Dumenko: We pray for Filaret so that no one from Muscovy will rule over us

Filaret and Epifaniy. Photo: OCU website

On April 28, 2026, on the 40th day since the death of Filaret Denysenko, OCU head Serhii Dumenko held a memorial “service” at St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral.

According to a Facebook post by Dumenko, he retains “love for him as a hierarch who made a major historical contribution to the development of the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

“Therefore, it is our duty to continue praying for the repose of the soul of the departed His Holiness Patriarch Filaret and to continue the work of developing the autocephalous Church. So that the yoke of the ‘Russian world’ may never again weigh upon Orthodox believers in Ukraine. So that from the lands and thrones of Moscow no one will ever again rule over us, bending us to servitude either through intimidation or through flattering promises,” Dumenko said.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Filaret, Dumenko had awaited his death in order to take over his residence on Pushkinska Street in Kyiv.

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