Patriarch Of The UOC Filaret Died

• 20.03.2026, 14:05

He passed away in his 98th year of life.

Patriarch Philaret, who headed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), has died in his 98th year of life. This was announced by Metropolitan Epiphany on Friday, March 20.

"Today there is deep sadness and regret in my heart, as well as in the hearts of many Ukrainians, because now the earthly journey of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret has come to an end," Epiphany wrote in Facebook.

He urged to remember the patriarch's admonition on the importance of maintaining the unity of the Ukrainian Church around the Kiev See.

The UOC-KP website says Filaret passed away on March 20 after a long, debilitating illness.

"Patriarch Filaret made an outstanding contribution to the ecclesiastical and national life of Ukraine. His pastoral ministry was an example of steadfastness in faith, courage in trials and boundless devotion to the Church and Motherland," the UOC points out.

Patriarch of Kyiv and All Russia-Ukraine Filaret (in the world Mikhail Antonovich Denisenko) was born on January 23, 1929 in the village of Blagodatnoye, Donetsk region. After graduating from spiritual schools in Moscow, he took monastic tonsure (1950) with the name Filaret.