfil the promises he gave on oath at the cross and the Gospel during the previous Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, was removed from the see of Kyiv and suspended.<br />The Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, by its Resolution of June 11, 1992, confirmed the decision of the Council of Kharkov and deposed Philaret Denisenko depriving him of all ranks of ministry according to the following accusations: 'Cruel and arrogant attitude to the clergy under his jurisdiction, diktat and blackmail (Tit. 1: 7–8; Apostolic Canon 27; bringing temptation to the community of the faithful by his behaviour and private life (Mt. 18:7; the First Ecumenical Council Canon 3, the Sixth Ecumenical Council Canon 5); perjury (Apostolic Canon 25); public slander and blasphemy against a Bishops' Council (Second Ecumenical Council Canon 6); exercising divine offices including ordinations in the state of suspension (Apostolic Canon 28); causing a schism in the Church (Double Council Canon 15). All the ordinations administered by Philaret in the state of suspension since May 27, 1992, and the suspensions imposed by him were recognized as invalid.<br />In spite of repeated calls to repentance, Philaret Denisenko after his deposition continued his schismatic activity, also within other Local Churches. By the decision of the 1997 Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was anathematized."}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> ROC officials stated that the anathematization of Filaret was "recognized by all the Local Orthodox Churches including the Church of Constantinople"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/15/news165263/|title=Statement by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church concerning the encroachment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Russian Church {{!}} The Russian Orthodox Church|website=mospat.ru|language=en-US|access-date=31 October 2018|quote="In spite of repeated calls to repentance, Philaret Denisenko after his deposition continued his schismatic activity, also within other Local Churches. By the decision of the 1997 Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was anathematized. These decisions were recognized by all the Local Orthodox Churches including the Church of Constantinople."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/22/news165617/|title=Metropolitan Hilarion: Filaret Denisenko was and remains a schismatic – The Russian Orthodox Church|website=Mospat|language=en-US|access-date=30 October 2018|quote=For us Filaret was and remains a schismatic. [...] [T]he decision of his excommunication in 1997 was correct in every respect. It was recognized by all Local Churches without any exception, the Patriarchate of Constantinople including.}}</ref><ref name=":29">{{Cite web|url=http://ukrainianweek.com/History/64556|title=Freeing Ukraine from Spiritual Dependence|last=Podobied|first=Pavlo|date=8 November 2012|website=Ukrainian Week|type=History of the churches in Ukraine|access-date=29 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="221781autocephaly" /> The synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate did indeed recognize, in a July 1992 letter to Patriarch Alexy II, the defrocking of Filaret by the ROC,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.romfea.gr/oikoumeniko-patriarxeio/24406-apokleistiko-otan-o-oikoumenikos-patriarxis-anagnorize-tin-kathairesi-tou-filaretou|script-title=el:ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΣΤΙΚΟ: Όταν ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης αναγνώριζε την καθαίρεση του Φιλάρετου!|date=16 October 2018|website=ROMFEA|language=el-gr|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://orthochristian.com/116803.html|title=Patriarch Bartholomew's 1997 acceptance of anathematization of Philaret Denisenko|date=25 October 2018|website=OrthoChristian.Com|access-date=4 January 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> and the Ecumenical Patriarch recognized the anathemization of Filaret in a letter of April 1997 to Patriarch Alexy II.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/april-7-1997-patriarch-bartholomews-letter-taking-note-of-filaret-denisenkos-anathematization/|title=April 7, 1997 Patriarch Bartholomew's letter taking note of Filaret Denisenko's anathematization|last=Cazabonne|first=Emma|date=26 October 2018|website=Orthodoxie.com|language=en-US|access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.romfea.gr/oikoumeniko-patriarxeio/24616-otan-o-oikoumenikos-patriarxis-to-1997-apodexthike-to-anathema-tou-filaretou|script-title=el:Όταν ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης το 1997 αποδέχθηκε το ανάθεμα του Φιλαρέτου|date=26 October 2018|website=ROMFEA|language=el-gr|access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref><ref name=":63">{{Cite web|url=http://orthochristian.com/116803.html|title=Patriarch Bartholomew's 1997 acceptance of anathematization of Philaret Denisenko|date=25 October 2018|website=OrthoChristian.Com|access-date=4 January 2019}}</ref> Filaret was also accused by the ROC of having a wife and three children, but it was "never proved".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.la-croix.com/Religion/Orthodoxie/Philarete-Kiev-tient-revanche-contre-Moscou-2018-10-11-1200975340|title=Philarète de Kiev tient sa revanche contre Moscou|date=11 October 2018|website=La Croix|language=fr|access-date=15 December 2018}}</ref>
==Leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate== {{Main|Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate}}{{See also|2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism}} [[File:Митрополит Мефодій та Президент Ющенко на День Незалежності, Софійська площа, 2007.jpg|thumb|250px|Filaret and Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, Kyiv, 2007|alt=|left]] After the death of Patriarch Mstyslav in 1993, the church was headed by Patriarch Volodymyr, and in July 1995, upon the death of Volodymyr, Filaret was elected head of the UOC-KP by a vote of 160–5.<ref name="finallyaref" />
