Filaret defines the condition for autocephaly: to deprive UOC of the name

The head of the Kiev Patriarchate, the so-called "Patriarch" Filaret

During a press conference in Lutsk, the head of the UOC-KP, the so-called "Patriarch" Filaret, said that one of the prerequisites for the creation of the SLC should be to deprive the canonical UOC of its name.

"This must be a condition for the state, that the Church is not Ukrainian. Because there is nothing Ukrainian there. Once you serve the Russian Church, you should be called Russian," Filaret told journalists. "Who, living in Ukraine, wants to be in this Church and serve Russia, let them serve, but they know that we treat such as the "fifth column"."

Also, the leader of schismatics once again confirmed the intention to transfer Ukrainian lavras to their jurisdiction. According to him, the state, thanks to the laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, will be able to "transfer" the Pochaev and Kiev-Pechersk Lavras to the newly formed Church.

In addition to talking to journalists, Filaret held a service in Lutsk, after which he addressed his "flock" with a welcome word, in which he admitted that the Kiev Patriarchate is an organization unrecognized in the Orthodox world. "Our Church is autocephalous, great, but still not recognized. And we need this Tomos on autocephaly as recognition of our Church by the world Orthodoxy," Filaret said. "We pray that the Lord will continue to inspire the Ecumenical Patriarch not to step back from his intention. And to encourage our President and the Verkhovna Rada to bring this matter to the end."

Not so long ago, Filaret said that the Kiev Patriarchate does not want to be subordinate to Constantinople. At the same time, the spokesperson of the UOC KP Eustratii Zoria stressed that the schismatics see only Filaret at the head of the newly created SLC. He also accused of corruption the hierarchs of Local Orthodox Churches who do not recognize the Kiev Patriarchate.

Read also

Paris police break up peaceful protest against euthanasia

Outside the National Assembly in Paris, police cracked down on opponents of euthanasia legalization and took several activists into custody.

Family of Kyiv priest abducted by TRC says they have lost contact with him

Relatives of Archpriest Yaroslav Kruhlenko say they have been unable to reach him since he was detained by officers of the TRC and have no information about where he is being held.

Penitential canon read at Zabolottia’s persecuted UOC parish

The Orthodox community of St. Elijah on Bukovyna, deprived of its church in May 2025, is serving the services of Great Lent in a renovated space adapted for prayer.

Prosecutor’s Office demands that UOC hand over to state Staryi Pochaiv church

The Ternopil regional prosecutor’s office is seeking, through the courts, to annul the registration of ownership rights to the 17th-century Holy Protection (Intercession) Church of the UOC in the village of Staryi Pochaiv.

Centuries-old crosses from Serbian graves hauled away as scrap in Croatia

Municipal services in the Croatian town of Vrbovsko removed Orthodox crosses from cemeteries under the pretext of “danger to visitors.”

Reserve replaces Lavra Caves’ saints’ nameplates with Ukrainian-language signs

Online, people have shown what new changes the National Reserve has introduced in the caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery.