UOC-KP: Any decisions by OCU about Kyiv Patriarchate are canonically null
“Patriarch” Nikodym. Photo: UOC-KP press service
On April 3, 2026, the UOC-KP’s media relations department issued an official statement in response to claims made by the structure led by Dumenko. The organization stressed that any decrees issued by his structure concerning its clergy “are canonically null, not subject to execution, and cannot be recognized as valid under any circumstances.”
According to representatives of the Kyiv Patriarchate, Dumenko’s organization has no canonical jurisdiction whatsoever over the territory of Ukraine.
The statement also emphasized that the current head of the UOC-KP, “Patriarch” Nikodym, “has never been a member of the OCU” and has belonged exclusively to the Kyiv Patriarchate since 1993. The organization added that its leader “has never been suspended from ministry,” and therefore any attempts to challenge his status are without force.
“The active attempts by the leadership of this structure to prove that the Kyiv Patriarchate allegedly ‘does not exist’ are the best proof that it does exist,” the press service said. It described the opposing statements as “the product of the fevered imagination of an odious leadership.”
Earlier, the OCU accused members of the UOC-KP of “crimes against canonical order.”
Read also
OCU activist admits breaking into UOC church in Sloviansk
Oleksandr Onyshchenko said that the OCU held its first "service" at the Seraphim Church, which had previously been broken into by forcing the locks and doors.
Archimandrite Ioustinos, longtime keeper of Jacob's Well, dies in Jordan
Archimandrite Ioustinos (Mamallos), the keeper of Jacob's Well in Nablus, has died after a prolonged illness.
Pilgrim group from Kyiv Theological Seminary visits Mount Athos
KTS students are making a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Romania, Greece, Mount Athos and Italy.
UOC cathedral celebrates its patronal feast in Ternopil
The service in the cathedral of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia was led by Metropolitan Serhii of Ternopil, concelebrated by four hierarchs.
MinCulture marks centenary of Soviet-era reserve at Lavra's Refectory Church
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture presented awards to the Reserve's employees on the occasion of the anniversary at the Refectory Church of the Lavra.
Conference to mark 1700th anniversary of Christianity adoption held in Georgia
In Georgia, representatives of the Church and the state noted the defining role of Christianity in the country's cultural development.