Metropolitan Filaret consecrated at least 85 bishops.<ref>{{cite web |title=UOC-Kyivan Patriarchate Responds to Questioning of Its Apostolic Succession of Ordinations |url=https://risu.ua/en/uoc-kyivan-patriarchate-responds-to-questioning-of-its-apostolic-succession-of-ordinations_n33521 |publisher=Religious Information Service of Ukraine |access-date=27 March 2026 |date=8 December 2009}}</ref>
On 11 October 2018, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople announced that Filaret Denisenko, along with the Primate of UAOC, had been "restored to communion with the Church."<ref name=":23">{{Cite web|url=https://www.patriarchate.org/-/communiq-1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011161829/https://www.patriarchate.org/-/communiq-1|archive-date=11 October 2018|title=Announcement (11/10/2018). – Announcements – The Ecumenical Patriarchate|website=www.patriarchate.org|language=en-US|access-date=27 October 2018|quote=3) To accept and review the petitions of appeal of Filaret Denisenko, Makariy Maletych and their followers, who found themselves in schism not for dogmatic reasons, in accordance with the canonical prerogatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople to receive such petitions by hierarchs and other clergy from all of the Autocephalous Churches. Thus, the above-mentioned have been canonically reinstated to their hierarchical or priestly rank, and their faithful have been restored to communion with the Church.}}</ref> The decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate also abolished the Moscow Patriarchate's jurisdiction over the diocese of Kyiv and hence all the bishops concerned were viewed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as being under its jurisdiction.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/features-russian-46071179 Константинополь: Московского патриархата в Украине больше нет]. BBC, 2 November 2018.</ref> [[File:Порошенко і патріарх Філарет.jpg|thumb|250px|Filaret with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, 21 October 2018]] On 20 October 2018, the UOC-KP changed the title of its head, to "His Holiness and Beatitude (name), Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kyiv – Mother of the Rus Cities and of Galicia, Patriarch of All Rus-Ukraine, Holy Archimandrite of the Holy Assumption Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras".<ref name=":212">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cerkva.info/church/zhurnaly-zasidannia-sviashchennoho-synodu-20-zhovtnia-2018-r|title=ЖУРНАЛ №17 ЗАСІДАННЯ СВЯЩЕННОГО СИНОДУ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ПРАВОСЛАВНОЇ ЦЕРКВИ КИЇВСЬКОГО ПАТРІАРХАТУ|date=20 October 2018|website=www.cerkva.info|publisher=Українська Православна Церква Київський Патріархат (УПЦ КП)|access-date=27 October 2018}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite web|url=http://spzh.news/en/news/56848-mitropolit-snaruzhi--patriarkh-vnutri-upc-kp-smenila-titul-svojego-glavy|title="Metropolitan" and "patriarch" rolled into one: KP changes its head's title|date=20 October 2018|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=29 October 2018}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://spzh.news/en/news/57050-spiker-upc-kp-nash-predstojately--i-arkhijepiskop-i-mitropolit-i-patriarkh|title=UOC KP Spokesman: Our Primate is archbishop, metropolitan, and patriarch|date=27 October 2018|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=29 October 2018}}</ref> The abridged form is "His Holiness (name), Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine" and the form for interchurch relations "Archbishop, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine".<ref name=":212" /><ref name=":20" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite web|url=https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/10/26/is-the-ecumenical-patriarchate-fine-with-st-andrews-church-in-kyiv/|title=Is the Ecumenical Patriarchate Fine with St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv?|last=Wozniak|first=Hanna|date=26 October 2018|website=Modern Diplomacy|language=en-US|access-date=27 October 2018|quote="On October 20, the UOC KP Synod changed the title of its head [Filaret]. Now the Church's Primate will also be called the Archimandrite of Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaiv Lavras, which seemingly reflects Filaret's desire to get them at his disposal. At the moment both Lavras belong to the UOC MP [the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)], so it looks like the "Archimandrite" doesn't want to comply with the fifth point of the Constantinople Synod decree in which the Patriarchate appeals to all sides involved that they avoid appropriation of Churches, Monasteries and other properties."}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|work=Укрінформ|title=Українська церква на шляху утвердження автокефалії|date=26 October 2018|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAQ5PvGa8bg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/gAQ5PvGa8bg| archive-date=12 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=29 October 2018}}{{cbignore}} (Press conference)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spzh.news/en/news/57050-spiker-upc-kp-nash-predstojately--i-arkhijepiskop-i-mitropolit-i-patriarkh|title=UOC KP Spokesman: Our Primate is archbishop, metropolitan, and patriarch|date=27 October 2018|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=29 October 2018|quote="Filaret is an "archbishop", a "metropolitan", and a "patriarch". This was announced on October 26 by Spokesman of the UOC KP Eustratiy Zoria during the press conference of Ukrinform "Ukrainian Church on the road to establishing autocephaly"."