UOC-KP Dioceses Reject Filaret’s 'Coerced' OCU Meeting, Defends Independence

Denysenko and Dumenko. Photo: OCU

KYIV — Several dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) have denounced a recent meeting by their "patriarch" Filaret Denysenko to Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) head Epifaniy Dumenko. According to a report from the UOJ's Ukraine bureau, the UOC-KP claims that Denysenko was coerced, abducted, placed under psychotropic influence, and pressured to dissolve the Kyiv Patriarchate.

In a fiery statement posted on their Facebook, the Odesa-Balta Eparchy, led by Bishop Nikon, vowed to “defend our Primate to the end” and dismissed claims of Filaret’s “voluntary surrender” as baseless propaganda lacking legal force. It highlighted Filaret’s sound-minded spiritual testament, which OCU representatives allegedly seek to destroy via his inner circle—a plot it declared doomed to fail.

The UOC-KP has reported Filaret’s sharp health decline since August. They claim the OCU has exploited his weakened state by limiting access by KP clergy to their "patriarch." Denysenko was also supposedly forced to travel to St. Michael’s Monastery to sign liquidation documents. “No unification on schismatic terms,” he asserted. The Kyiv Patriarchate endures despite threats to seize St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral.

The dioceses reaffirmed loyalty to a truly independent Ukrainian Church, throned in “golden-domed Kyiv,” free from Moscow, Constantinople, or Rome. Earlier, the OCU publicized Filaret’s visit with a “letter of gratitude,” fueling the controversy.

Earlier today, the UOJ-USA reported that Constantinople's confidence in the OCU has been weakened in recent months, due in part to the opposition of the UOC-KP to Dumenko and his state-backed church.

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