Dark Patriarch. Truth about Filaret

The film features a life path of the “patriarch” of the biggest schism ever in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy, from his being “a Ukrainian-phobic clergyman, loyal to the Soviet power, and opponent of the church autocephaly to splitting the Church and becoming a radical nationalist”.

“Behind the curtains of his words about patriotism Filaret skillfully diverts attention from the fact he was long ago thrown out of the Church and currently ranks as a secular man – Mikhail Denisenko. His “Kiev Patriarchate”, respectively, is a non-canonical structure which is recognized by none of the Domestic Orthodox Churches, which is devoid of God’s grace leading to salvation”, as the film annotation states.

The film authors wonder how a person, who was involved in a number of improper deeds, managed to produce impact on such a considerable amount of Ukrainian believers and regular citizens.

Obedience to Patriarch and bishop: ROC's new ordination questionnaire

The Synod-approved ordination questionnaire requires clergy to "obey the Patriarch in all things." How does this square with Church canons and the ROC's own position on primacy?

A political commissar’s vocabulary: Three interviews with Epifaniy Dumenko

In just six days, the OCU leader managed to call an end to church seizures “capitulation,” describe Lavra monks as “hired hands,” and portray the U.S. vice president as a victim of propaganda.

The Council of Crete: a decade of unity in name only

Constantinople marked the anniversary of the Council of Crete with a theological conference in France. They spoke about the unity of Orthodoxy, although over the past years there has noticeably been less of it.

Yelensky’s plan: Why is DESS demanding what the UOC has already done?

DESS is demanding that the UOC take steps it has already taken, while offering no assurance that further demands will not follow. What is behind Yelensky’s ultimatum?

Why OCU hierarchy lacks canonical ordination: what Local Churches say

The OCU head refuses to address invalidity of his ordinations. But almost all Local Churches speak of it – even those that recognized the OCU.

Why nation-first advocates do not call for peace

Ukraine’s population is declining by nearly one million people a year, and experts are warning of the nation’s demographic extinction. Yet the leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) continue to call for war and mobilization.