Filaret Denysenko approves the ban on the UOC and calls for unification

Filaret Denysenko. Photo: Kommersant

On August 21, 2024, the head of the UOC-KP, Filaret Denysenko, issued a statement welcoming the adoption of Law 8371, which effectively bans the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). In his statement, published on the official website of the UOC-KP, he condemned attempts to forcibly transfer UOC communities to another jurisdiction and proposed creating a new religious structure with patriarchal status through unification.

"Without conducting a dialogue between the state, other Orthodox churches in Ukraine, and the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate), the attempt to force parishes to switch to another denomination and the unreasonable implementation of the law could negatively affect believers and clergy towards any unification efforts and deepen divisions within Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Therefore, I urge all Orthodox branches – the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate), the OCU, and the UOC-KP – to engage in dialogue, hold a council, and unite into a single Ukrainian Orthodox Church," Filaret emphasized.

The head of the UOC-KP stated that such unification would be a "logical and effective way to prevent the activities of Russian religious communities."

As reported by the UOJ, Filaret's structure stated that after receiving the Tomos from the Patriarch of Constantinople, representatives of the newly formed OCU, who were former members of the UOC-KP, organized persecution of those who refused to leave Filaret's "church".

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