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spzh.news/en/news/56865-zorya-obyasnil-otkuda-v-titule-filareta-vzyalisy-upominanija-pro-lavry-upc|title=Zoria explains why Filaret's title includes references to UOC Lavras|date=22 October 2018|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref> The fact the full title and the version for interchurch relations mention the titles of "archbishop" and "metropolitan" and not the title of "patriarch", but that the abridged form mentioned only the title of "patriarch" has been confusing for some.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":3" /> The Russian Orthodox Church reacted by commenting that this new title was a "farce" and that for them Filaret "was and remains a schismatic".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mospat.ru/en/2018/10/22/news165617/|title=Metropolitan Hilarion: Filaret Denisenko was and remains a schismatic {{!}} The Russian Orthodox Church|website=mospat.ru|language=en-US|access-date=27 October 2018}}</ref>
Amid the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Filaret expressed in May 2022 his confidence that Ukraine would defeat Russia "because God is with Ukraine, not with Russia. God is with the truth, not with lies”, adding that this victory would also be a victory for Europe and all peaceful nations. He attacked the comments made by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, calling him a liar, and questioned Pope Francis’s statements in which he suggested that Ukraine had provoked Russia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tavberidze |first1=Vazha |title=Ukraine's Honorary Patriarch: 'God Is With David, Not Goliath,' And Ukraine Will Defeat Russia |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-filaret-david-vs-goliath/31844902.html |access-date=27 March 2026 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=11 May 2022}}</ref>
==In the OCU== thumb|Filaret during a meeting with church priors in Kyiv, 2019 On 15 December 2018, the hierarchs of the UAOC decided to dissolve the UAOC, and the hierarchs of the UOC-KP decided to dissolve the UOC-KP. This was done because on the same day the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, and some members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) were going to merge to form the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) after a unification council.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/kievskiy-patriarhat-uapts-samoraspustilis-1544894232.html|script-title=ru:Киевский патриархат и УАПЦ самораспустились перед Собором|date=15 December 2018|website=РБК-Украина|language=ru|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref> Filaret was given the title of the "honorary patriarch" of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/filaret-stal-pochetnym-patriarhom-pravoslavnoy-1544893052.html|script-title=ru:Филарет стал почетным патриархом Православной церкви Украины|date=15 December 2018|website=РБК-Украина|language=ru|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/poroshenko-decides-to-award-hero-of-ukraine-title-to-patriarch-filaret-2.html|title=Poroshenko decides to award 'hero of Ukraine' title to Patriarch Filaret|date=11 January 2019|website=KyivPost|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref> Volodymyr Burega, Professor and Vice-Rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy, explains this title this way: "in December [2018], no one wanted to aggravate relationships with Patriarch Filaret, since holding the council and receiving the Tomos were at stake. That is why the council, which took place on 15 December, did not clarify the new status of Patriarch Filaret. After the unification council of the OCU, they stated that Filaret was henceforth "honorary patriarch", but what this phrase meant was difficult to understand. Indeed, such status is not stipulated in the Charter of the OCU, adopted on 15 December."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/ua/index/monitoring/society_digest/75767/|title=Патриарх Филарет: "прирученный" или "вытесненный"?|last=Burega|first=Volodymyr|date=13 March 2019|website=risu.org.ua|access-date=14 May 2019}}</ref>
On 18 December 2018, Filaret's 90th birthday, 23 January 2019, was voted by the Ukrainian parliament as a day of national celebration for the year 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spzh.news/en/news/58463-deputaty-progolosovali-za-vsenarodnoje-prazdnovanije-jubileja-filareta|title=Deputies vote for the national celebration of Filaret's anniversary|date=18 December 2018|website=spzh.news|language=en|access-date=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/radan_gs09/ns_golos?g_id=21324|title=Поіменне голосування про проект Постанови про відзначення пам'ятних дат і ювілеїв у 2019 році (№9234) – за основу та в цілому 18.12.2018 13:45|website=Verkhovna Rada|access-date=18 December 2018}}</ref>
On 16 January 2019, Filaret asked to be commemorated before Epiphanius, the primate of the OCU, during Divine Liturgies. He signed the document asking for it with "Filaret, Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orthodoxie.com/en/patriarch-filaret-of-kyiv-demands-to-be-commemorated-before-metropolitan-epifaniy/|title="Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv" demands to be commemorated before Metropolitan Epifaniy|last=Cazabonne|first=Emma|date=22 January 2019|website=Orthodoxie|language=en-US|access-date=23 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.romfea.gr/ekklisies-ts/ekklisia-tis-oukranias/26521-o-patriarxis-filaretos-zita-na-mnimoneuetai-protos|script-title=el:Ο «Πατριάρχης» Φιλάρετος ζητά να μνημονεύεται πρώτος!|date=19 January 2019|website=ROMFEA|language=el-gr|access-date=23 January 2019}}</ref> On 20 January 2019, Filaret declared in an interview when asked about his role in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine: "I am a patriarch, I have been and I remain a patriarch. Today, the Head of the Local Church is Metropolitan Epifaniy, but I do not refuse to participate in the development of the Ukrainian Church. I am an unrecognized patriarch for world Orthodoxy, but for Ukraine I am a patriarch and I remain a patriarch".<ref name=":82"/><ref name="ru.tsn.ua"/>
