The Orthodox Church of Ukraine has stripped the leaders of the UOC KP of their rank. Other priests are being warned of the same punishment

The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (UOC) has stripped the heads of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP) of their rank. They are called "a small group of individuals who, after the repose of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret, baselessly and arbitrarily declare themselves the "UOC KP".

A message about this appeared on the website of the UOC.

The report states that after the unification council on December 15, 2018, the UOC KP ceased to exist separately. Using its name without permission is a violation of the law.

The actions of the leadership of the UOC KP are called “a failed attempt by a marginal group to create a schism” and are accused of acting in the interests of Russia and under its influence. UOC claims that this group consists of only a few people, most of whom are outside Ukraine, and that it is not a religious organization, but only uses church symbols and names for its own interests.

For "canonical crimes", the Synod stripped the patriarch of the UOC KP, Nikodim (Kobzar), and also metropolitans Mykhailo Kovaliuk and Nikon (Grabliuk), of their priestly rank. All other priests of the UOC KP are being warned of the possibility of the same punishment.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine also reported that about 20 communities and clergy (mostly the UOC KP) have resumed communication with UOC.

What preceded

Filaret, the emeritus patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, died on March 20. Filaret had led the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate since 1995. After the creation of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2018, he received the title of emeritus patriarch, and the church was headed by Metropolitan Epiphany.

But later Filaret and the remnants of the UOC KP claimed that the council, at which the decision to dissolve the UOC KP was made, was not valid. Filaret accused Epiphanius and then-President Petro Poroshenko of failing to fulfill the agreements, liquidating the Kyiv Patriarchate, and said that although Epiphanius was to become the primate, it was Filaret who was to lead the church. The matter reached court — then the Supreme Court refused to allow Filaret to declare the Local Council, during which UOC was formed, invalid.

After the death of Filaret, Archbishop Nikodim of Sumy and Okhtyrka was elected as the new patriarch of the UOC KP. In the message, Nikodim emphasized that the bishops maintain the UOC KP as an independent institution and will not be part of any other church structures.

At the same time, Nikodim published a joint statement by the bishops of the UOC KP, in which they condemned the actions of the leadership of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. According to them, they “forcibly and godlessly took the body of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret from the hospital and transported him to St. Michaelʼs Cathedral for burial” against his will.

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