> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://uoj.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Leaked Church Document: Poroshenko, Ukrainian Security Services Pressured 2018 Unification Council - URL: https://uoj.news/news/leaked-church-document-poroshenko-ukrainian-security-services-pressured-2018-unification-council/ - Published: 2026-09-28T13:28:02.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-28T14:22:44.000Z - Description: Constantinople’s own account describes surveillance, presidential intervention, and efforts to prevent its delegation from leaving Ukraine. - Author: Aaron Hickman - Tags: #Category: News, Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine Schism, OCU, Filaret Denisenko, Epiphany Dumenko, Patriarchate of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew, Unification Council, Church and State, #Top pinned A document relaying the events of the days leading up to, and including, the Unification Council of the Eastern Orthodox Churches of Ukraine to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has been leaked to the Union of Orthodox Journalists of America. An investigation by UOJ-America has determined that the document was authored by [Metropolitan Gregorios of Ankara](https://orthodoxtimes.com/archimandrite-gregorios-is-the-new-metropolitan-of-ankara-video/), who at the time of the 2018 council was a deacon of the Patriarchal Court at the Phanar — however, Metropolitan Gregorios will be referred to by his current title throughout this article. The document’s metadata shows that it was worked on by Gregorios from December 28, 2018, to January 8, 2019\. At the time of publication, His Eminence has not responded to UOJ-America’s request for comment. The chronicle – more than 20 pages in length – adds further light to recent statements about the immense political pressure placed on the Ecumenical Patriarchate to establish the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) from the existing clergy of two schismatic groups in the country – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). The council resulted in the election of Metropolitan Epiphany (secular name Serhii Dumenko) as the head of the OCU. [![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/09/swiss-elder-patr-bartholomew-faced-intense-us-pressure-over-ukraine.jpg)On this topicSwiss Elder: Patr. Bartholomew Faced 'Intense' US Pressure Over Ukraine](https://uoj.news/news/swiss-elder-patr-bartholomew-faced-intense-us-pressure-over-ukraine/) Metropolitan Gregorios recounts how Petro Poroshenko, then President of Ukraine, and the chiefs of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) kept the delegation under 24-hour surveillance and day-long negotiations, at one point sending police to seize their passports and escort them to the Presidential Palace. All along, His Eminence sought to assure Patriarch Bartholomew of his undying loyalty while painting himself as a valiant defender of the “rights of the Mother Church” — even as others wavered. --- ### **Poroshenko's presence** Metropolitan Gregorios begins his communication by explaining that he obeyed the Ecumenical Patriarch’s command to travel to Kyiv and assist Metropolitan Emmanuel of France with secretarial work related to the council. He arrived in the city on December 10, 2018, attending introductory meetings, including one with Poroshenko where the president assured Emmanuel and Gregorios that they were “moving full speed straight ahead” toward the council. After this, Emmanuel presented Poroshenko with the draft of the Statutory Charter of what would become the OCU so he could “forward it to all the parties for their separate study.” On December 12, Gregorios describes work done from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the same Statutory Charter of the OCU with “representatives of all the factions.” Included in this work was Rostyslav Pavlenko, who had recently changed positions from Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine to Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies. On January 22, 2019, he was given the Order of Liberty by President Poroshenko for his role in securing the Tomos of Autocephaly for the OCU. Also participating in the work on December 12 was Andrii Yurash, who Metropolitan Gregorios describes as “the official responsible for religious affairs.” Since 2021, Yurash has served as Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican. In talks with the aforementioned political figures, as well as religious figures from all the ecclesiastical groups involved, Gregorios insists that the delegation “used every means in defense of the age-old privileges of the Holy Great Church of Christ” in the process of reaching the final text for the Unification Council. During a later meeting with Pavlenko, Yurash, and Metropolitan Eustratius of the UOC-KP, the wish for Filaret Denysenko to serve as president of the Holy Synod and Exarch throughout Ukraine, with all the rights of a Primate – convening of a synod, episcopal elections, depositions, etc. – was expressed to Constantinople’s representatives. In response to this, Metropolitan Emmanuel explained that this was impossible, “because it would constitute an unprecedented act in the ecclesiology of the Orthodox Church and would make us a laughingstock throughout Orthodoxy.” The UOC-KP hierarch threatened that without this assurance, no council would take place. He was backed up by the state officials, who Gregorios notes had agreed that they would persuade the elderly Filaret to back out of his quest for power until that moment. Metropolitan Gregorios then quotes Metropolitan Emmanuel as stating, “Let us conclude the Council, and after it do as you know how.” He goes on to state that the delegation, feeling deflated, returned to the guesthouse to receive Metropolitan Amphilochios of Adrianople, who encouraged them to not give in to Filaret’s demands. Metropolitan Emmanuel spoke with Patriarch Bartholomew over the phone and was instructed to explain the situation to Poroshenko, who was away in Brussels. On the night of December 13, Poroshenko summoned Metropolitan Emmanuel to the Presidential Palace for a consultation about Filaret’s insistence. This meeting lasted until roughly 2 a.m., and Emmanuel returned unoptimistic, stating: > *“Unfortunately, we shall fail… Entering the office, I saw, besides the President, His Eminence Filaret and the head of the secret services. During the discussion, the elder Filaret was unyielding and inflexible, refusing any reduction of his demands. He also had the President’s silent support. We arrived nowhere.”