| Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Abbreviation | UOC-KP |
| Type | Eastern Orthodox |
| Classification |
|
| Primate | PatriarchFilaret |
| Language | Ukrainian,Church Slavonic |
| Headquarters |  Kyiv,Ukraine |
| Territory | Ukraine |
| Founder | MetropolitanFilaret (Denysenko) |
| Independence | 1992 |
| Separated from | |
| Merged into | Orthodox Church of Ukraine (2018) |
| Defunct | 15 December 2018 (Reneged and re-established since 2019) |
| Members | Reported as 25 percent of religious Ukrainian population byRazumkov Centre (2016); less than 100,000 (2019) |
| Official website | Ukrainian Orthodox Church |
TheUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP;Ukrainian:Украї́нська Правосла́вна Це́рква – Ки́ївський Патріарха́т (УПЦ-КП),romanized: Ukrainska Pravoslavna Tserkva — Kyivskyi Patriarkhat (UPTs-KP)) was anOrthodox church in Ukraine, in existence from 1992 to 2018. Its patriarchal cathedral wasSt Volodymyr's Cathedral inKyiv.
After its unilateral declaration ofautocephaly in 1992, the UOC-KP was not recognised by the otherEastern Orthodox churches, and was considered a "schismatic group" by the Moscow Patriarchate and Ecumenical Patriarchate.[1][2][3] PatriarchFilaret (Denysenko) was enthroned in 1995 andexcommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1997,[4][5] an action not recognized by the UOC-KPsynod.[6] In 2018, theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople moved unilaterally and against canonical norms to facilitate a "unification council", in contradiction to his previous statement "recognizing the fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church's exclusive competence on this issue".[7] The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church rejected these overtures, noting its universal recognition as sole canonical authority on the territory of Ukraine and the political nature of the proposed council.[8] Constantinople ignored this, "reinstated" Filaret as a bishop and facilitated the convening of a unification council.[9][10][11][12][13] In December 2018, theunification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine decided to unite the UOC-KP with theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), creating theOrthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) which was subsequently grantedautocephaly by theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in January 2019.
Aconflict between Filaret and Epiphanius, the Metropolitan of the OCU following the December 2018 unification council, erupted and resulted in Filaret claiming continuation of the UOC-KP on 20 June 2019. The UOC-KP is not currently recognized by, or in communion with any of the mainstream Orthodox churches that are members of Eastern Orthodoxy. The OCU is recognized by only three of the fourteen universally recognized autocephalous churches.
The Kyiv Patriarchate considers itself anindependent church,[14] a successor of theMetropolis of Kyiv and all Rus[14] which existed under the Ecumenical Patriarchate until 1686 (when Constantinople transferred it to the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church). In January 1992, after Ukraine became an independent state during thedissolution of the Soviet Union, the Moscow Patriarchate was able to freely elect a new Patriarch. Filaret was passed over in favor of Alexius II. Embroiled in scandal, Metropolitan of KyivFilaret promised the Synod of Ukraine to resign his position.[15] Before this could occur, he convened a small assembly of bishops from western Ukraine at theKyiv Pechersk Lavra which submitted a request for Ukrainian autocephaly to the Moscow Patriarch.[16] The Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate responded that it would grant autocephaly if the request were made by an official request of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the appeal were addressed to the people of Ukraine, to allow them the opportunity to make their desires known.[17][16]
In June 1992, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church defrocked Filaret Denysenko, citing his refusal to honor his oath to step down as primate of Ukraine, his slander of the council's decisions against him, illegal services, and inciting of schism.[18] That same month, Filaret helped establish the UOC-KP. Its nominal primate was the émigréMstyslav (Skrypnyk), primate of theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Mstyslav never approved the union of the UAOC and UOC-KP.[19] Although Metropolitan Filaret had been the driving force of the Kyiv Patriarchate, it was not until the sudden death of PatriarchVolodymyr (Romaniuk) in July 1995 that he was elected the Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine in October of that year. Filaret had beendefrocked by the Moscow Patriarchate (in which he had been ordained and served as bishop from February 1962 to spring 1992) and was excommunicated in February 1997.[5]
After the2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, 38 of the church's 46 parishes inCrimea ceased to exist; three churches were seized by Russian authorities.[20] The Kyiv Patriarchate is unrecognised by any other Orthodox churches. In April 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate began to consider a request by theUkrainian Parliament and US Government to grant canonical status to the UOC-KP in Ukraine.[21][9]
