Patriarch Filaret ( secular name ''Mykhailo Antonovych Denysenko'' Михайло Антонович Денисенко, born 23 January 1929) is a Ukrainian religious leader, currently serving as the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, that he left in 2019, views him as the Honorary Patriarch

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

, while the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

recognises him as former Metropolitan of Kyiv. He was formerly 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 Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

by the ROC. On 11 October 2018, the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

reinstated him in church communion. However, while restored to the episcopate, the Ecumenical Patriarchate never recognised him as Patriarch and views him as the former Metropolitan of Kyiv. On 15 December 2018, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate united with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and some members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine; the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate thus ceased to exist.

Early years

Mykhailo Denysenko was born on 23 January 1929, into a worker's family in the village of Blahodatne in the Amvrosiivsky Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

), now in the

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

(

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

) in

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...

. His parents were Anton and Melania Denysenko. He obtained his

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

education at the

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Seminary (Moscow Patriarchate) and the

Moscow Theological Academy Moscow Theological Academy () is a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, training clergy, teachers, scholars, and officials. The Academy traces its origin to the Slavic Greek Latin Academy, which was founded in 1685 by th ...

where he became a close associate of Patriarch Alexius I of Moscow. He took

monastic vows Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

in 1950 assuming the monastic name ''Filaret'' and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

hierodeacon A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, ''Ierodiákonos''; Slavonic: ''Ierodiakón''), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and all other Churches that follow Byzantine Rite is a monk who has been ordained a ...

in January 1950 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in June 1951. After his graduation he stayed at the Moscow Theological Academy as a professor (from 1952) and Senior Assistant to the Academy inspector. In 1956 he was appointed Inspector of the Theological Seminary in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

and elevated to the rank of

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

. In 1957 he was appointed Inspector of the

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Theological Seminary. In July 1958 he was further elevated to the rank of

Archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

and appointed seminary rector.

Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church

In 1961, Filaret served in the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to the

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa (), also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, is an autocephaly, autocephalous patriarchate that is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Its seat is in Alexandria, and it ...

. In January 1962 Filaret was elected

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Bishop of the

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

and, in February, was ordained

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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. In 1964 he returned to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

as the Bishop of

Dmitrov Dmitrov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Dmitrovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Mosc ...

and rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary. In 1966, he became

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

, thus becoming one of the most influential

hierarch An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...

s in the Russian Orthodox Church, where the office of the Kyiv Metropolitan is highly regarded. At that time he also became a permanent member of the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

, the highest collegiate body of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has the responsibility of electing the Moscow Patriarch. In 1968 Filaret became Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia. As late as October 1989, Filaret was still saying, "The Uniates will never be legalized in our country." On May 3, 1990, Patriarch Pimen of Moscow died and, the same day, Filaret became the

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. Filaret was not elected Patriarch of Moscow. Retrospectively, in 2019, Filaret declared "it was not by chance that I was not elected. The Lord prepared me for Ukraine" 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 Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...

") to Metropolitan Filaret, and enthroned Filaret, heretofore "Metropolitan of Kyiv", as "Metropolitan of Kyiv and All-Ukraine". In 1992, the Russian Orthodox priest and

Soviet dissident Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union (USSR) in the period from the mid-1960s ...

Fr. Gleb Yakunin accused Exarch Filaret of having been an informer for the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

. Father Gleb stated that he had seen KGB files which listed Exarch Filaret's codename as ''Antonov''. 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. 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. In 2018, Filaret declared in an interview with

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

that he, like all bishops under

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

, had to have contacts with the KGB. In 2019, he declared every bishop of the

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

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 A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

and Patriarch Alexy by the KGB.

Creation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate

Following Ukraine's declaration of independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on 24 August 1991, a national sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held from November 1–3. 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. A separate resolution, also unanimous, affirmed the church's desire for Metropolitan Filaret to become its Primate. Filaret convened an assembly at the

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sin ...

in January 1992 that adopted a request of autocephaly for Ukrainians to the Moscow Patriarch. 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. 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: ''"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."'' 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, both directly and through threats made by FSK personnel who, he said, were present at the gathering. Filaret stated that he was retracting his resignation on the grounds that his resignation "would not bring peace to the Church, would contradict the will of the believers, and would be uncanonical."

Suspension and anathemization

Shortly thereafter, the Russian Orthodox Church, unable to prevent the creation of what it viewed as a "

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

atic church" in independent Ukraine, helped to organize a rival

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

which was held in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

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) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in pla ...

