OCU accuses UOC-KP members of “crimes against canonical order”
Epifaniy Dumenko and Nikodym Kobzar. Photo: UOJ collage
On April 3, 2026, a meeting of the OCU’s “holy synod” was held in Kyiv, where participants condemned what they described as the “anti-canonical activity” of a group of individuals calling themselves the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate.
According to the organization’s press service, that name is officially reserved for the OCU, which it describes as the “sole universal legal successor” of the liquidated structure.
The OCU stated that representatives of the UOC-KP are “arbitrarily appropriating titles” and committing “crimes against canonical order and church unity.” The statement referred to Archimandrite Nikodym Kobzar, Danyil Kudybin, Mykhailo Kovaliuk, and Nikon Hrabliuk, who, according to the OCU, have unlawfully assumed “episcopal titles.”
“Church judicial proceedings have been initiated against each of them, and they have been summoned to provide explanations at the next meeting of the Holy Synod in May of this year,” the OCU said.
Earlier, UOJ wrote that, in the OCU’s view, those ordained by Filaret after the Tomos are not bishops.
Read also
Serbian Patriarch offers condolences over murder of Sviatohirsk Lavra monk
The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church called Sviatohirsk Lavra a refuge for the displaced and urged that the monk’s violent death not be turned into anyone’s weapon.
“Never seen before”: Israel reports record number of Hasidim in Uman
According to an Israeli police representative, 52,000 pilgrims are currently in Uman – 10,000 more than last year. The city itself has a population of about 75,000.
UOC faithful hold prayer vigil outside Lavra for more than 1,000 days
For three and a half years, Orthodox Christians have continued praying for peace and for the preservation of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Zelensky congratulates Jews on Rosh Hashanah
Volodymyr Zelensky wished Jews peace and the triumph of good over evil.
Kyiv Theological Academy publishes book on Orthodoxy in 17th-century Ukraine
With the blessing of the UOC Primate, the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary has published a textbook marking the 430th anniversary of the birth of St. Petro Mohyla.