In early September 2018,Ecumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleBartholomew announced his desire to abolish Constantinople's 1686 transfer of "the region of today'sMetropolis of Kyiv" to the Moscow Patriarchate.[22] On 11 October 2018, after asynod, the Patriarchate of Constantinople renewed an earlier decision to move towards granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.[23][24][25] The synod also withdrew Constantinople's 332-year qualified acceptance of the Russian Orthodox Church's jurisdiction over the Ukrainian Church, contained in a 1686 letter — a move unprecedented in the history of the Orthodox Church.[24][25] It lifted the excommunications of Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) andMetropolitan Makariy of theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC); both bishops were "canonically reinstated to their hierarchical or priestly rank, and their faithful ... restored to communion with the Church."[26][27][28] These moves were widely condemned across the Orthodox world. Virtually every Orthodox Primate protested these decisions, and even Greek bishops wrote rebukes of Constantinople's actions.[29][30]
The following day, the UOC-KP declared that the decision restored the canonical recognition of the episcopate and clergy of the Kyiv Patriarchate.[31][32] It was later clarified that the Ecumenical Patriarchate considered Filaret "the former metropolitan of Kyiv"[33][34][35][36] and Makariy "the former Archbishop of Lviv"[34][35] and, on 2 November 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not recognise the UAOC or the UOC-KP and their leaders.[37][38] The Ecumenical Patriarchate declared that it recognisedsacraments performed by the UOC-KP and the UAOC as valid.[39][40]
On 20 October 2018, the UOC-KP changed the title of its leader to "His Holiness and Beatitude (name), Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kyiv – Mother of the Rus Cities and ofGalicia, Patriarch of AllRus-Ukraine, HolyArchimandrite of the Holy AssumptionKyiv-Pechersk andPochayiv Lavra".[41][42][43] The abridged form is "His Holiness (name), Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine", and the form for interchurch relations is "Archbishop, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine".[41][42][44][45][46][47] The full title and the interchurch-relations version's mention of "archbishop" and "metropolitan" and the abridged form's mention of "patriarch" have caused confusion.[42][43]
On 15 December 2018, theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and UOC-KP hierarchies decided to dissolve the churches. That day, the UAOC, the UOC–KP and two members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) were going to merge to form theOrthodox Church of Ukraine after a unification council.[48]
According to Filaret, "the Kyiv Patriarchate has not been liquidated. It is not liquidated. They want to present the situation as if it was liquidated. The Kyiv Patriarchate can be liquidated by the one who created it".[49][50][51] TheUkrainian Ministry of Culture, "in response to a widely circulated statement by the media, alleging that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate still exists or is being restored in Ukraine", published a report that the UOC-KP had "actually and legally ceased its activities".[52] Filaret said, "The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) remains registered with state bodies. In particular, the Kyiv Patriarchate remains registered. This means the Kyiv Patriarchate continues to legally exist."[53] According to theUkrainian Ministry of Justice, the UOC-KP still existed.[54][55]
The local council of the UOC-KP (convened by Filaret) decided to cancel the decisions of theunification council of the Orthodox churches of Ukraine on 20 June 2019,[56][57] during theconflict between Filaret and Epiphanius.
On 31 July 2019, theUkrainian Ministry of Culture said the UOC-KP had ceased to exist.[58][59] However, on 4 September 2019, theDistrict Administrative Court of Kyiv [uk] suspended the liquidation of the UOC-KP at the request of the UOC-KP.[60][61] On 11 September, another decision of the same court blocked "the Justice Ministry of Ukraine, the Culture Ministry of Ukraine, its structural sub-units, central-government and local authorities, and notaries public from performing any registration regarding the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate [UOC-KP], and their assets"[62][63] On 11 November 2019, theCourt of Appeal of the District Administrative Court of Kyiv confirmed legality of the process of liquidation of the UOC-KP.[64][65]
On 14 December 2019, after the meeting of the enlarged Bishops' Council, held on 14 December in Kyiv on the occasion of the anniversary of the creation of theOCU,Epiphanius declared that the procedure of liquidation of theUAOC as well as theUOC-KP had been completed the day before. He added: "Such structures no longer exist. In confirmation of that, in the State Register there is marked 'activity DISCONTINUED'".[66] In the same month, the UOC-KP stated it did not recognize the liquidation.[67]
In January 2020, the UOC-KP announced that Filaret had officially withdrawn his signature from 15 December 2018 act of dissolution of the UOC-KP.[68][69]
The Kyiv Patriarchate has 44 percent of Orthodox Christians, compared to 12.8 percent for the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. Although the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (UOC-MP) has twice as many parishes, the UOC-KP had three times as many members. The former had 38 percent of all Orthodox and 25 percent of the population in 2016, and the Russian Orthodox had 23 percent of the Orthodox and 15 percent of the population. The UOC-KP had 34 dioceses worldwide, and over 5,100 parishes in Ukraine. Its United States vicariate consisted of 15 parishes, with its main cathedral St. Andrew's inBloomingdale, Illinois.[70] The church had six parishes in Australia, and over 40 inwestern Europe. The Russian government's reported negative influence on the Moscow Patriarchate and claims that it is using the patriarchate as a "tool of influence over Ukraine" led to a renewed April 2018 drive to recognise an independent Ukrainian Orthodox church which, according to Ukrainian PresidentPetro Poroshenko, would help "eliminate internal strife and conflicts within the state."[21][71]