. Filaret was suspended on 27 May 1992 by the

. 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.After autocephaly

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' (, ) is an illustrated weekly magazine and news outlet covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides a range of analysis, opinion, interviews, feature p ...

(26 October 2018)
The Ecumenical Patriarchate unveiled documents in support of Ukrainian autocephaly
Gazeta.ua (14 September 2018) Filaret was defrocked by the Russian Orthodox Church on 11 July 1992. The UOC-KP was not recognized by other Orthodox churches and was considered schismatic. Filaret was then anathemized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1997. ROC officials stated that the anathematization of Filaret was "recognized by all the Local Orthodox Churches including the Church of Constantinople" 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, and the Ecumenical Patriarch recognized the anathemization of Filaret in a letter of April 1997 to Patriarch Alexy II. Filaret was also accused by the ROC of having a wife and three children, but it was "never proved".

Leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate

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. Metropolitan Filaret consecrated at least 85 bishops. On 11 October 2018, the Holy Synod of the

announced that Filaret Denisenko, along with the Primate of UAOC, had been "restored to communion with the Church." 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. 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

of the Holy Assumption Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras". 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". 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. The

reacted by commenting that this new title was a "farce" and that for them Filaret "was and remains a schismatic".

In the OCU

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

were going to merge to form the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) after a unification council. Filaret was given the title of the "honorary patriarch" of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Volodymyr Burega, Professor and Vice-Rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy, explains this title this way: "in December 018 no one wanted to aggravate relationships with Patriarch Filaret, since holding the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

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." On 18 December 2018, Filaret's 90th birthday, 23 January 2019, was voted by the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...

as a day of national celebration for the year 2019. 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". 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 Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

I am a patriarch and I remain a patriarch". 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. In an interview published by BBC Ukraine on 1 March 2019, Epiphanius explained the situation around Filaret as follows:

Conflict

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 Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

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.

Political views

In March 2014, Filaret publicly opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia. On 5 September 2014, amidst the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Filaret held a service to consecrate a memorial cross to the Heavenly Hundred. 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 Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the second largest ethno-linguistic community. At around 46 million worldwide, Ukr ...

, but in fact according to his deeds ..really became the new

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

, shedding the brotherly blood and entangling the whole world with lies" and that "

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

went into him, as into

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...

". The statement was published on the official website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate in English, Russian and Ukrainian. Publications such as ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

'', ''Cogwriter'', and ''Ecumenical News'' identified Filaret's "new Cain" with

Russian President The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. Filaret said that the local population in

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

"must pay for their guilt n rejecting Kyiv's authoritythrough suffering and blood".

COVID-19

In March 2020, during a TV interview, Filaret called the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

a "divine punishment" for same-sex marriage. He was later sued by

-based

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

-rights group

InSight Insight is the understanding of a specific causality, cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of se ...

for his remarks. Early September 2020, it was announced that Filaret himself had been tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to hospital. 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.

Awards

* Order "For intellectual courage" of the independent cultural magazine ''I'' (2018)

State awards

Ukraine

* (2009) * The

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise () is a Ukrainian award. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, strengthening the international prestige of Ukraine, develop ...

1st (2008), 2nd (2006), 3rd (2003), 4th (2001) and 5th (1999) Cl. * The Cross of Ivan Mazepa (2011) *

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

(2019)

USSR

* The

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1980) * The

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(1988)

List of bishop ordinations

''full list until 2010''Щодо ролі патріарха Філарета в архієрейських хіротоніях
www.religion.in.ua. 8 December 2009

As a supporting archiereus

* 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

As a leading archiereus

* 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) Volodymyr (secular name Vasyl Omelianovych Romaniuk, ; 9 December 1923 – 14 July 1995) was a Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox priest and human rights activist who was Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate from its founding ...

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

Notes

References

External links

Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine Filaret
at the Institute of Religion and Society of the

Ukrainian Catholic University The Ukrainian Catholic University () is a Catholicism, Catholic university in Lviv, Ukraine, affiliated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) was the first :Catholic universities and colleges, Catholic ...

Filaret (Denysenko)
i

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Filaret 1929 births Living people People from Donetsk Oblast 20th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 21st-century Eastern Orthodox bishops Metropolitans of Kiev and all Rus' (Patriarchate of Moscow) Russian Orthodox clergy who spied for the Soviet Union Ukrainian spies for the Soviet Union Primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) Christian Peace Conference members Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise Recipients of the Cross of Ivan Mazepa Primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) People excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Liberty (Ukraine) Moscow Theological Academy alumni