Former Metropolitan of Kiev Filaret in 1992 founded the so-called Kiev Patriarchate. None of the canonical Orthodox churches recognized its legitimacy. Five years later, the Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated Filaret and his supporters from the church.

The cunning and quirky primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Filaret, wants to declare himself at the international level to his own and the episcopate of the Russian Orthodox Church, experts say. However, Filaret is primarily concerned with his own brainchild - the Kiev Patriarchate. He must, of course, take a leading position in Ukraine, crush the Kiev Orthodox Church, which quite recently, until 2014, was considered to belong to the Moscow Patriarchate.

The son of a Donetsk miner, Mikhail Denisenko, made a brilliant church career in Soviet times, that is, in what was associated with friendship with political leaders and even serving in the KGB under the pseudonym Comrade Antonov. However, even then manifested various qualities of his personality, ambition, deceit, and deceit. As Exarch of Kiev and All Ukraine, he grossly violated his monastic vow: he was married, had children, and everyone knew that.

After the death of Patriarch Pimen, Filaret planned to take his place. I was so sure of this that I had already ordered the Patriarch's doll. But in 1990, at the Council of Bishops, Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Alexy received twice as many votes. Filaret easily changed his views to the very opposite. If in Soviet times, in accordance with the party line, he crushed Ukrainian nationalism, then after the 1990 fiasco he returned to Kiev and made a bet on this very nationalism, which completely coincided and coincides with the general line of the Kiev authorities. To the great sins of Filaret was soon added another one - he became a schismatic. In 1992, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to "expel the Metropolitan from dignity."

"He was offered to quietly resign. He swore on the cross and the Gospel, but returned to Kiev, broke the oath and made a split. This is the worst sin," says Alexander Dvorkin, president of the Russian Association of Centers for the Study of Religion and Sects.

Since then, there have been two churches - the UOC and the Kiev Patriarchate, which has become an exclusively political project. Nobody hides this. The first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, spoke about this openly. With the support of the authorities, the treasury of the canonical church was completely under the jurisdiction of the Kiev Patriarchate. He controls St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Kiev. The schismatics wanted to seize the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra by force. In 1992, about a hundred militants broke into the monastery. The monks were beaten and dragged by the hair. The shrine was then defended. Then the same story happened after the Maidan. In May of this year, schismatics entered the Lavra disguised as parishioners. Here are just some of the seized churches: in the Lviv region - in the city of Turka, in the Ternopil region - in the village of Katerinovka, in the Zhytomyr region - in the village of Kolodyanka. Now the captured temples are empty. In total, about a hundred parishes and churches were captured during this time.

Filaret would very much like to receive autocephaly for the Kyiv Patriarchate, but he is not recognized in the world. Perhaps unification with the UOC would help, but this unification is not happening. Filaret sows confusion, opposing his brainchild to the UOC. Meanwhile, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, His Holiness Patriarch of Kiev and All Russia-Ukraine Filaret (as Mikhail Denisenko calls himself) is already 89 years old.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate(ukr. Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate), also Kiev Patriarchy(ukr. Kyiv Patriarchate); abbreviated UOC KP) is a canonically unrecognized Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

As of the beginning of 2015, 44% of Ukrainians consider themselves to be the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, 21% of the population called themselves believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), 11% - the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. As of November 2016, 25.3% of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC MP - 39.4%, UGCC - 21.3%, UAOC - 4.6%) or 39.5% of Orthodox in Ukraine, they are parishioners of the UOC-KP (25.4% consider themselves "simply Orthodox"; 23.3% - UOC-MP; 4.8% - UAOC; 1.3% - directly ROC)

History

Late 1980s Aggravation of the church-political situation in Ukraine

In the late 1980s on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR as a result of the policy of "perestroika" and general liberalization political life there was a sharp aggravation of the church-political situation. In particular, this affected the western Ukrainian regions, where, in the wake of growing national-separatist sentiments, the revival of Greek Catholicism (UGCC) and autocephalist religious communities (UAOC) began. In this situation, the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate could not find an acceptable solution to the Uniate problem, and the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Exarchate of the ROC abandoned attempts to dialogue with the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and preferred to take an uncompromising position, which led to a massive transfer of clergy and laity from the canonical Orthodox Church to the UGCC and the UAOC, the spontaneous seizure of property and property of the ROC in Western Ukraine. Sharp sectarian confrontation led to the destruction of the Orthodox dioceses here.

In an effort to prevent the deepening of the split of Orthodoxy and the spread of Uniatism in Ukraine, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on January 30-31, 1990 decided to grant wider autonomy to the Ukrainian and Belarusian exarchates, which received financial independence, the right to be called the Ukrainian and Belarusian Orthodox Churches, respectively, and to have their own Synods. , to which the highest judicial, legislative and executive ecclesiastical powers were transferred in the dioceses located on their territory. The autonomization of the Ukrainian exarchate, however, only exacerbated the matter - the Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Filaret (Denisenko), who held the post of exarch of Ukraine for 25 years, began to rule it almost uncontrollably, and his ill-considered actions in the new conditions contributed to discrediting Orthodoxy in the western regions of Ukraine.

That summer, Metropolitan Filaret, under the pretext of the need to normalize church life in Ukraine, began to strive for an even greater expansion of the autonomy of the UOC. On July 9, the Ukrainian episcopate, on the initiative of Metropolitan Filaret, adopted the "Appeal of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on granting it independence and independence in government", at the Council in Kiev elected Metropolitan Philaret as its primate, and on July 10, the Synod of the UOC adopted a resolution on measures aimed at expanding the autonomy of the Ukrainian exarchate , which was again motivated by the difficult religious and political situation in Ukraine. In connection with the fundamental importance of this issue, it was brought up for discussion at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on October 25-27, 1990.

On November 22-23, 1990 in Kiev, in connection with the granting of the UOC the status of independent and independent in management, by the decision of the Synod of the UOC, its I Local Council was held, at which the new Statute of the UOC was adopted.

1991-1992. Struggle for the autocephalous status of the UOC

By the middle of 1990, the process of dividing Ukrainian Orthodoxy into canonical (UOC) and autocephalist (UAOC) basically stopped. By this time, about 1.5 thousand parishes that were previously under the jurisdiction of the UOC had gone to the UAOC, but in the second half of 1990 - the first half of 1991, the situation actually stabilized - about 5 thousand communities remained in the jurisdiction of the UOC.

The issue of granting autocephaly to the UOC was considered at the meetings of the Holy Synod of the ROC in December 1991 and February 1992, but each time the members of the Synod stated that this issue, which is of exceptional importance for the Ukrainian Church, should be comprehensively considered at the Council of Bishops of the ROC. In February, Metropolitan Filaret refused to take part in a meeting of the Synod, saying that he was ill and could not come.

Back in December 1991, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to send out the appeal and determination of the Council of the UOC to all bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church for careful study. At the same time, Metropolitan Filaret sent a circular to the Ukrainian dioceses on holding meetings of the clergy in support of the decision of the Council of the UOC to grant it independence.

On January 22, 1992, Metropolitan Filaret convened the Ukrainian Episcopal Conference, at which he insisted on the granting of autocephaly, addressed to the Holy Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Three bishops who declared their disagreement and refused to sign the appeal - the bishops of Donetsk and Slavic Alipiy (Pogrebnyak), Chernivtsi and Bukovynsky Onufry (Berezovsky), Ternopil and Kremenetsky Sergiy (Gensitsky) - were deprived of their posts the next day. On January 29, an appeal from the episcopate of the UOC was delivered to Moscow. At the same time, Patriarch Alexy II received an open letter from the Council for Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which also contained an urgent request to grant autocephaly to the UOC.

At a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 18-19, the “Message of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of Russia Orthodox Church Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev and All Ukraine and the episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ”, which indicated that the request of the Council of the UOC for“ full canonical independence ”goes beyond the competence of the Holy Synod and can only be responsibly considered at the council level. In addition, the message indicated the need to ensure the free expression of the will of the clergy and laity of Ukraine in accordance with the norms of the canonical tradition of Orthodoxy. At a meeting of the Holy Synod, it was announced for the first time that if Metropolitan Filaret takes actions aimed at obtaining autocephaly of the UOC in a non-canonical way, the Moscow Patriarchate intends to accept the Ukrainian flock into its direct jurisdiction.