On 5 February 2019, the Holy Synod of the OCU appointed Filaret the diocesan bishop of Kyiv, except for the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/ocu/74607/|title=Filaret to head Kyiv Diocese, Metropolitan Symeon elected Chief Secretary of the OCU, the Synod decides|date=5 February 2019|website=risu.org.ua|access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref>
In an interview published by BBC Ukraine on 1 March 2019, Epiphanius explained the situation around Filaret as follows:<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/features-47408699|script-title=uk:Митрополит Епіфаній: "Ми не маємо права розпалювати в Україні релігійний фронт" |author=Святослав Хоменко |author2=Віталій Червоненко |date=1 March 2019|access-date=5 March 2019|language=uk}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=We are in a special situation because we united three branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. And His Holiness Patriarch Filaret built the Kyiv Patriarchate for more than a quarter of a century, and thanks to his work, we succeeded. Moscow has especially emphasized that Patriarch Filaret worked throughout his life for the sake of the koukoulion [i.e. to become Patriarch], that he did not become the Moscow Patriarch, became Patriarch of Kyiv, and would never give up power. We see the opposite, that the patriarch refused, went to the unification council. But nobody brought him to the patriarch's seat. Some want to completely eliminate him so that Patriarch Filaret did not exist at all, but that's wrong. He remains a diocesan bishop, and he will continue to work towards the building of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There is a leader, but he (Filaret) remains honorary Patriarch. He will continue to have his diocese – the city of Kyiv, but will not generally manage the whole church.}}
===Conflict=== {{Main|Conflict between Filaret and Epiphanius}}
A conflict erupted between Filaret and Epiphanius because of disagreements concerning the model of governance, the management of the diaspora, the name and the statute of the OCU. According to Filaret, the agreement reached at the unification council was as follows: "the primate is responsible for the external representation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), and the patriarch is responsible for the internal church life in Ukraine, but in cooperation with the primate. The primate shall do nothing in the church without the consent of the patriarch. The patriarch chairs the meetings of the Holy Synod and the UOC meetings for the sake of preserving unity, its growth, and affirmation." Filaret considers this agreement has not been fulfilled.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unian.info/society/10549452-patriarch-filaret-talks-of-split-schools-metropolitan-epifaniy.html|title=Patriarch Filaret talks of split, schools Metropolitan Epifaniy|date=15 May 2019|website=www.unian.info|language=en|access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/ua/index/all_news/orthodox/ocu/75797/|title=Відмова від статусу Патріархату була чисто ситуативною, – почесний Патріарх Філарет виступив із заявою|date=15 May 2019|website=risu.org.ua|access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref>
In November 2025 OCU's press service reported that a meeting between Filaret and Epiphanius had taken place in the metropolitan's residence, during which the patriarch received a letter of gratitude, and both church leaders took part in a common prayer for Ukraine's victory over Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Патріарх Філарет зустрівся із Епіфанієм: відзначили важливість української мови на службах та помолилися за перемогу|date=5 November 2025|url=https://hromadske.ua/suspilstvo/254244-patriarkh-filaret-zustrivsia-iz-epifaniyem-vidznachyly-vazlyvist-ukrayinskoyi-movy-na-sluzbakh-ta-pomolylysia-za-peremohu|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>
==Political views== [[File:Відкриття пам'ятника гетьману Івану Мазепі.jpg|thumb|Filaret accompanying president Poroshenko during the unveiling of a monument to hetman Ivan Mazepa in Poltava, 2016]] In March 2014, Filaret publicly opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/en/index/resourses/church_doc/uockp_doc/55794/|title=Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine Philaret the Russian annexation of the Crimea|date=19 March 2014|website=risu.org.ua|access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref> On 5 September 2014, amidst the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26248275 Ukraine crisis timeline], BBC News<br />[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29095850 Ukraine crisis: Ceasefire is 'largely holding'], BBC News (6 September 2014)</ref> Filaret held a service to consecrate a memorial cross to the Heavenly Hundred.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2014/12-september/news/world/ukrainian-patriarch-describes-putin-as-the-new-cain|title=Ukrainian patriarch describes Putin as 'the new Cain'|last=Drake|first=Gavin|date=12 September 2014|website=www.churchtimes.co.uk|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> Filaret declared during his service that in the Orthodox church had appeared "among the rulers of this world [...] a real new Cain" who "calls himself a brother to the Ukrainian people, but in fact according to his deeds [...] really became the new Cain, shedding the brotherly blood and entangling the whole world with lies"<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Denysenko|first=Nicholas|title=Intra-Christian Conflict in Ukraine: Historical Foundations and a Theological Proposal|url=https://www.academia.edu/12890997|journal=Academia.edu|language=en|page=18}}</ref> and that "Satan went into him, as into Judas Iscariot".