ROC patriarch bans Archimandrite Kirill (Govorun) from priesthood

Archimandrite of the ROC Kirill (Govorun) (center) at a “service” with OCU clerics. Photo: Ivan Sydor’s Facebook page

On 25 September 2023, Patriarch Kirill of the ROC, by decree No. U-02/152, banned Archimandrite Kirill (Govorun) from priesthood, according to the website of the Moscow Diocese of the ROC.

The text of the decree states that Govorun repeatedly violated a “written pledge of loyalty to the ROC,” which “was expressed, among other things, in your concelebration with bishops and clergy of the Church of Constantinople, with which, by decision of the Holy Synod, eucharistic communion has been broken because of a flagrant intrusion into the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

The Patriarch of the ROC did not mention Govorun’s concelebration with OCU clerics.

The archimandrite’s case will be reviewed by the diocesan court of the Moscow Diocese. Pending review, Govorun was barred from serving, without the right to wear a cassock or a priestly cross, or to impart a priestly blessing.

By way of reminder, on 13 August 2023, Govorun served at St Andrew’s Church in Kyiv together with the Phanar’s exarch, Bishop Michael (Anishchenko).

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in 2020, Govorun served in the Warm Church of St Sofia of Kyiv with OCU “priests.”

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