Dismissed UOC-KP chancellor says he does not recognize new “patriarch”
Andriy Marutsak accused a group of hierarchs of a “canonical mutiny” and said he does not recognize either his dismissal as chancellor of the UOC-KP or the newly proclaimed “patriarch.”
On March 30, 2026, Andriy Marutsak announced what he described as a “canonical coup” and a usurpation of power within the UOC-KP in a statement published on his Facebook page. The “hierarch” claimed that a group of bishops had grossly violated the church charter and ignored the will of the late head of the structure.
According to Marutsak, Filaret Denysenko personally instructed him twice in 2025 to convene the Holy Synod immediately on the day of his death in order to elect a locum tenens. This, he said, was necessary to ensure that the body would not be left without lawful governance. However, when he tried to hold the session, a group of “hierarchs” blocked the Synod’s work. Instead, they unilaterally declared the opening of a “Council of Bishops” and demanded an immediate vote for a new “patriarch.”
Marutsak stressed that the actions of the “conspirators” were a direct violation of the UOC-KP charter. Under that document, he said, during the inter-patriarchal period the structure is governed exclusively by the Synod under the chairmanship of the locum tenens, while a new head may be elected only by a Local Council, not by a group of bishops meeting behind closed doors. He described what had happened as a “conspiracy and mutiny,” citing Canon 18 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, which prescribes complete defrocking for such actions.
In his statement, Marutsak also addressed what he called the “illegitimacy” of Nikodym, whom the participants in the meeting proclaimed the new head of the UOC-KP. Marutsak said he does not recognize his status and considers all decrees issued by him to be “canonically null and void.” That, he said, includes the order dismissing him as chancellor and removing him from the Synod.
“The deliberate disregard for and trampling upon the final will of our spiritual father and mentor is evidence of the deep spiritual crisis of those who took this step,” the dismissed chancellor said.
He called on his opponents to cast aside their “personal ambitions” and return to a lawful framework, warning that only a leader lawfully elected by a Council would carry weight in the Orthodox world.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the new “patriarch” of the UOC-KP had dismissed the chancellor.
