President awards the "Hero of Ukraine" title to Filaret Denisenko

"Honorary acting spiritual mentor" of the OCU "Patriarch" Filaret Denisenko and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko

On January 8, 2019, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the Decree on conferring upon the “honorary acting spiritual mentor” of the newly-established church structure "Patriarch" Filaret Denisenko the title of the Hero of Ukraine with the award of the Order of the State, reports the official site of the Presidential Administration.

The presidential press service says that the 'Hero of Ukraine' title is being awarded to Filaret for his outstanding historical role in the establishment of an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, activities aimed at reviving the spirituality of the Ukrainian people, strengthening the authority of Orthodoxy, promoting ideals of compassion and interreligious harmony.

The President himself called Denisenko "the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian people".

"The measure that can be used to measure the contribution of Patriarch Filaret to the fight for the Local Church has not yet been invented. He was, is and remains the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian church, the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian people. That is why I've decided to award him the 'Hero of Ukraine' title," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook on January 8.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted in favour of including the anniversary of Filaret Denisenko in the list of memorable dates for 2019.

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