On March 31 - April 5, 1992, the Bishops' Council of the ROC took place, in which 97 bishops of the ROC took part, including 20 bishops from Ukraine (18 of them with the right to vote). Four days out of six were devoted to discussing the church situation in Ukraine and the status of the UOC. This discussion, conducted under conditions that excluded pressure on the Ukrainian bishops, made it possible to get an adequate picture of church life in Ukraine. The opinions expressed by the bishops were divided, but the result was unexpected: not only Russian hierarchs, but also the overwhelming majority of Ukrainian bishops spoke out against granting full independence to the UOC, mainly because, with full independence, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine will be forced to stand alone against the “Uniate aggression ”, And schismatics from the UAOC will not stop their destructive activities anyway. Most of the bishops of the Ukrainian dioceses disavowed their signatures on the petition for the grant of autocephaly, explaining that they acted under duress, fearing oppression from Metropolitan Filaret and the Ukrainian authorities.

The discussion began with a report delivered by Metropolitan Filaret, who continued to defend the line of complete independence of the UOC, justifying the need for this step by the collapse of the USSR and the formation of an independent Ukrainian state. The majority of bishops took part in the discussion of the issue - 58 people spoke. Even some of those who initially supported the idea of ​​granting the UOC autocephaly were forced to admit that the independence granted to the UOC in 1990 yielded only negative results in a year and a half and in no way contributed to the elimination of the schism in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The speakers blamed for this on Metropolitan Filaret, who used the wide autonomy provided by the UOC as a tool to strengthen personal power and arbitrariness against all those who disagree with his course. Ukrainian bishops reported a sharply negative attitude of their flock to the possible secession of the UOC.

A proposal was also made [ by whom?] to consider the issue of replacing the head of the UOC, Metropolitan Filaret, since there are very few supporters of the independence of the Ukrainian Church, and the entire campaign for church independence is based solely on the personal ambitions of Metropolitan Filaret. The few supporters of autocephaly tried to prevent his resignation. The six bishops present, adherents of autocephaly, prepared an appeal in which it was stated that, in view of the independence and independence granted to the UOC in 1990, they consider it anti-canonical to consider at the Council of the ROC questions concerning the internal life of the Ukrainian Church, namely the activities of its primate. This appeal did not receive support from the majority of Ukrainian bishops, who, on the contrary, found it acceptable to freely discuss the issue of Metropolitan Filaret's activities in Moscow, where the primate of the UOC himself and the authorities of Ukraine did not exert pressure on the episcopate. As a result, the discussion of the problem of autocephaly gradually turned into a discussion about the immoral behavior of Metropolitan Filaret and his gross mistakes in the management of the Ukrainian Church.

Summing up the discussion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, said:

We are assured that the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will resolve all issues, as we were previously assured of the need for independence in government and granting the Metropolitan the title of His Beatitude. But the title of His Beatitude did not save the situation, the granting of independence and "independence" also did not give a result. The parishes that had gone to non-canonical autocephaly did not return, the schism was strengthened. Will we take on the responsibility of separating, do we have confidence that this will benefit the Holy Church? Neither the Ukrainian episcopate nor the entire Council has such confidence. In order to talk about autocephaly, you need a calm environment. But in our time - the time of destruction of economic, national, human ties, division and confrontation, from which the people are so tired, the desire to preserve the unity of the Church is the voice of God. We are all responsible for what is happening in Ukraine, but there is a special demand from the primate of the Ukrainian Church. We ask Vladyka Philaret for the good of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, for the sake of our unity, in the name of saving the Church in Ukraine, to leave his post and give the bishops of Ukraine the opportunity to choose a new primate. .

Many other hierarchs also insisted on the resignation of Metropolitan Filaret from his post. Metropolitan Filaret refused to comply with this demand, but agreed to hold a vote on this issue at the Council of Bishops, making a counter request:

I feel that the prophet Jonah is needed, and I am ready to be one. But I ask that this Jonah be thrown so that the sea does not riot in Ukraine, so I ask that the Ukrainian bishopric be allowed to hold elections for a new primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kiev. I give the archpastoral word that such a Council will be held, that no pressure will be exerted. Patriarch Alexy will approve the new primate by his decree. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church must fully exercise its rights given to it by the 1990 Council of Bishops. I also ask you to give me the opportunity to continue serving at the throne of God and not send me to rest. .

The Patriarch thanked Metropolitan Filaret for his willingness to resign from the duties of the Primate of the Ukrainian Church, and also promised that he would be able to continue his archpastoral service at one of the departments of Ukraine. When the Ukrainian bishops expressed doubts about whether it is possible to believe the words of Metropolitan Philaret, at the insistence of the Patriarch, before the cross and the Gospel, he confirmed his promise to resign as soon as the Council of the UOC meets; he also promised to immediately hold a meeting of the Synod of the UOC for the restoration of the bishops illegally removed by him in their departments.

In the Definition of the Council of Bishops of the ROC, it was noted that during the discussion, an ambiguous attitude of the clergy and believers of Ukraine to the issue of autocephaly was revealed: the idea of ​​church independence is popular in western Ukraine, but does not find a response in the Eastern Ukrainian dioceses, and therefore, for the full expression of the will of the UOC, the question about its complete independence, it was decided to put it up for discussion at the nearest Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

1992. Creation of the UOC-KP

In the meantime, returning to Kiev, Metropolitan Filaret, contrary to this promise, continued actions aimed at creating an independent church structure in Ukraine. On April 7, 1992, during a divine service in the Kiev Vladimir Cathedral on the day of the Annunciation, Filaret announced his refusal to resign from his duties as the primate of the UOC, and on April 14, announced at a press conference that the Bishops' Council in Moscow had been held in violation of the Charter on governance and regulations. ROC. Filaret said that his oath was forced and therefore invalid. He, according to him, was slandered and for this reason refused to resign. Filaret announced that he would lead the Ukrainian Orthodox Church until the end of his days, since he was "given by God to Ukrainian Orthodoxy."

The administration of President Kravchuk provided all-round support for the anti-canonical actions of Metropolitan Filaret. Nevertheless, when Filaret called on the Ukrainian bishops to gather at his Kiev residence, only the vicar of the Ternopil diocese, Bishop of Pochaev Jacob (Panchuk), the governor of the Pochaev Lavra, expelled by the brethren from the monastery as a supporter of Philaret, joined him. Even those Ukrainian hierarchs who, at the Bishops' Council in Moscow, advocated autocephaly, refused to support Filaret. Only a few months later, Bishop Andrey (Horak) of Lvov joined Philaret, who in early July with the majority of the clergy of his diocese left the UOC and moved to the UAOC. Most believers also reacted negatively to the actions of Metropolitan Filaret. Practically in all churches of Ukraine, the commemoration of the primate of the UOC during the divine service has ceased, and the Odessa diocese turned to Patriarch Alexy II with a request to accept her into the direct Patriarchal administration. On April 30, a meeting of bishops, clergy, monastics, representatives of Orthodox brotherhoods and laymen of the UOC took place in Zhitomir, where Filaret was accused of slandering the Council of Bishops and of perjury, demanding his immediate resignation.

An enlarged meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church took place on May 6-7. Filaret did not respond to the invitation to take part in the meeting. The Synod ordered Metropolitan Filaret to convene the Council of Bishops of the UOC by May 15 and submit a letter of resignation there. In connection with the state of emergency that arose in the UOC through the fault of its primate, the Synod forbade Metropolitan Philaret to act as its primate before the Council of Bishops of the UOC - to convene the Synod, ordain bishops, issue decrees and appeals. The Synod warned Filaret that in case of failure to comply with the resolutions of the Council and this decision Synod, he will be brought before the ecclesiastical court. These decisions were brought to the attention of believers in Ukraine by a special message from the Holy Patriarch and the Holy Synod, which emphasized that these decisions are not an attempt on the independence of the UOC, granted to it by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in October 1990.