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://risu.org.ua/ua/index/all_news/state/national_religious_question/57559/|title=Патріарх Філарет закликав вірних України молитися за справедливий суд над Путіним – "новим Каїном"|date=5 September 2014|website=risu.org.ua|language=en|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> The statement was published on the official website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate in English,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.cerkva.info/en/messages/5417-new-kain.html|title=New Cain – Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP)|script-work=uk:Прес-центр КиївськоїПатріархії|date=5 September 2014|language=en-gb|access-date=29 November 2018|archive-date=29 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129140449/http://archive.cerkva.info/en/messages/5417-new-kain.html}}</ref> Russian<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.cerkva.info/ru/patrposlania/5417-new-kain.html|script-title=ru:Новый Каин – Украинская Православная Церковь Киевский Патриархат|script-work=uk:Прес-центр КиївськоїПатріархії|date=5 September 2014|website=archive.cerkva.info|language=ru-ru|access-date=29 November 2018|archive-date=29 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129141718/http://archive.cerkva.info/ru/patrposlania/5417-new-kain.html}}</ref> and Ukrainian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.cerkva.info/uk/patrposlannia/5417-new-kain.html|script-title=uk:Новий Каїн – Українська Православна Церква Київський Патріархат (УПЦ КП)|script-work=uk:Прес-центр КиївськоїПатріархії|date=5 September 2014|website=archive.cerkva.info|language=uk-ua|access-date=29 November 2018|archive-date=29 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129141856/http://archive.cerkva.info/uk/patrposlannia/5417-new-kain.html}}</ref> Publications such as ''Church Times'', ''Cogwriter'', and ''Ecumenical News'' identified Filaret's "new Cain" with Russian president Vladimir Putin.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cogwriter.com/news/religious-news/ukrainians-and-separatists-accused-of-war-crimes-orthodox-patriarch-refers-to-putin-as-satan-and-cain/|title=Ukrainians and separatists accused of war crimes; Orthodox Patriarch refers to Putin as 'Cain' and under Satan's action|website=Cog Writer|language=en-US|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/putin-possessed-by-satan-says-head-of-ukrainian-orthodox-church-26343|title=Putin 'possessed by Satan,' says head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church|date=8 September 2014|website=www.ecumenicalnews.com|language=en|access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref>
Filaret said that the local population in Donbas "must pay for their guilt [in rejecting Kyiv's authority] through suffering and blood".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/a41ed014-c38b-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9|title=Putin and the Patriarchs: how geopolitics tore apart the Orthodox church|date=21 August 2019|work=Financial Times}}</ref>
In March 2020, during a TV interview, Filaret called the COVID-19 pandemic a "divine punishment" for same-sex marriage.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 April 2020|title=Yet Another Religious Leader Blames Coronavirus On The LGBT+ Community. This Time An LGBT+ Organisation Is Suing Him|url=https://www.mygwork.com/en/my-g-news/yet-another-religious-leader-blames-coronavirus-on-the-lgbt-community-this-time-an-lgbt-organisation-is-suing-him|access-date=8 September 2020|website=myGwork}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=22 March 2020|title=Coronavirus in the world – Filaret says same-sex marriage caused COVID-19 pandemic|url=https://www.corona24.news/u/2020/03/22/coronavirus-in-the-world-filaret-says-same-sex-marriage-caused-covid-19-pandemic.html|access-date=8 September 2020|website=CoRona 24 News|language=en-US}}</ref> He was later sued by Kyiv-based LGBT-rights group InSight for his remarks.<ref>{{Cite news|date=13 April 2020|title=LGBT+ group sues Ukraine religious figure linking coronavirus to gay marriage|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-ukraine-lgbt-idUSL8N2BI6C7|access-date=8 September 2020}}</ref> Early September 2020, it was announced that Filaret himself had been tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to hospital.<ref>{{Cite magazine |author=Ewan Palmer |date=8 September 2020 |title=Church leader who blamed coronavirus on gay marriage contracts COVID-19 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/patriarch-filaret-coronavirus-gay-marriage-ukraine-1530261 |access-date=8 September 2020 |magazine=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=7 September 2020|title=Religious leader who blamed gay marriage for coronavirus now has coronavirus|url=https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/07/religious-leader-who-blamed-gay-marriage-for-coronavirus-now-has-coronavirus-13236170/|access-date=8 September 2020|website=Metro|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Villarreal|first=Daniel|date=8 September 2020|title=Ukrainian church leader who blamed COVID-19 on gay marriage tests positive for virus|work=NBC news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/ukrainian-church-leader-who-blamed-covid-19-gay-marriage-tests-n1239528|access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>
