Dnipro mayor states major benefactor of Phanar and OCU is criminal authority

Patriarch Bartholomew and Petrovsky. Photo: the Austrian Metropolis's press service

Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov stated that the well-known patron of the Constantinople Patriarchate and OCU Oleksandr Petrovsky is a criminal authority and his reputation cannot be whitewashed by any participation in church events. Filatov spoke about this in an interview with "Ukrainska Pravda".

“Since the Poroshenko times, the aforementioned Oleksandr Petrovsky has become known as a major benefactor and religious figure who helped Ukraine obtain the Tomos. He has already moved into the category of a semi-mythical figure – they even composed songs about themselves: ‘We are the ones who are not afraid of bullets and know who is who and whose rights are whose, something blah-blah-blah, the Dnipropetrovsk brotherhood,’” the mayor of Dnipro said ironically.

According to him, neither the Tomos, nor assistance to Mechnikov Hospital, nor so-called patronage will help Narik «because his reputation can no longer be whitewashed by anything».

Filatov recalled Petrovsky in the context of the Bali scandal, where Ihor Komarov, who was kidnapped and later killed, reported that Petrovsky provided security for fraudulent call centers, receiving $15,000 a month from a single office for this.

Recall that in the Constantinople Patriarchate, for large-scale financial assistance, Petrovsky was called "our archon". In November 2025, Petrovsky was granted an audience with Patriarch Bartholomew. And in September, Petrovsky was awarded the highest award of the Austrian Metropolis – the «Golden Cross». According to the Metropolitan of Austria, Petrovsky was awarded "for his sincere attitude toward the hierarch and the Ecumenical Throne, and for all his donations to this day, as well as his very readiness to help and support us in the future».

In 2020, Petrovsky received a certificate and order from the OCU.

In 2019, Petrovsky was part of the Ukrainian delegation that received the Tomos in Istanbul. Advisor to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Rostislav Pavlenko, explained then that Petrovsky was present at the signing of the Tomos because entry to the temple was free, and anyone could end up there.

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