In connection with Filaret's refusal to obey the decision of the Holy Synod of the ROC, the Synod on May 21 instructed the oldest consecrated among Ukrainian hierarchs - Metropolitan Nikodim (Rusnak) of Kharkov and Bohodukhiv - to immediately convene the Council of Bishops of the UOC to elect its new primate. In response, Filaret sent a message to Patriarch Alexy that he considered the decisions of the Synod "unfounded and incompetent."

On May 26, Filaret gathered his supporters in Kiev for the so-called "All-Ukrainian conference on the protection of the canonical rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church." The conference, in which none of the Ukrainian bishops took part, rejected the May decisions of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. A small group of Philaret's supporters, seeking to involve Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in the church conflict in Ukraine, addressed him with a message declaring the rejection of the 1686 act on the transfer of the Kiev Metropolis from the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. On May 30, Filaret sent a message to Patriarch Bartholomew, in which he accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "anti-canonical activity" and that it "actually caused a schism in the bosom of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church." Filaret asked Bartholomew I to accept him, along with his closest assistants, under his jurisdiction.

On June 11, 1992, to consider the activities of Metropolitan Filaret, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was convened, to which a statement was submitted by the Ukrainian episcopate, signed by 16 hierarchs. Following the results of the proceedings, during which all the charges were proved, the Council decided to deprive Metropolitan Philaret of his ecclesiastical dignity and all degrees of the priesthood.

Filaret, deprived of the priesthood, did not recognize his resignation, and in this he received protection from the Ukrainian authorities. The police, together with members of the UNA-UNSO organization, did not allow a delegation of representatives of the UOC, who came to take over the deposed Filaret, into the metropolitan residence. The same thing happened at the entrance to the Vladimir Cathedral, when the newly elected primate of the UOC, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Vladimir, arrived there. Members of UNA-UNSO blocked the approaches to the temple and barricaded themselves from the inside. To avoid bloodshed among the Orthodox, Metropolitan Vladimir urged not to use force and went to the Kiev-Pechersk Dormition Lavra, which the militants from UNA-UNSO could not take by storm, encountering the resistance of monks and believers, on whose side the riot police unit "Berkut", which arrived to defend the laurels from nationalists. Vladimir Cathedral, however, remained in the hands of Filaret and his followers.

State interference in church affairs continued. With the support of President Kravchuk, Filaret retained control over the funds of the UOC. By his decree, the President dismissed the chairman of the Council for Religious Affairs N.A.Kolesnik and replaced him with A.L. Zinchenko, a supporter of Filaret. Kravchuk and Zinchenko declared illegal the decisions of the Kharkiv Bishops' Council of the UOC. The Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a statement in which the Kharkiv Council was declared not only illegal, but also non-canonical.

Finding himself in complete isolation on the part of canonical Orthodoxy, Filaret found the only way out for himself - to unite with the UAOC, which he had recently denounced as schismatic. On June 25-26, 1992, a meeting of several bishops of the UAOC, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, serving staff of the metropolis, called the Unification Council of two churches - the UOC and the UAOC, was held in the Kiev reception office of Filaret (Pushkinskaya St., 36). By the decision of the "council", the UOC and the UAOC were abolished, and all their property, finances and funds were declared the property of a newly created organization called the "Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate." It was decided to consider the 94-year-old Patriarch of the UAOC Mstislav (Skrypnik), who lived in the United States, as its head, Filaret (Denisenko) as its deputy, and Anthony (Masendich) as the manager. In fact, all the activities of the UOC-KP were led by Filaret, which subsequently led to a conflict with the former hierarchs of the UAOC, who entered the UOC-KP.

On June 30, 1992, a delegation of the UOC-KP made a trip to Constantinople. The delegation included Metropolitan Philaret (Denisenko), Metropolitan Anthony (Masendich), Archimandrite Valentin (Dazhuk), Abbot Daniil (Chekalyuk), deputy of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine Vasily Chervoniy. After that, information about the alleged possible recognition of the new church by the Ecumenical Patriarch was disseminated on Ukrainian television. Constantinople, however, refuted this claim.

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in July 1993, during a visit to the Russian Orthodox Church, officially announced that he recognizes only one canonical Metropolitan of Kiev - Vladimir (Sabodan).

After the death of the aged Mstislav in 1993, the UAOC withdrew from the union with the UOC-KP. It was headed by Dimitri (Yarema), who received the rank of patriarch in the UAOC, while Vladimir (Romanyuk) became the patriarch of the UOC-KP. In December 1993 - January 1994, five bishops officially left the UOC-KP: Metropolitan Anthony (Masendich), Archbishop Spiridon (Babsky), Bishop Roman (Popenko), Bishop Sofroniy (Vlasov) and Bishop John (Siopko). The bishops made a repentant appeal to the Ukrainian people, in which they called on their former flock to return to the canonical Church, for Philaret and his false church "are leading them to eternal destruction."

In 1995, the head of the UOC-KP Vladimir (Romanyuk) died under unclear circumstances. In October of the same year, Filaret (Denisenko) became the patriarch of the UOC-KP.

In 1995, Filaret created in Russia a structure called the Russian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (ROC-KP) and the True Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (TOC-KP). Filaret appointed the first bishops in Russia to those expelled from the ROCOR and defrocked on charges of schismaticism, Archimandrite Adrian (Starina) from Noginsk and Archimandrite Joasaph (Shibaev) from Oboyan, as well as Varukh (Tishchenkov) from Tobolsk. According to the representatives of the UOC-KP themselves, "ROC-KP" was the most unsuccessful project that undermined their positions even in Ukraine, and the "alternative" structure created in Russia showed its complete inconsistency and uncontrollability.

In 1997, on the proposal of the episcopate of the UOC (MP), Filaret (Denisenko) was excommunicated by the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (he was deprived of his dignity back in 1992) and anathematized for "schismatic activity."

On March 25, 2000, the Synod of the UOC-KP issued a "tomos" on the creation of a Greek exarchate headed by "Archimandrite" Timothy (Kutalyanos), ordained on March 26 as "Metropolitan of Korsun." Having ordained the new "Exarch of All Greece", Filaret, through the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, turned to the Ukrainian ambassador to Greece with an order to help strengthen the positions of the "exarchate" in Greece. As a result of the actions of the Ukrainian ambassador, forced to fulfill this prescription, the Holy Synod of the Greek Church made the following statement: “The Holy Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Apostolic Church, like all the other Local Orthodox Churches with which it is in Eucharistic Communion, has never recognized the existence of Ukraine of the Autocephalous Orthodox Patriarchate, including the so-called “Kyivan Patriarchate” ”.

Current state and structure

As of January 1, 2010, according to data released by the State Committee of Ukraine for Nationalities and Religions, the UOC-KP had 4,281 parishes united in 32 dioceses (for comparison, the UOC-MP has more than 11,000 parishes). The largest number parishes in western Ukraine - in Galicia and Volyn, as well as in Kiev and Cherkasy regions. In no region of Ukraine was the Kyivan Patriarchate the dominant denomination in terms of the number of parishes: in the west of Ukraine this is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in the southeastern regions - the UOC-MP. At the same time, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Lvov and Ternopil regions, the UOC (KP) has more parishes than the UOC (MP).

As of January 2015, according to the results of a joint study by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (Ukrainian) Russian and the sociological service "Ukrainian Sociology Service" commissioned by the International Center for Advanced Studies (Ukrainian) Russian, in most regions 44% of Ukrainians consider themselves to be the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate), 21% of the population called themselves believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), 11% - the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Only in the Donetsk region, 55% identified themselves with the UOC-MP, and in Galicia, the majority of the population considers themselves to be believers of the Greek Catholic Church - 67%. The survey was conducted from December 25, 2014 to January 15, 2015. A total of 4413 respondents were interviewed, and the survey was not conducted in the Luhansk region and Crimea.

The UOC-KP demonstrates an increase in the number of believers. So, according to the results of a study of religious identity in Ukraine in 2010-2016, the number of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate) for 6 years increased by 14.5%, and the number of people who identify themselves as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) for this the same period of time decreased by 5.8%. The analytical report was prepared based on the results of the all-Ukrainian survey (Ukrainian) Russian(KIIS) 2014 respondents aged 18 years and older in the period from May 19 to May 31, 2016 in 110 settlements of all regions of Ukraine (except for Crimea and territories controlled by the DPR and LPR) by the method of personal interview using a stochastic sample.