In an interview released in March 2020 to the Ukraine Channel 4, he declared that the Holy Eucharist could be administrated from one spoon, because it is impossible to get viruses from the gloriously resurrected Body of Jesus Christ God.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-church-leader-who-called-coronavirus-punishment-for-evil-of-same-sex-marriage-has-covid-19/ | title = Church leader who called coronavirus punishment for "evil" of same-sex marriage has COVID-19 | date = 9 September 2020 | work = CBS News | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200910042930/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-church-leader-who-called-coronavirus-punishment-for-evil-of-same-sex-marriage-has-covid-19/ | archive-date = 10 September 2020 | url-status = live}}</ref>
In February 2024, Filaret issued awards for Ukrainian service members, one of them being Viktor Pylypenko. When Filaret was informed that Pylypenko is gay, he cancelled his recognition, sparking condemnation from other soldiers.<ref name="rogers">{{cite news |last1=Rogers |first1=Destiny |title=Viktor Pylypenko stripped of war medal because he's gay |url=https://qnews.com.au/viktor-pylypenko-stripped-of-war-medal-because-hes-gay/ |access-date=30 December 2025 |work=QNews |date=28 February 2024}}</ref>
==Death and burial== During the last months of his life, the metropolitan was hospitalized several times.<ref name=hro>{{Cite web|title=У Києві попрощалися з патріархом УПЦ КП Філаретом (ФОТО, ВІДЕО)|date=22 March 2026|url=https://hromadske.ua/suspilstvo/261209-u-kyyevi-poproshchalysia-z-patriarkhom-upts-kp-filaretom-foto-video|access-date=22 March 2026}}</ref> On 20 March 2026, Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv announced that Filaret had died earlier that day. He was 97.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Patriarch Filaret, champion of Ukrainian church independence, dies at 97|date=20 March 2026|url=https://hromadske.ua/en/society/250285-patriarkh-upts-kp-filaret-pomer|access-date=20 March 2026 |work=Hromadske}}</ref> He was succeeded by Archbishop Nykodym of Sumy and Okhtyrka (formerly Volodymyr Kobzar) on 21 March.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unrecognized 'Kyiv Patriarchate' elects new head after Filaret's death |url=https://kyivindependent.com/kyiv-patriarchate-elects-archbishop-nykodym-as-new-patriarch-after-filarets-death/|access-date=22 March 2026 |website=The Kyiv Independent}}</ref>
On 22 March 2026, Filaret's coffin was placed in Kyiv's St. Michael's Cathedral, with hundreds of people gathering to bid farewell to the deceased. A funeral procession then followed through the streets of the city, ending in St. Volodymyr's Cathedral, where the burial ceremony took place.<ref name=hro/>
==Awards== * Order "For intellectual courage" of the independent cultural magazine ''I'' (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://espreso.tv/article/2018/12/26/patriarkh_filaret_my_otrymaly_peremogu_pid_stalingradom_ale_do_berlina_sche_daleko|title=Патріарх Філарет: Ми отримали перемогу під Сталінградом, але до Берліна ще далеко|date=26 December 2018|website=espreso.tv|access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref>
===State awards=== ====Ukraine==== * {{MOL}} (2009)<ref name="rbk">{{cite news |last1=Kostenko |first1=Iryna |title=У ПЦУ закликають молитися за патріарха Філарета: що сталося |url=https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/ptsu-zaklikayut-molitisya-patriarha-filareta-1756198882.html |work=RBK Ukraine |date=26 August 2025 |language=uk |trans-title=The OCU calls for prayers for Patriarch Filaret: what happened}}</ref> * Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 1st (2008), 2nd (2006), 3rd (2004), 4th (2001) and 5th (1999) Cl.<ref name="rbk"/> * Cross of Ivan Mazepa (2010)<ref name="rbk"/> *Hero of Ukraine (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/32019-25874|script-title=uk:УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ №3/2019|date=8 January 2019|website=Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України|language=uk|access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.ua/news/prezident-prisvoyiv-patriarhu-filaretu-zvannya-geroj-ukrayin-52422|script-title=uk:Президент присвоїв Патріарху Філарету звання Герой України|date=8 January 2019|website=Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України|language=uk|access-date=8 January 2019}}</ref>
====USSR==== * Order of Friendship of Peoples (1979)<ref name="rbk"/> * Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1988)<ref name="nvua">{{cite news |last1=Piddubny |first1=Mykola |title=Як жив і служив український патріарх Філарет, який мало не став главою московської церкви та був проклятий нею |url=https://nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/events/patriarh-filaret-pomer-biografiya-stanovlennya-liderom-upc-kp-pcu-i-nayvazhlivishe-z-yogo-zhittya-50590603.html |work=The New Voice of Ukraine |date=20 March 2026 |language=uk |trans-title=How Ukrainian Patriarch Filaret lived and served, who almost became the head of the Moscow church and was cursed by it}}</ref>
==List of bishop ordinations== The full list of Filaret's bishop ordinations until 2010 is as follows:<ref>[https://www.religion.in.ua/main/oficiyno/2742-shhodo-roli-patriarxa-filareta-v-arxiyerejskix.html Щодо ролі патріарха Філарета в архієрейських хіротоніях]. www.religion.in.ua. 8 December 2009</ref>
===As a supporting archiereus=== {{Div col}} * Vladimir (Kotlyarov) on 30 December 1962 as Bishop of Zvenigorod * Antonius (Vakaryk) on 12 February 1965 as Bishop of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh * Boris (Skvortsov) on 21 February 1965 as Bishop of Ryazan and Kasimov * Melchizedek (Lebedev) on 17 June 1965 as Bishop of Vologda and Velikiy Ustyug * Philaret (Vakhromeyev) on 24 October 1965 as Bishop of Tikhvin * Joanathan (Kopylovych) on 28 November 1965 as Bishop of Tegel * John (Snychov) on 12 December 1965 as Bishop of Syzran * Juvenal (Poyarkov) on 26 December 1965 as Bishop of Zaraisk * Irenaeus (Susemihl) on 30 January 1966 as Bishop of Munich * Dionysius (Lukin) on 20 March 1966 as Bishop of Rotterdam * Volodymyr (Sabodan) on 9 July 1966 as Bishop of Zvenigorod * Hermogenes (Orekhov) on 25 November 1966 as Bishop of Podolsk * Theodosius (Dykun) on 4 June 1967 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Sabbas (Babynets) on 30 March 1969 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Macarius (Svystun) on 7 June 1970 as Bishop of Uman * Maximus (Krokha) on 26 March 1972 as Bishop of Argentina and South America * Victorinus (Belyaev) on 3 June 1973 as Bishop of Perm and Solikamsk * Platon (Udovenko) on 16 December 1973 as Bishop of Argentina and South America * Job (Tivonyuk) on 3 January 1975 as Bishop of Zaraisk * Kirill (Gundyayev) on 14 March 1976 as Bishop of Vyborg * Gleb (Smirnov) on 9 May 1976 as Bishop of Oryol and Bryansk * Valentine (Mishchuk) on 25 July 1976 as Bishop of Ufa and Sterlitamak * Nicanor (Yukhymyuk) on 30 November 1979 as Bishop of Podolsk {{Div col end}}