* The delegation then resolved to continue their communication with one another in complete silence, writing on paper due to the “constant surveillance of everything in the building.” A decision was made to submit the idea to the Ecumenical Patriarch that they depart Ukraine, otherwise Poroshenko, Filaret, and the others would not be persuaded by the severity of the disagreement. When Pavlenko learned of their intention to leave, he notified Poroshenko “in terror,” resulting in Metropolitan Emmanuel being asked to stop at the Presidential Palace; several hours later the police arrived to take members of the delegation to the Presidential Palace. In Poroshenko’s office was the chief of the Ukrainian secret police, and a visibly shaken Metropolitan Emmanuel, who informed his companions that they were forbidden to leave the country. The narrative claims a tense phone call between Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew then took place, during which Poroshenko agreed to get Filaret to sign a document stating he would drop his campaign for special powers immediately. Within an hour, Poroshenko returned with Filaret’s signature. However, the pressure did not end there. After departing from the Presidential Palace, Metropolitan Emmanuel proposed that the group go to a restaurant to discuss what would come next. “The noteworthy fact is that, throughout the ‘meal,’ more than ten secret agents moved around us, making little effort to conceal their secret character,” Metropolitan Gregorios writes. Then, on December 15, the very day of the council, Filaret refused to sign the documents necessary for the council to proceed. Several political figures went to speak with him: former President Viktor Yushchenko, the speaker of Parliament, and Poroshenko once more. After some resistance, Filaret eventually gave in. ![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/09/2e8637ba-ddae-4881-942a-9a7dd7396052.png) Poroshenko (left) pictured with Metropolitan Emmanuel (right) at the unification council. Photo: UNIAN Despite the best efforts of the Constantinopolitan delegation, Poroshenko’s role in not only organizing the council, but at times even presiding over it, is often evident. He waited outside the St. Sophia Cathedral, escorted the delegation in, and took the floor after Metropolitan Emmanuel opened the council; Poroshenko was approached to accept, then rejected, a nomination for Primate, was seen “restoring order,” and then presenting the new “Metropolitan of Kyiv” after the council. Metropolitan Gregorios writes the following: > *“Metropolitan Filaret took the floor and said: ‘Is it possible that we are deprived of the right of election? Everyone here has a name and title. I do not. Why? Furthermore, we as a faction have chosen our own candidate. Let us vote by open ballot.’ His intervention momentarily disturbed the waters. Indeed, a man dressed in military uniform approached the President and demanded Filaret’s candidacy, but the President restored order.”* Speaking of the conclusion of the council, Metropolitan Gregorios further states: > *“As the bells rang joyfully throughout Kyiv, everyone went out to the square, where His Excellency the President presented the Primate, amid acclamations, before the thousands of faithful who had waited patiently in the cold since morning for the results.”* Later that day, the Speaker of Parliament bestowed honors upon Constantinople’s Exarchs. They departed Ukraine on December 16, 2018. Questions have been raised about Poroshenko’s involvement in the council’s deliberations since photos from the council showed him seated in the second place of honor, to the right of Metropolitan Emmanuel. This document sheds light on what exactly that involvement looked like. Tangentially, Metropolitan Gregorios also shares notes about a meeting the delegation held with Yönet Can Tezel, the Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine, in which the ambassador asked the group if the presence of Poroshenko diminished the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate due to principles regarding the “unobstructed performance of religious duties without interference by the state.” “We answered that the presence of the President gave no grounds for a diminution of the rights of the Throne, since his presence was considered a unifying one among the tendencies existing within the ecclesiastical body,” Gregorios writes. In Poroshenko’s speech introducing Epiphany as the newly elected primate of the OCU, however, he touted the event as one both spiritual and political in nature. “We finally get spiritual independence, which can be compared to gaining political independence,” he said, after revealing that his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko was the one who began the dialogue with Constantinople. ![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/09/daa5c3be-a2e1-4820-8421-b16be52ccfb2.png) Poroshenko (left) speaks at the introduction of Metropolitan Epiphany (right) as the head of the newly created OCU. Photo: news.cgtn.com The following sentiment was expressed by journalist Konstantin Skorkin in [his coverage](https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/posts/2018/12/the-new-church-politics-of-ukraine) of the event: > *“No matter how much it can claim historical justice, the church is tainted by being associated with the election campaign of President Petro Poroshenko... At the historic council meeting, Poroshenko had a privileged seat and made powerful speeches about the split from Moscow — while incidentally making no mention of Jesus, as the Orthodox writer Sergei Chapnin pointed out. Poroshenko was the man of the hour. A casual observer might have believed that he was the one being elected the head of the church.”