In November 2016, the head of the sociological service "Ukrainian Sociology Service", the head of the department of socio-political processes, Doctor of Sociological Sciences A. I. Vishnyak and Ph.D. "Religiine life of Ukraine" (spring 2016) "in the UNIAN news agency reported that according to a poll conducted by the Ukrainian Sociology Service, 25.3 Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC MP - 39.4%, UGCC-21 , 3%, UAOC - 4.6%).

According to a survey conducted by the sociological service of the Razumkov Center from 4 to 9 November 2016, the majority of Ukrainians consider themselves Orthodox - 64.7%. 39.5% of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine identify themselves with the UOC-KP, 25.4% consider themselves "simply Orthodox", 23.3% - with the UOC (MP), 4.8% - with the UAOC, 1.3% - directly with ROC. “A total of 2018 respondents aged 18 and over were interviewed in all regions of Ukraine, with the exception of Crimea and the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, according to a sample representing the adult population of Ukraine in terms of basic socio-demographic indicators. The survey sample was constructed as a multistage, random sample with a quota selection of respondents at the last stage. The survey was conducted in 118 settlements (67 - urban and 51 - rural). Theoretical sampling error (excluding design effect (English) Russian does not exceed 2.3% with a probability of 0.95 ”.

According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, as of May 2016, she owned 3,676 premises (of which 2,260 religious buildings), second only to the UOC (MP) among religious organizations. The largest number of premises of the UOC (KP) is located in Kiev (377), Ivano-Frankivsk (327) and Lviv (314) regions, the smallest - in Lugansk (17) and Transcarpathian (18).

Sociologist of Religion and Historian, Research Fellow at the Center for Studies of Eastern Europe at Bremen University N.A.Mitrokhin in May 2016 in an interview with the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, following the results of his observations during a trip to the south of the country, noted that “the number of parishes of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate outside Western Ukraine is approximately 50-70% less than officially registered ", while for the" UOC (MP) it is about 12-15% "[ the significance of the fact? ]. And also commenting on the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, he said that "there is a complex dynamics of the growth of the pro-Ukrainian part, the redistribution of forces, intellectual growth, reassessment of theological heritage, etc." [ the significance of the fact? ]

Dioceses of Exarchates

• European exarchate
• Russian Exarchate: Belgorod-Oboyansk Diocese and Bogorodsk Diocese

Liquidated structures

• Greek exarchate

Efforts to normalize canonical status

Since its creation in 1992, the UOC-KP has tried to regulate its canonical position, but has not yet received any recognition from world Orthodoxy. All attempts by the supporters of the autocephaly of the UOC-KP to wishful thinking came across refutation from both the Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchates. According to the testimony of Metropolitan Gennady (Limuris) of Sasim, a member of the Synod and representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the WCC, “in our Church we do not call the Kiev Patriarchate the Kiev Patriarchate. We call them schismatics so that we don't get the impression that we recognize them. They can call themselves whatever they want, but not a single Church recognizes them. "

Educational institutions of the UOC-KP cooperate with the Ukrainian Catholic University and Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University.

Russian Orthodox Church

On January 12, 2007, the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko met with the head of the UOC-KP Filaret (Denisenko) and the top hierarchs of the UOC-KP at the Denisenko residence. According to press reports, Viktor Yushchenko called for the creation of a mixed commission of the UOC (MP) and the UOC-KP to “overcome the split in Ukrainian Orthodoxy and create a single local Church,” which provoked a sharply negative reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church. In fact, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych took the side of the ROC in this matter.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

The Bishops' Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which took place at the end of January 2007, as part of the Moscow Patriarchate, expressed bewilderment about the proposal of the President of Ukraine "to sit down at the negotiating table with false shepherds." The bishops of the UOC (MP) decided to create a commission that will receive letters of repentance from representatives of the Kiev Patriarchate, "who wish to return to the bosom of the canonical Orthodox Church."

In response to the decisions of the Council of Bishops of the UOC (MP) on January 29, 2007, the press center of the Kyiv Patriarchate issued a statement on initiatives to restore the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy, which, in particular, said: “To restore the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy” they deliberately humiliate representatives of the Kyiv Patriarchate as a side of a possible dialogue. Representatives of the Kyiv Patriarchate do not intend to “repent” or “return to the fold” of the Moscow Patriarchate through the mediation of the said commission. Due to the fact that possible meetings of representatives of the Kyiv Patriarchate with members of this commission can be assessed as a desire to “repent” before the Moscow Patriarchate and “enter its fold”, representatives of the Kyiv Patriarchate are forced to refrain from cooperating with this commission on such conditions. " Nevertheless, at a meeting on February 28, 2007, the Synod of the UOC-KP was favorable to V. Yushchenko's appeal regarding the possibility of a dialogue with the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate and the legalization of the non-canonical UOC-KP.

On April 15, 2007, the Council of Bishops of the UOC-KP adopted the "Historical and Canonical Declaration" - a document that presented the main canons, dogmas and historical foundations for the existence of an independent Kiev Patriarchate. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the split in the Ukrainian Church and the relationship between the UOC-KP and the UOC (MP).

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church

The negotiation process on the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church has been going on intermittently since 1995. On June 12-14, 2001, in Istanbul, at the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the members of the Mixed Commission was held to study ways to achieve the unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, in which representatives of the UOC-KP and the UAOC, as well as Metropolitan of the UOC in the United States, Constantine (Bagan), took part. The participants of the meeting were received by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, after which agreements ("Συμφωνητικών") were signed on the future unification of the UOC-KP and the UAOC into a single church structure.

Negotiations intensified during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko, who himself actively joined in, trying to enlist the support of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. During this period, a three-stage scheme was developed for creating an independent Ukrainian church:

• The first step is the unification of the UOC-KP and the UAOC;
• The second step is that the united church acquires canonical status by entering the Ecumenical Patriarchate;
• The third step is the Ecumenical Patriarchate grants her autocephaly.

However, during the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch to Ukraine on the occasion of the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus, which took place on July 25-27, 2008, the representatives of the Ukrainian authorities and the UOC-KP failed to agree with Patriarch Bartholomew on the conditions for the creation of canonical jurisdiction in Ukraine. In turn, the primate of the UAOC, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, Methodius (Kudryakov), put forward the resignation of the primate of the UOC-KP Filaret (Denisenko) as a primary condition for the unification, and the UOC-KP, in response to this statement, suspended the work of the commission for negotiating unification on November 14, 2011. For these reasons, on February 9, 2012, the UAOC officially interrupted the negotiation process on the unification of the two churches.

The V Local Council of the UAOC, which took place on June 4-5, 2015, and the meeting of the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP, which took place on June 12 of the same year, decided to unite in the near future into a single Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church. On June 8, a joint meeting of the commissions of the UOC-KP and the UAOC was held in Kiev, which was also attended by the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople - Bishop of the UOC in Canada Illarion (Rudik) and Bishop of the UOC in the USA Daniel (Zelinsky), authorized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople to take part in the meeting of the commissions. The final decision of the commission confirmed the intention and desire of the two churches to unite in the near future into a single Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church; the document was also signed by the bishops of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

On May 3, 2003, Patriarch Filaret (Denisenko) and the Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Supreme Archbishop of Kiev-Galician Cardinal Lyubomyr (Guzar), performed a joint ecumenical prayer service at St. Vladimir's Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate in Kiev.

On May 7, 2011, the UOC-KP issued a statement in connection with the surge of speculation around the cooperation of the Kyiv Patriarchate with the UGCC, in which it noted that cooperation between the UOC-KP and the UGCC is being conducted and will continue to be carried out exclusively with the preservation of loyalty of the Kyiv Patriarchate to the dogmas, canons and doctrines of the Orthodox Church. In this statement, attention was focused on the fact that as long as the Catholic Church as a whole or the UGCC in particular adhere to Latin dogmas that distinguish it from the Orthodox Church, the unification of the UOC-KP and the UGCC into a single Church is impossible. In particular, it was pointed out that the Kiev Patriarchate does not consider the Eucharistic unity with the UGCC possible, in view of the fact that it firmly and invariably adheres to the dogmas of the Orthodox faith and rejects those Latin dogmatic innovations that led to the Great Schism of 1054, including: about the primacy of the Pope, about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, and not only from the Father, about the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary and others.

