OCU announces end of Filaret schism

Dumenko and Denysenko. Photo: OCU

The OCU has declared that the Filaret schism, which began in 2019, is over. The announcement was made in a statement issued by its Bishops’ Council on July 15, 2026, and signed by Serhiy Dumenko.

The “bishops,” who met at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra seized from the UOC, stated that “despite frantic attempts by pro-Russian forces and other opponents of OCU unity to obstruct reconciliation” between Serhiy Dumenko and Filaret Denysenko, “we succeeded in overcoming the crisis that arose in 2019.”

The statement does not explain which forces allegedly obstructed Dumenko’s reconciliation with Filaret or what this reconciliation consisted of in practical terms. The OCU “hierarchs” merely noted that, for the first time, they were celebrating the Baptism of Rus’ at St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral, where Filaret had served throughout his life.

Filaret, who restored his Kyiv Patriarchate shortly after the OCU was established, continued to insist on the independence of his structure until the end of his life and forbade representatives of Dumenko’s organization from conducting his funeral.

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