* “The new Church is therefore completely politically dependent on the president of Ukraine from day one of its existence,” Chapnin wrote in [his piece](https://web.archive.org/web/20240223202223/https://raamoprusland.nl/dossiers/religie/1171-oekraiense-kerk-is-porosjenko-s-kloon-van-poetins-religieus-politieke-project). --- ### **Notes on the document** The official title of the document submitted to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is “Chronicle of the Week of the Clergy Laity Council in Kyiv for the Election of the First Primate of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine Kenotically Created by the Mother Church.” These events came after the November 3, 2018, signing of the [agreement](https://www.uocofusa.org/news%5F181103%5F2) "On Cooperation and Interaction between Ukraine and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople" by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. ![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0558.jpeg) On November 3, 2018, President Petro Poroshenko (left) and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (right) signed an agreement to begin creation of a new autocephalous church in Ukraine. Photo: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA While the chronicle is not written entirely in Katharevousa, much of the document follows the structure, style, and formal tone expected in a Greek communication that is ecclesiastical in nature and directed to a patriarch. The named hierarchs of the Constantinopolitan delegation sent to Kyiv to conduct the council were Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (now of Chalcedon), Metropolitan Amphilochios of Adrianople, Archbishop Daniel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, and Metropolitan Hilarion of Edmonton. Daniel would be awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (V Degree) by the State of Ukraine on January 5, 2019, for his work on the council. Emmanuel was the leader of the delegation and was tasked with presiding over the council. While there may have been other bishops and priests present, no official list has ever been produced by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. [Media coverage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FvXGF4Qs0ew) of a Divine Liturgy held in Kyiv on December 13, 2018, depicts then-Deacon Gregorios serving with Metropolitan Emmanuel and others, placing the author of the document directly in the center of the events he is relaying to Patriarch Bartholomew. The same liturgy is referenced extensively by Gregorios in the document. ![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/09/d14f0d8d-bfa1-45a5-9940-0af9bd984a13.png) Deacon Gregorios, now Metropolitan Gregorios Ankara, is pictured serving at left on December 13, 2018, in Kyiv. Photo: UNIAN The original Greek document is attached below. --- ### **Background on the council** The unification council was held on December 15, 2018, with the stated intention of uniting the various Orthodox entities in Ukraine into one jurisdiction. Those groups were the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) – which was universally recognized as the only legitimate jurisdiction in the country by all local Orthodox churches at the time of the council – and two schismatic groups in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). It is worth noting that the latter two groups were universally recognized as schismatic bodies existing outside of the Orthodox Church. Furthermore, on November 13, 2018, the Holy Synod of the UOC had [declared](https://news.church.ua/2018/11/13/postanovlenie-sobora-episkopov-ukrainskoj-pravoslavnoj-cerkvi-ot-13-noyabrya-2018-goda/?lang=ru) the October 11 [announcement](https://ec-patr.org/en/12/10/00/00/announcement-11-10-2018/) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate “invalid” and canonically “null and void.” One item from the UOC declaration stated the following: > *"The Council of Bishops notes that the process of granting the so-called Tomos of autocephaly is artificial, is imposed from without, does not reflect internal Church necessity, will not bring real Church unity, and will deepen the division and strengthen the conflicts among the people of Ukraine. Under such conditions, we consider the participation of the episcopacy, clergy, and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in these processes impossible."* Only two out of more than one hundred bishops of the canonical UOC refused to sign this declaration and participate in the unification council. The result of the council was the creation of a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) with Metropolitan Epiphany (secular name Serhii Dumenko) as its head. On January 5, 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew issued a Tomos of Autocephaly to the newly created OCU. In Orthodox ecclesiology, this act gives a local church the right to govern itself without any external administrative control. The self-proclaimed Patriarch Filaret Denysenko, who had established his Kyiv Patriarchate in an act of schism from the UOC in the 1990s, was a key figure in the council, often providing roadblocks to the delegation from Constantinople which did not want him elected as primate of the new structure, and which reminded him that he was a schismatic who would die outside of the Church if he did not concede. His protege was elected instead, and while Filaret offered his blessing and initially joined the OCU following the granting of autocephaly, he soon thereafter revived the UOC-KP, which he remained in until his death on March 20, 2026. Confusingly, the OCU is officially registered with the Ukrainian government as the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine).” The UOC – not to be confused with the OCU – remains the largest religious denomination in Ukraine today. For its part, the UOC stated the following after the conclusion of the council: > *“For our Church, essentially nothing has changed, since the schismatics have remained in schism, while the Ukrainian Orthodox Church remains the true Church of Christ in Ukraine. No one in the world questions the validity of the episcopal and priestly ordinations of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the grace-filled nature of the Mysteries celebrated in our Church, which cannot be said of the newly formed structure.”* UOJ-America will continue to report on this story as it develops.