In November 2012, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Svyatoslav (Shevchuk) said that Greek Catholics "have no doubts about the authenticity" of the sacrament of baptism in the Kiev Patriarchate, despite the fact that this "Orthodox church community" is not "in full communion with world Orthodoxy." ...

Constantinople Orthodox Church

On June 12, 2007, the II All-Ukrainian Church and Public Forum "For the Ukrainian Local Orthodox Church" adopted a letter of appeal to the chapter

“The enemy invented heresies and schisms in order to destroy faith, discredit truth, break unity. Servants of heresy propagandize treachery under the guise of faith, antichrist under the name of Christ, and, covering up lies with credibility, refined cunning, they cloud the truth. - “What kind of unity does he hold, what kind of love does he preserve, or what kind of love does he dream of who, in obedience to an outburst of discord, dissects the Church, destroys faith, revolts the world, eradicates love, and defiles the Sacrament? SV KIPRIAN Carthaginian

Today, non-church people are surprised: "Why is there no unity among the Orthodox in Ukraine and why we do not have our own independent church"?

By these questions, they show either their incompetence in those issues about which they want to express their opinion, or their bias towards the Orthodox Church. Such people cannot answer the question: "How many ordinances are there in our church?" - And even more so to tell something about this or that sacrament, but they undertake to judge the church hierarchy. They form their thoughts under the influence of the media and do not want to look into the "Law of God", and the clergy are accused of politics. Therefore, let us first recall the Orthodox sacraments, without which any explanation will become incomprehensible.

The sacraments of baptism, chrismation, communion, repentance and anointing of the uncle of the Holy One concerning the life of every Christian. In addition to them, two more sacraments have been established, with which the entry into a special life path is blessed. The sacrament of the priesthood is performed on a person, becomes a priest and gets special grace in order to send divine services and ordinances for other people.

The clergy are of three degrees. The highest level is the bishops, who are the successors of the apostles, lead the churches and can carry out all the Sacraments. Depending on what place he occupies and what district he leads, a bishop can be - a bishop, an archbishop, a metropolitan or a patriarch, but these are all different names for the same rank of bishop.

The second degree of the priesthood is a priest who can perform all ordinances except the priesthood.

The lower degree of the priesthood is a deacon who himself cannot administer the Sacraments, but helps the priest during their implementation.

During the sacrament of the priesthood, the bishop, at the Liturgy, lays his hands on the head of whom he consecrates and reads a special prayer, then the one who is ordained is dressed in clothes appropriate to his dignity. Priests devote their whole life to serving God and people, they received grace through the apostles from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and we should always treat them with special love and respect.

Christians should be warned against the so-called "Orthodox Churches": "Kiev Patriarchate" and "Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church". The first "autocephalous church" was founded on October 1, 1921 in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev. Despite the invitation of the initiators, not a single Orthodox bishop appeared at this “all-Ukrainian council”. Only the ZO of priests, 12 deacons and laity were present. Then, in order to found the UAOC "independent from Moscow", they decided to abandon the holy canons of the Orthodox Church. According to 1 rule of the Holy Apostles, "let two or three bishops supply a bishop." In the first "metropolitan" of the UAOC Vasily Lipkivsky was "ordained" by priests, and he immediately "ordained" two more bishops. Therefore, the people began to call them "self-sacred". Such "bishops" in 1926. there were already 28, but when the Stalinist repressions began, some of them went to the "renovationists", some - to secular work, some fled abroad. One of those "self-consecrated" was Mstislav (Skripnik), bishop of the UAOC from the USA.

In 1989 the "Autocephalous Church" was resumed in Ukraine and since October the UAOC elected Mstislav Skrypnyk as its head, and on October 19, 1990 he was made the "patriarch" of the UAOC.

Mr. Denisenko, in his recent interviews with various media outlets, constantly reminds that its structure is completely identical with the UAOC and there is no difference between them, there are no problems of the canonical order that separated them. Indeed, his pseudo-churches, or rather a political grouping and the UAOC as twin brothers: both arose with a gross violation of the eternal church traditions and institutions, and therefore can only be called churches conditionally. The former Metropolitan of Kiev knows all this well, and today he must realize what he and his organization really are.

We will cite the opinion of Filaret (Denisenko) himself, expressed by him at a press conference in October 1990 about the UAOC, and therefore about himself today:

“The so-called UAOC has no canonical continuity with the Kiev Metropolitanate ... It has no connection either with the Kiev Metropolitanate or with any Orthodox Patriarchate ... Therefore, I believe that the UAOC is really independent, but independent of the whole of Orthodoxy. It is also a dry branch that broke off from the living tree of our faith. The Orthodox Church believes that all the so-called sacred acts performed by the priests and bishops of this “church” are unfavorable ... its name (Mstislava. - Ed.) - Patriarch of Kiev and all Ukraine - is a mockery of the Church, because no one can to assign a higher dignity to oneself. The UAOC has arbitrarily elevated itself to the dignity of the Patriarchate ... We urge the believers of the so-called UAOC to adhere to church canons and not break the Orthodox Church in Ukraine into two parts ... This is the third time in the history of the 20th century, this "church" appears, and each time it dries up, as if broken off branch, because it does not have the grace of God that feeds the true Church "
(Orthodox Bulletin. - 1991, No. 1. - p. 10-13).

I would like today's “Patriarch Filaret” not to forget his own characteristics of thirteen years ago, and if for some reason he has forgotten what the UAOC really is (and with it its copy, the UOC-KP), then let us quote him thoughts will today be evidence of the unscrupulousness and hypocrisy of the current leader of the Ukrainian "Orthodox" schism.

Let us, dear compatriots, think about it, can such a person be the Primate of the Church?

The UOC of the Kiev Patriarchate was "formed" thanks to the unification of some "bishops" of the UAOC and the former Metropolitan Filaret (Denisenko), who was defrocked for personal sins and church violations on June 25, 1992, and even before that, at the Bishops' Council on April 1-3, 1992 in Moscow, Metropolitan Philaret, recognizing his guilt in spreading temptation in Ukraine, before the Cross, the Gospel and all the episcopate of the ROC, promised upon his return to Ukraine to hand over his powers to the new elect of the Bishops' Council of the UOC, who will gather in Kiev. Since the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at that time was already independent in government. But the Ukrainian bishops warned that he could deceive, and the Patriarch asked Filaret in front of everyone again. And then Filaret answered, not without irritation (we quote from the saved audio recording): “We are Christians, after all. It is said in the Painted "let your word be yes - yes, there is - there is, and everything else is from the evil one." After all, this was said during the Council of the Church, where Christ presides, and the Holy Spirit leads. When he did not fulfill this, becoming an oath-breaker, the bishops of the UOC, meeting on April 3 in Zhytomyr, expressed their distrust, and at the Council of Bishops in Kharkov, Metropolitan Philaret was removed from the Kiev Metropolitanate and banned from priestly service.

Thus, the sacraments of the UAOC and the UOC of the Kiev Patriarchate are not valid, since the clergy of these "churches" are not the Grace of the priesthood. So, people are not baptized, but not crowned, their sins are not forgiven in confession. Those clergy who pass to them from our Church are deprived of their rank in accordance with Canon 45 of the Holy Apostles, which says that a bishop, priest or deacon who prays with those excommunicated from the Church should also be excommunicated, and if you act with them as a minister of the church, then he will be defrocked. Therefore, those who “accepted” which sacraments in the UOC-KP or UAOC should turn to the canonical Church and receive these Sacraments anew, and, in addition, confess as excommunicated from the Church. Canon 10 of the Holy Apostles says: "If someone prays with someone who is excommunicated, even at home, then such also becomes excommunicated."

In our difficult hard times, Orthodoxy in Ukraine is going through a period of special trials. Persecution and schism destroy faith, uproot love. “The abomination of desolation in a holy place,” uttered by the prophet Daniel, is associated by our contemporaries, first of all, with the destroyed and desecrated temples of our land. But there is another interpretation by the holy fathers of these prophetic words: “the abomination of desolation” in a holy place is the episcopal see, occupied by unworthy hierarchs, false bishops, false patriarchs.