UOC-KP adherents in Ukraine, excludingCrimea and breakaway areas ofDonbas:
| Date | Percentage | Source |
|---|---|---|
| May–June 2016 | 33 | [72] |
| June–July 2017 | 44 | [73] |
| May–June 2018 | 36 | [74] |
In November 1991 the all-Ukrainian sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, called by Metropolitan Filaret Denysenko, issued a request to the patriarch of Moscow for the autocephaly of the Ukrainian church.[75] The sobor of the ROC held in April 1992 refused that request and decided to replace Metropolitan Filaret with Volodymyr Sabodan. In response to this, at the all-Ukrainian sobor in June 1992 one part of the Ukrainian Orthodox church, led by Metropolitan Filaret, decided to separate from the ROC and unite with theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) to form the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate underPatriarch Mstyslav.[75] Mstyslav never approved of the union of the UAOC and the UOC-KP.[75]
Patriarch Mstyslav (Stepan Ivanovych Skrypnyk) was Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus’-Ukraine and primate of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) and Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC–KP) from 1991 to 1993. After Mstyslav's death in 1993, the temporary union ended and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church separated. The primates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate continued to hold the title of patriarch:
On 20 October 2018, the UOC-KP changed the title of its primate to "His Holiness and Beatitude (name), Archbishop and Metropolitan of Kyiv – Mother of the Rus Cities and ofGalicia, Patriarch of AllRus-Ukraine, HolyArchimandrite of the Holy AssumptionKyiv-Pechersk andPochayiv Lavra".[42][43][76] The abridged form is "His Holiness (name), Patriarch of Kyiv and All Russia-Ukraine", and the form for inter-church relations is "Archbishop, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus'-Ukraine".[42][44][45][46][47][76]Metropolitan Hilarion called the bestowal of title a "farce".[2][77]
Before the first disestablishment:[78]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)The Holy Synod discussed in particular and at length the ecclesiastical matter of Ukraine, in the presence of His Excellency Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon and His Grace Bishop Hilarion of Edmonton, Patriarchal Exarchs to Ukraine, and following extensive deliberations decreed:
1) To renew the decision already made that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceed to the granting of Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine. [...]
4) To revoke the legal binding of the Synodal Letter of the year 1686 [...]
the Synod ... of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ... gave further confirmation that Ukraine is on the path to receiving church independence from Moscow. ... Although President Poroshenko triumphantly announced that as a result of the meeting Ukraine had received the long-awaited Tomos, or decree of Church independence – a claim circulated in Ukraine with great enthusiasm, this is not true ... Constantinople's decision will benefit other jurisdictions in Ukraine – theUOC KP andUAOC, which will have to effectively dismantle their own administrative structures and set up a new Church, which will receive the Tomos of autocephaly ... Right now it's unclear which part of theUOC MP will join the new Church. 10 out of 90 UOC MP bishops signed the appeal for autocephaly to the Ecumenical Patriarch – only 11%. But separate priests could join even if their bishops don't, says Zuiev.
3) To accept and review the petitions of appeal of Filaret Denisenko, Makariy Maletych and their followers, who found themselves in schism not for dogmatic reasons, in accordance with the canonical prerogatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople to receive such petitions by hierarchs and other clergy from all of the Autocephalous Churches. Thus, the above-mentioned have been canonically reinstated to their hierarchical or priestly rank, and their faithful have been restored to communion with the Church.
The Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church are planning to merge with pro-independence bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate into an independent (autocephalous) Ukrainian church, which is expected to get a Tomos — a Synod decree recognizing the independence of the Ukrainian church from the Constantinople church. "This decision gives us the opportunity to unite with bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate who are willing (to join)," Filaret said on Oct. 11.
On October 20, the UOC KP Synod changed the title of its head [Filaret]. Now the Church's Primate will also be called the Archimandrite of Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochayiv Lavras, which seemingly reflects Filaret's desire to get them at his disposal. At the moment both Lavras belong to the UOC MP [the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)], so it looks like the "Archimandrite" doesn't want to comply with the fifth point of the Constantinople Synod decree in which the Patriarchate appeals to all sides involved that they avoid appropriation of Churches, Monasteries and other properties.
Filaret is an "archbishop", a "metropolitan", and a "patriarch". This was announced on October 26 by Spokesman of the UOC KP Eustratiy Zoria during the press conference of Ukrinform "Ukrainian Church on the road to establishing autocephaly".
Media related toUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