===As a leading archiereus=== {{Div col}} * Nicholas (Bychkovsky) on 28 July 1971 as Bishop of Kursk and Belgorod * Barlaam (Ilyuschenko) on 22 October 1972 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Agathangelos (Savvin) on 16 November 1975 as Bishop of Vinnytsia and Bratslav * Sebastian (Pylypchuk) on 16 October 1978 as Bishop of Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv * Ioann (Bodnarchuk) on 23 October 1978 as Bishop of Zhytomyr and Ovruch * Lazar (Shvets) on 18 April 1980 as Bishop of Argentina and South America * Antonius (Moskalenko) on 13 October 1986 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Palladius (Shyman) on 8 February 1987 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Marcus (Petrovtsy) on 28 July 1988 as Bishop of Kremenets * Joannicius (Kobzyev) on 13 December 1988 as Bishop of Slovyansk * Joanathan (Yeletskikh) on 22 April 1989 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Euthymius (Shutak) on 28 July 1989 as Bishop of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod * Basilius (Vasyltsev) on 1 October 1989 as Bishop of Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv * Bartholomeus (Vashchuk) on 24 February 1990 as Bishop of Volhynia and Rivne * Niphont (Solodukha) on 31 March 1990 as Bishop of Khmelnytskyi and Kamianets-Podilskyi * Andrew (Horak) on 18 April 1990 as Bishop of Lviv and Drohobych * Gleb (Savin) on 2 August 1990 as Bishop of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia * Basilius (Zlatolinsky) on 2 December 1990 as Bishop of Simferopol and Crimea * Onuphrius (Berezovsky) on 9 December 1990 as Bishop of Chernivtsi and Bucovina * Jacob (Panchuk) on 14 December 1990 as Bishop of Pochaiv * Sergius (Hensytsky) on 17 February 1991 as Bishop of Kremenets * Hilarion (Shukalo) on 29 September 1991 as Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia * Alypius (Pohribnyak) on 6 October 1991 as Bishop of Donetsk and Luhansk * Spyrydon (Babskyi) on 7 June 1992 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Barsanuphius (Mazurak) on 8 June 1992 as Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia * Antonius (Masendych) on 9 September 1992 as Bishop of Pereyaslav and Sicheslav * Volodymyr (Romaniuk) on 10 September 1992 as Bishop of Bila Tserkva * Sophronius (Vlasov) on 15 September 1992 as Bishop of Vinnytsia and Bratslav * Roman (Blashchuk) on 16 September 1992 as Bishop of Rivne and Ostroh * Seraphim (Verzun) on 25 September 1992 as Bishop of Zhytomyr and Ovruch * Nestor (Kulish) on 15 November 1992 as Bishop of Cherkasy and Chyhyryn * Polycarp (Huts) on 10 April 1993 as Bishop of Donetsk and Luhansk * Alexius (Tsaruk) on 7 July 1993 as Bishop of Mykolaiv * Volodymyr (Ladyka) on 13 March 1993 as Bishop of Vinnytsia and Bratslav * Alexander (Reshetnyak) on 16 January 1994 as Bishop of Bila Tserkva * Daniel (Chokalyuk) on 23 January 1994 as Bishop of Vyshhorod * Hadrian (Staryna) on 6 February 1994 as Bishop of Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk * Izyaslav (Karha) on 11 September 1994 as Bishop of Nikopol * Theodosius (Petsyna) on 4 December 1994 as Bishop of Drohobych and Sambir * Barlaam (Pylypyshyn) on 14 December 1994 as Bishop of Chernihiv and Sumy * Joasaph (Shibayev) on 19 February 1995 as Bishop of Belgorod and Oboyan * Baruch (Tischenkov) on 23 February 1994 as Bishop of Tobolsk and Yeniseysk * Job (Pavlyshyn) on 11 May 1995 as Bishop of Kremenets and Zbarazh * Gregorius (Kachan) on 10 October 1995 as Bishop of Melitopol * Gerontius (Khovansky) on 24 March 1996 as Bishop of Sumy and Okhtyrka * Ioann (Zinovyev) on 18 July 1996 as Bishop of Donetsk and Luhansk * Antonius (Makhota) on 21 July 1996 as Bishop of Simferopol and Crimea * Volodymyr (Polishchuk) on 23 February 1997 as Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia * Joasaph (Vasylykiv) on 6 April 1997 as Bishop of Donetsk and Luhansk * Pancratius (Tarnavsky) on 27 July 1997 as Bishop of Vinnytsia and Bratslav * Christophorus (Sitas) on 2 October 1997 as Bishop of Surozh * Nikon (Kalember) on 12 October 1997 as Bishop of Kitsman and Zastavna * Damian (Zamarayev) on 19 October 1997 as Bishop of Kherson and Taurida * Peter (Petrus) on 30 October 1997 as Bishop of Lviv and Yavoriv * Yuriy Yurchyk on 14 May 1999 as George, Bishop of Donetsk and Luhansk * Timotheus (Koutalianos) on 26 March 2000 as Bishop of Korsun * Demetrius (Rudyuk) on 16 July 2000 as Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi * Clemence (Kushch) on 23 July 2000 as Bishop of Simferopol and Crimea * Michael (Zinkevych) on 22 October 2000 as Bishop of Sumy and Okhtyrka * Flavian (Pasichnyk) on 5 November 2000 as Bishop of Kharkiv and Bohodukhiv * Paisius (Dmokhovsky) on 30 September 2001 as Bishop of Odesa and Balta * Stephan (Bilyak) on 19 May 2002 as Bishop of Boryspil * Eusebius (Politylo) on 7 July 2002 as Bishop of Poltava and Kremenchuk * Sergius (Horobtsov) on 14 December 2002 as Bishop of Slovyansk * Vsevolod (Matviyevsky) on 28 March 2003 as Bishop of Luhansk and Starobilsk * Ioann (Yaremenko) on 30 March 2003 as Bishop of Cherkasy and Chyhyryn * Cyril (Mykhailyuk) on 3 August 2003 as Bishop of Uzhhorod and Zakarpattia * Methodius (Sribnyak) on 6 June 2004 as Bishop of Sumy and Okhtyrka * Theodosius (Paikush) on 28 July 2004 as Bishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn * Chrysostom (Bakomitros) on 14 May 2005 as Bishop of Chersonesus * Philaret (Pancu) on 31 July 2005 as Bishop of Făleşti and Eastern Moldova * Onuphrius (Khavruk) on 30 October 2005 as Bishop of Derman * Michael (Bondarchuk) on 1 January 2006 as Bishop of Poltava and Kremenchuk * Nestor (Pysyk) on 5 March 2006 as Bishop of Ternopil and Buchach * Theodore (Bubnyuk) on 12 November 2006 as Bishop of Poltava and Kremenchuk * Sebastian (Voznyak) on 14 December 2006 as Bishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn * Matheus (Shevchuk) on 17 December 2006 as Bishop of Drohobych and Sambir * Hilarion (Protsyk) on 14 May 2008 as Bishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn * Eustratius (Zorya) on 25 May 2008 as Bishop of Vasylkiv * Peter (Moskalyov) on 13 December 2008 as Bishop of Valuiky * Marcus (Levkiv) on 1 February 2009 as Bishop of Kirovohrad and Holovanivsk * Paul (Kravchuk) on 30 March 2009 as Bishop of Ternopil and Terebovlia * Epiphanius (Dumenko) on 15 November 2009 as Bishop of Vyshhorod * Simeon (Zinkevych) on 21 November 2009 as Bishop of Dnipropetrovsk and Pavlohrad * Tycho (Petranyuk) on 22 November 2009 as Bishop of Luhansk and Starobilsk {{Div col end}}
==See also== * History of Christianity in Ukraine * List of metropolitans and patriarchs of Kyiv
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Sister project auto}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030916003900/http://risu.org.ua/content.php?page_id=48&l=en Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine Filaret] at the Institute of Religion and Society of the Ukrainian Catholic University * {{In lang|ru|cap=yes}} [http://www.religio.ru/dosje/20/23_print.html Filaret (Denysenko)]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926225045/http://www.religio.ru/dosje/20/23_print.html |date=26 September 2007 }} in [http://www.religio.ru/news/index.html The World of Religions]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203015638/http://religio.ru/news/index.html |date=3 February 2008 }}. * {{IMDb name}}
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|eo}} {{s-bef|before=Aleksiy (Konoplev)}} {{s-ttl|title=Bishop of Luga<br/>(Vicar of Leningrad Eparchy)<br />(Russian Orthodox Church)|years=1962}} {{s-aft|after=Nikon (Fomichev)}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=Ioann (Vendland)}} {{s-ttl|title=Locum tenens governor of Middle-European Exarchate<br />(Russian Orthodox Church)|years=1962}} {{s-aft|after=Sergiy (Larin)}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=Sergiy (Korolev)}} {{s-ttl|title=Bishop of Vienna and Austrian<br/> (Russian Orthodox Church)|years=1962–1964}} {{s-aft|after=Varfolomei (Gondarovskiy)}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=Kiprian (Zernov)}} {{s-ttl|title=Bishop of Dmitrov<br/>(Vicar of Moscow Eparchy)<br />(Russian Orthodox Church)|years=1964–1966}} {{s-aft|after=Philaret (Vakhromeyev)}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=Joasaph (Leliukhin)|before2=Alipiy (Khotovitskiy) {{small|(interim)}}}} {{s-ttl|title=Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia (Patriarchal Exarch of all Ukraine)<br />(Russian Orthodox Church)|years=1966–1990}} {{s-vac|reason=Reorganization}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=Pimen (Izvekov)}} {{s-ttl|title=(Locum tenens) patriarch of Moscow and all Russia<br/>(Russian Orthodox Church)|years=1990}} {{s-aft|after=Aleksiy (Ridiger)}} {{s-break}} {{s-new|reason=Reorganization}} {{s-ttl|title=Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine <br/>(Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Church)|years=1990–1992}} {{s-aft|after=Volodymyr (Sabodan)}} {{s-break}} {{s-bef|before=Volodymyr (Romaniuk)}} {{s-ttl|title=Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine<br/>(Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate)|years=1995–2018}} {{s-non|reason=Merged into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine}} {{s-break}} {{s-new}} {{s-ttl|title=Honorary Patriarch<br/>(Orthodox Church of Ukraine)|years=2018–2019}} {{s-vac|rows=2}} {{s-break}} {{s-new|reason=Reestablished from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine}} {{s-ttl|title=Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine<br/> (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate)|years=2019–2026}} {{s-end}} {{Primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)}} {{Metropolitans of Kyiv}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denysenko, Filaret}} Category:1929 births Category:2026 deaths Category:20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Category:21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Category:Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Category:Christian Peace Conference members Category:Metropolitans of Kiev and all Rus' (Patriarchate of Moscow) Category:Moscow Theological Academy alumni Category:People excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church Category:People from Donetsk Oblast Category:Primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) Category:Primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Category:Recipients of the Cross of Ivan Mazepa Category:Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Category:Recipients of the Order of Liberty (Ukraine) Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 1st class Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2nd class Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 3rd class Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th class Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Category:Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Category:Russian Orthodox clergy who spied for the Soviet Union Category:Ukrainian spies for the Soviet Union