Particularly great efforts in the fight against Orthodoxy in Ukraine are carried out by the UOC-KP and its head Filaret (Denisenko). Deprived of all degrees of the priesthood for sins against God and the Holy Church, Filaret, not submitting to the church court, fell away from the Orthodox Church and organized a religious grouping, the so-called Kiev Patriarchate, which, although it calls itself Orthodox, however, in fact, no has no relation. This can be confirmed by the events of 1992, when none of the active monasteries, as well as the Kiev-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras, followed the oath-breaker. After all, we know that monasteries have always been the guardians of Truth, canons and traditions.

Filaretites are outside of Orthodoxy, outside of the Church. A similar schismatic grouping was created in the post-revolutionary years by Vasily Lipkivsky, whom the autocephalists call "Metropolitan." However, not a single bishop took part in Lipkivsky's "consecration", which is not only a violation, but a direct disregard of the apostolic canons and church canons. The first Apostolic Canon says "A bishop is supplied by two or three bishops." But the schismatics neglected this important directive of the holy Apostles. The apostolic succession of the grace of the Holy Spirit in the self-consecrated "ordination" of Vasily Lipkivsky ceased.

We have the same now. The so-called "Kiev Patriarchate" is headed by a simple monk, deprived of the priesthood.

Former Metropolitan Filaret violated Rule 34 of the Holy Apostles, which says: "The first (bishop) should not do anything without the consent of everyone, because only consent will be unanimity."
Filaret violated this rule and arbitrarily, without the consent of bishops, clergy, monastics and laity, organized a new religious group - the UOC-KP, leaving the Orthodox Church. In addition, Filaret also violated this rule by breaking off communion with the first bishop of the Church. As is known, the Primate of the Church is subordinate to the Council of Bishops. And this took place in 1991 in Kharkov, where Filaret, who committed perjury and other sins, was removed from office.

The Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church deprived him of all degrees of the priesthood for crimes against God, faith and Orthodoxy. Filaret was ordained to the deacon, priestly and hierarchical rank by the bishops, and also, being the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church until 1992, he was at the same time a member of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church. Church on completely legal grounds, in accordance with the Apostolic rules and regulations Ecumenical Councils, stripped Filaret of the priesthood for committing grave and mortal sins.
Filaret's deprivation of dignity was recognized by all the canonical Orthodox Churches of the world.

Saint John Chrysostom considers any separation from the Church to be a deprivation of the grace of the Holy Spirit. St. Cyprian of Carthage said: "Everything that has only been separated from the life-giving source cannot, with the loss of its saving essence, live and breathe a special life." That is why the UOC-KP, created by defrocked Filaret, is not recognized as the Orthodox Church by all World Orthodoxy. That is why the Orthodox Local Churches around the world do not allow joint divine services with false bishops and false priests of the Kiev Patriarchate, and will concelebrate with the hierarchs and priests of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Primate of which is His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Onufry.

The position of the Russian Orthodox Church is supported by the Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Georgian, Serbian, Bulgarian and other Local Churches, prayer and Eucharistic communion with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is an integral part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

To justify their anti-church aspirations, schismatics recall some historical facts that are presented one-sidedly, not always commenting correctly.

So, they talk about the allegedly non-canonical proclamation of autocephaly by the Russian Church itself in the 15th century. Indeed, the Russian Church, which was initially under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in 1448 became virtually autocephalous (that is, independent, self-governing). The bishops, regardless of Constantinople, elected St. And she. The reason for this was the deviation from Orthodoxy of the Patriarch of Constantinople, his acceptance of union with Rome in 1439. Church rules, as you know, order the interruption of church communion with heretics. When Orthodox patriarchs again began to occupy the Patriarchal throne of Constantinople, although the right of independence of the Russian Church was not formally confirmed at first, the patriarchs did not protest against this and did not interrupt Eucharistic communion with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Autocephalists talk about the allegedly forcible annexation of the independent Kiev Metropolitanate to the Moscow Patriarchate. In this regard, it must be said that the Kiev Metropolitanate has never been autocephalous. After the division of the Russian Church into two metropolises - Moscow and Kiev (again because of the union with Rome) - the latter in the 17th century was the exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The reunification of the Kiev Metropolis with the Russian Orthodox Church took place with the blessing of two Patriarchs - Constantinople and Jerusalem. Why do the schismatics not mention the tendency towards unification of the Metropolitan of Kiev Job Boretsky, who sent his ambassador to Moscow with a request to the tsar to take Little Russia under his wing; Metropolitan Isaiah Kupinsky, who appealed to the Moscow Tsar and the Patriarch for support; Metropolitan Peter Mogila, that he advised the leaders of the Cossack army to seek salvation in an alliance with the consanguineous and co-faith Moscow state? Even before the reunification, the Kievites recognized the Moscow Patriarch Nikon as their patriarch. In May 1654, sending from themselves an embassy to Moscow to the Tsar, they wrote to Patriarch Nikon, calling him the Holy Patriarch of not only Great, but also Little Russia. Hetman Khmelnitsky with all the Cossack army called Moscow Patriarch Nikon their great saint, their supreme pastor. A little later, the famous Ukrainian hierarch of the 17th century, Archbishop of Chernigov Lazar Baranovich, writes to the Moscow Tsar: “Accept my desire: and I will be with my whole diocese right under the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow, on a par with other Great Russian bishops, and may my heirs be delivered in Moscow, and not in Kiev ".

Deceiving the common people, autocephalyists sometimes say that the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church was established in 1924, when the bishops of Volyn, being under the political rule of Poland, received autocephaly from the Patriarch of Constantinople. But this is not true - the Patriarch of Constantinople, as you know, never confirmed the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church, and according to church canons he has no right to do this. In the Orthodox world, the Ecumenical (Constantinople) Patriarch is the first among his equal primates of other Local Churches, that is, he has only primacy in honor, but not primacy in power. Therefore, he has no legal right to declare autocephalous any part of another Local Church. Even if he did this, such an act, according to the canons of the Church, would be invalid and illegal. Thus, in 1924, Constantinople proclaimed the autocephaly of the Polish Church, which was under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. This autocephaly was not recognized as canonical even by the Polish Church itself, as evidenced by the appeal of the Orthodox bishops of Poland to the Russian Church: “The Polish Autonomous Church recognizes as non-canonical and invalid the autocephaly of the Polish Church, proclaimed by the Tomos of Patriarch Gregory VII of Constantinople on 11/13/1924, and asks blessings in the Mother of the Russian Church on canonical autocephaly ”.

Great efforts are being made today to create a canonical autocephalous Church in Ukraine by separating from the Russian Orthodox Church and artificially uniting with the graceless UOC-KP and UAOC, and then with the Greek Catholics. Some people think that autocephaly will save Orthodoxy in Ukraine. But this is self-deception. The persecution of the Church will intensify even more. Submission to Rome will be the next requirement.

We are living on the eve of the Antichrist, when many have deviated from the truth. In order to "seduce, if possible, and the elect" ( Mt. 24.24), there is a truly inhuman persecution against the Church of Christ, Holy Orthodoxy. The warning word of Christ about "false prophets in sheep's clothing" that "inside they are ravening wolves" ( Mt. 7.15), are especially understandable to us, who recognize the teachers of the schism, corrupt our people with their soul-destroying schism.

Not autocephaly will give peace to Ukraine, but the common repentance of our people in the Blessed and true Church. Remember that outside the Church there is no Christianity, no Christ, no grace, no truth, no salvation - and all this is only in the One Orthodox Church. St. Cyprian of Carthage said: "The schismatic protects neither the unity of the Church, nor brotherly love, he acts against the love of Christ."

“How you fell from the sky, day, son of the dawn! .. And he said in his heart: "I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain in the host of the gods ... I will go to the heights of heaven, I will be like the Most High" ( Is. 14.12-14). The fall of Philaret is compared by some to the fall of the stallion who became Satan. Filaret, who claimed the Moscow Patriarchal throne and did not receive it, rebelled and opposed the Holy Spirit, which operates in the Church of God. Due to their pride, not having "peace in their bones from their sins" ( Ps. 37.4), Filaret fell, and like a fallen angel, he is now fighting the Church, striving to destroy true Orthodoxy.

