UOC faithful honor St. Filaret of Chernihiv

UOC honors the memory of St. Filaret of Chernihiv. Photo: Chernihiv Eparchy

On October 25, 2026, the feast day of St. Filaret, Archbishop of Chernihiv, Archbishop Nikodym of Liubech celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of All Saints of Chernihiv, according to the UOC Chernihiv Eparchy's website.

Concelebrating with Archbishop Nikodym were the church's rector, Archpriest Petro Kaznovetskyi, parish clergy, and other priests of the eparchy.

During the Litany of Fervent Supplication, prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and for the persecuted Church. The service concluded with a rite of glorification and a prayer to St. Filaret.

St. Filaret (born Dmitry Gumilevsky) was born on October 23, 1805, into a priest's family in Tambov Governorate. He headed the sees of Riga (1841–1848), Kharkiv (1848–1859), and Chernihiv (1859–1866). During his ministry in Riga, he established 63 parishes, while in Kharkiv and Chernihiv he devoted considerable attention to theological education and church construction.

He authored The Historical and Statistical Description of the Kharkiv Eparchy and a course in dogmatic theology. The hierarch died on August 9, 1866, in Konotop while visiting his flock during a cholera epidemic. On April 14, 2009, the UOC canonized him as a locally venerated saint of the Chernihiv Eparchy.

St. Filaret's relics rest alongside those of St. Theodosiy in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Chernihiv's Trinity-St. Elijah Monastery, which was taken away from UOC believers.

As previously reported by the UOJ, performers from a drama theater staged a dance in front of the holy relics at the Chernihiv cathedral.

Read also