New “patriarch” of UOC–KP fires his chancellor
Marutsak alongside OCU “hierarchs” at Filaret’s funeral service in St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral. Photo: Marutsak’s Facebook page
On March 23, 2026, the new “patriarch” of the UOC–KP, Nikodym Kobzar, issued a decree dismissing “Archbishop” Andriy Marutsak from his post as chancellor of that structure. He was also removed from the permanent members of the Kyiv Patriarchate’s synod.
Marutsak, the only member of the UOC–KP “episcopate” admitted by the OCU to Filaret’s funeral service on March 22, appeared at the ceremony in episcopal vestments alongside OCU members.
At the same time, the OCU considers Marutsak defrocked. In 2019, the synod of that structure banned him from ministry, and in 2022 it found him “guilty of canonical violations” and stripped him of rank.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the UOC–KP had elected a new “patriarch.”
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