Each "service" rendered by Filaret today is the incitement of God's wrath on our long-suffering Motherland. Each "sacrament" blasphemously done by him or by his false bishops and false priests is invalid and unsafe, because it takes a person even further from God and leads to eternal destruction. The clergy of Filaret is made up of bigamies and defrocked people who have lost the fear of God and have a burnt conscience.

Today Filaret addresses people through the mass media, sends out his appeals and appeals everywhere, trying to seduce many with insinuating words, to tell stories from Christ.

Therefore, be careful! Do not give in to the calls of Filaret's defrocked, because it may seem "his speech is softer than oil, but the consequences of it are bitter, like wormwood, sharp like a two-edged sword, his feet descend to death, his feet reach the underworld" ( Prov. 5.3 -5).

Remember that the Filaret sect of the UOC-KP is an anti-church, this is anti-Christianity!

Those who are still in schism today, separated from the Church, can return through repentance to the bosom of the saving Church. The children of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church are not at enmity, they are waiting for the return of our brothers who have found themselves in schism. "Our lips are open to you ... our heart is expanded ... In our city ... in our hearts, so that together we can die and live" ( 2 Cor. 6.11; 2 Cor. 7.2- 3). Not only the doors of our churches, but also our hearts are open to all who come to true Orthodoxy, seeking eternal salvation and life in God in the canonical and grace-filled Church of Christ, daily prays to the All-good God:

“To unite them in Thy Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and with us Glorified Your most honorable and magnificent name forever and ever. Amen "

In our Church, divine services are performed in the Church Slavonic language. It was created by the divinely inspired men of equal to the apostles Cyril and Methodius on the basis of Slavic languages: related Serbian, Bulgarian, Old Russian. The Church Slavonic language has never been a spoken, everyday language, it was literally created according to God's plan by Saints Cyril and Methodius as the language of worship, as the language of prayer communication with God. And this is very important: just as a priest celebrates the Divine Liturgy in special vestments, in a special setting. These vestments are not ordinary, not mundane, and after mass he is obliged to take them off when he goes out into the street. Many phrases cannot even be literally translated into modern language.

Unfortunately, some are in favor of translating divine services into Ukrainian (or Russian). Imagine that a priest performs the Liturgy in a suit, like a sectarian presbyter. It is to the distraction of the Ukrainian people from the Orthodox faith that this translation will lead, to the loss of the spiritual connection between generations, to a break with the historical past. There is already a project to translate the Ukrainian alphabet into the Latin alphabet. And behind this there is a clear polonization of our people and their conversion to the Catholic faith. The Lord Jesus Christ said that the faithful in the little is the faithful in the big, and the unfaithful in the little is the unfaithful in the big. Therefore, it is not surprising that after the transition to the Ukrainian language, the UAOC and the UOC-KP serve together with the Greek Catholics, neglecting the holy church canons, and we are accused of betraying our people. Since we cherish what was dear to our ancestors, for which they were ready to lay down their lives - this is, first of all, the Orthodox faith in all its purity. We have not changed the faith of the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles princesses Olga and Prince Vladimir, the Monks Anthony, Theodosius and all the monks of Kiev-Pechersk, Job of Pochaev, we did not exchange this faith for temporary prosperity.

Jesus Christ said that later they will come to know us that we are His disciples, if you have love for one another. So are those “teachers” from God who call themselves “Orthodox”, but make enmity on a national basis? "There is neither a Scythian, nor a Hellene, nor a Jew, but a new creation in Christ Jesus" ( Gal. 6.15).

The division can only be in relation to the Church: a member of the Church (Orthodox), a schismatic (UAOC, UOC-KP), a heretic (Catholic, Protestant, sectarian) and a pagan.

The Church Slavonic language, in which Orthodox Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Poles pray, leads to an increase in love between these same-believing, consanguineous peoples, and the translation of services into national languages, on the contrary, to a distance between them. The latter only plays into the hands of the enemies of Orthodoxy. It is they, or people who are indifferent to the Church and divine services, who need a translation of the Church Slavonic language. And those who need the Orthodox Church and her services do not want translation.

A modern believer has at least secondary education, it costs her nothing for 2-3 weeks to study the Church Slavonic language - and she will understand in general terms everything that happens during the Liturgy. If our compatriots, going to work abroad, are able to learn English, French, German, Italian, then can they really not learn Slavic? So, this is a sly excuse that, they say, people come to church and do not understand anything.

How dear the Church Slavonic language was for our people even at the beginning of our century, is attested by the "self-saints" themselves. Thus, "Metropolitan" Vasily Lipkivsky recalls the pious venerable age of a priest who joined the UAOC, but asked permission to serve in the Slavic language. He was refused and he left the UAOC. On Trinity, with a pain in his heart, the "Metropolitan" was forced to confirm that the majority, even the priests - sincere Ukrainians adhere to the Church Slavonic language. And the grandmother goes to the tenth village to send a requiem or prayer service Slavic... “We want to pray in the Slavic language, like our fathers and grandfathers,” people said (“History of the UOC”, p. 26). As our contemporary and compatriot St. Lavrenty Chernigovsky: "Stick to the Church Slavonic language as the Holy Gospel."

Therefore, we must preserve the Church Slavonic language, the language of prayer communication between our grandfathers and great-grandfathers with God and the heavenly inhabitants, as a spiritual and cultural treasure of our people.

Let us, dear compatriots, draw the right conclusions for ourselves, on which our eternal salvation depends. Amen.

based on the materials of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra

Head of the self-proclaimed Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate Filaret during a Sunday sermon on March 22, he said that the murder of residents of Donbass who do not obey Kiev is not a sin.

“Where is the truth, for the Ukrainians or for the separatists who want to sell Ukraine instead of being grateful that the Ukrainian land gave them shelter, gave them life. They lived, ate Ukrainian bread, received life, and now they want the land that does not belong to them, to give Russia, - said Filaret, - Is it possible, defending your land, kill and take life? Is this murder? No, brothers and sisters, this is not murder! And not breaking the commandment of God! "

Filaret. Photo: RIA Novosti

Such statements of the church hierarch, who, it would seem, should call for peace, might surprise if you do not know that the self-styled patriarch Filaret has been supporting the punitive operation in Donbass from the very first day.

During a recent visit to the United States, the Kiev patriarch called on the American authorities to start supplying weapons to Ukraine, simultaneously awarding one of the most famous Washington "hawks" with the Church Order of St. Prince Vladimir I John McCain.

In February 2015, Filaret declared it a sin to evade mobilization into the Ukrainian army, thereby helping Kiev authorities replenish the stocks of "cannon fodder".

Accused of involvement in the murder of Russian journalists Ukrainian gunner of the punitive battalion Nadezhda Savchenko, who is in a Russian prison, on March 1, 2015, Filaret awarded the Church Order of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious "for the fight against evil."

Boy from Donbass

People who are not initiated deeply into recent history and the modern realities of the Orthodox Church in the post-Soviet space, such actions of the Kiev hierarch may seem blasphemous and unacceptable.

But the fact is that the ministers of the church are the same people as everyone else, and the number of scoundrels, perjurers and outright scum among priests does not differ fundamentally from the number of similar persons in other spheres of activity.

The self-styled Kiev Patriarch Filaret is the most striking example of this.

Filaret, in the world Mikhail Antonovich Denisenko, was born where today, including with his blessing, blood is shed - on the land of Donbass. Miner's son Misha Denisenko was born on January 23, 1929 in the village of Blagodatnoye, Amvrosievsky district, Donetsk region.

After graduating from school, the devout young man decided to connect his life with the ministry of the church. For this, just the right time has come, thanks to the softening of the official position of the Soviet government in relation to religion.

In 1946, Denisenko entered the third grade of the Odessa Theological Seminary, to which, strictly speaking, he had no right - it was possible to enroll in such institutions in the USSR only from the age of 18. However, he was lucky here too - the authorities turned a blind eye to the lack of years.

Two years later, Mikhail Denisenko was accepted to study at the Moscow Theological Academy.

In the second year of the Academy, teachers celebrate him and promise a great career. It began with taking monastic vows under the name Filaret. After that, the newly-minted monk Filaret receives his first position and becomes the acting caretaker of the Patriarchal chambers in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Filaret. Photo: RIA Novosti

"It would be untrue to assert that I was not affiliated with the KGB."

In 1952, 23 years old, Filaret, after graduating from the academy with the degree of candidate of theology, was appointed teacher of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament at the Moscow Theological Seminary.

His further career is comparable to taking off Steve Jobs- in a conservative church environment, in 14 years he went from an academy graduate to the Archbishop of Kiev and Galicia, Exarch of Ukraine and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The heights that Filaret reached by the age of 37, many priests do not reach in their entire long life.

What made Filaret stand out was that he had practically no problems with the secular authorities. This looked incredible in conditions when the life of the church was under the strict control of the state.

In 2012, Filaret himself hinted at why this was happening, noting that “in Soviet times, no one could become a bishop if the KGB did not consent to this, therefore, it was would be untrue, would be tied. "

The hint turned out to be so transparent that Filaret's subordinates had to urgently make excuses for their boss. “Nowhere and never did Patriarch Filaret say that he was a KGB agent. He spoke and continues to say that in the USSR it was impossible to engage in church activities without contacts with the state authorities, including the KGB, ”he said. Archbishop Evstratiy, head of the information department of the UOC-KP.

Church master of Ukraine

Be that as it may, Filaret's career was completely cloudless. He went on business trips abroad, representing the ROC at various religious forums, and in 1979 was awarded the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples with the wording "for patriotic activities in defense of peace."

Filaret ruled believing Ukraine with an iron fist, suppressing all those who displeased and disagreed with his policy with the full support of the state.

Ukraine, in which the Soviet government after the war gathered in the bosom of a single Orthodox Church all the motley currents, including even the Greek Catholics, needed a church dictator who could keep the situation under control - apparently, this is how the representatives of the party organs argued, supporting Filaret.

It was quite simple to control him himself - the church hierarch loved life a little more than a monk should. “Somewhat more,” in particular, was that Filaret practically openly lived with a woman, which was well known in church circles.

In the second half of the 1980s, Filaret's quiet life in Ukraine ended. Conceived Mikhail Gorbachev perestroika also affected the church. Greek Catholics began to demand the return of churches and full independence, representatives of other branches of Orthodoxy revived as well.

Filaret himself, however, did not want to cook in this porridge. His ambitions reached the highest point - he dreamed of taking the place of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

"As the Council decides, so it will be"

Health Patriarch Pimen by that time it was seriously shaken, and the question of a successor came to the fore.

If Pimen had left for another world five years earlier, or perestroika had been delayed for the same period, Filaret would most likely have achieved what he wanted. His activities in Ukraine were quite suitable for the secular authorities, he perfectly knew how to follow instructions and was quite suitable for the role of patriarch in the realities of the era of stagnation.

Unfortunately for Filaret, Pimen died in 1990, when the Soviet regime finally loosened its grip, and the question of a new patriarch was completely left to the representatives of the church themselves.

The influence of Filaret was enough to get the post of patriarchal locum tenens, that is, in secular language, and. O. patriarch before the elections.

But then the problems began. Dissatisfaction with his management methods and a bad reputation in terms of moral stability led to the fact that his supporters only with great difficulty managed to include the name of Filaret on the lists of candidates.

According to a witness to those events, the now deceased Metropolitan of Kharkov and Bogodukhov Nikodim, on the eve of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, where the decisive vote was to take place, Filaret went to a reception at Head of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Anatoly Lukyanov, saying that the CPSU Central Committee approved his candidacy for the post of patriarch. In response, Lukyanov threw up his hands: "Mikhail Antonovich, now we cannot help you: as the Council decides, so it will be."

Filaret. Photo: RIA Novosti

On June 7, 1990, the Local Council "rolled" Filaret in the most harsh way - he did not even make it to the final round of voting, with 66 votes yielding to Metropolitan Vladimir of Rostov and Novocherkassk (107 votes) and Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Alexy, the future patriarch (139 votes).

For Filaret, this defeat was a severe blow. But he recovered quickly enough, assessed the situation and realized that he had a chance to take revenge.

"Given by God to Ukraine"

To begin with, he submitted a petition to grant the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broad autonomy under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate, explaining this by the need to respond to the challenges of the times.

Filaret was met halfway: in October 1990, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church transformed the Ukrainian Exarchate into the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and granted her independence and independence in government. The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church received the title "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine"; within this Church he was given the title "Most Blessed." The text of the Patriarchal Charter of October 27, 1990 includes a blessing for Filaret to be the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Thus, Filaret established himself as the ecclesiastical first hierarch of Ukraine and began to await the development of political events.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Filaret decided that his finest hour had come: if he failed to become the head of the Moscow Patriarchate, then a new, Kyiv Patriarchate must be created.

Filaret found warm support in the first Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk, hurrying to secede from Russia wherever possible. When it came to the seizure of churches and other property from those who remained loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate, militants from Ukrainian nationalist organizations provided forceful support to Filaret.

In the fall of 1991, Filaret tried to achieve autocephaly, that is, complete independence from the ROC, by appeals to to Patriarch Alexy II. Without a "visa" from the Moscow Patriarch, the church independence of Kiev will not be recognized by anyone in the Orthodox world.

In Moscow, after long disputes, they came to the conclusion that the autocephaly of the UOC at this stage will not lead to church peace. Filaret himself was accused of not meeting the requirements for a person capable of uniting all Orthodox clergy and laity in Ukraine around him.

Filaret admitted his mistakes, repented and took the oath of the cross to resign upon his return to Kiev. The repentance made an impression on the participants in the council: it was assumed that after his resignation, Filaret would be able to continue his archpastoral service at one of the departments of Ukraine.

Filaret took the oath before the cross at the request of the Ukrainian hierarchs, who knew well the true value of the words of their "boss".

Doubting hierarchs were not mistaken. Returning to Kiev, Filaret announced to the flock that he did not admit the accusations allegedly brought forward for his request to grant independence to the Ukrainian Church, and that he would lead the Ukrainian Orthodox Church until the end of his days, since he was "given by God to Ukrainian Orthodoxy."

Filaret. Photo: RIA Novosti

Anathema

On June 11, 1992, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to “cast out Metropolitan Filaret (Denisenko) from his existing dignity, depriving him of all degrees of priesthood and all rights associated with being in the clergy,” for “cruel and arrogant attitude towards the subordinate clergy, dictatorship and blackmail , the introduction by their behavior and personal life of temptation among believers, perjury, public slander and blasphemy against the Council of Bishops, the performance of sacred rites, including ordination in a state of prohibition, and a schism in the Church. "

But Filaret was already unstoppable. On June 25, 1992, in Kiev, the creation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate was announced, which included the hierarchs who supported Philaret, as well as the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which operated abroad after the war. The first Patriarch of the new church was not Filaret, but a 94-year-old Patriarch of the UAOC Mstislav, nephew Simon Petliura, who managed to serve as an aide-de-camp with his uncle before his church career.

However, in reality, Filaret remained the leader of the UOC-KP, who formally became the patriarch of the new structure only in 1995.

In Ukraine, a full-fledged church schism took place, when there were two Orthodox churches in the country - the Filaret UOC-KP and the UOC-MP, which remained in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Relying on the support of the official Kiev, Filaret actively attacked his opponents, taking away their churches and property, in exchange for the "word of God" blessing all the undertakings of the Ukrainian authorities.

On February 21, 1997, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated Filaret and anathematized him. However, Mikhail Denisenko cannot be embarrassed by any anathema. He achieved what he wanted - he became the Patriarch, and he was never interested in the price of the issue.

On the threshold of the high court

The only thing that he never managed to achieve was the recognition of the Kyivan Patriarchate by other local Orthodox churches. Only the same church schismatics as himself recognize Filaret as Patriarch.

President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko At one time, he spent a lot of efforts to achieve the "legalization" of Filaret, who serves the Ukrainian authorities as faithfully as he previously served as the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. On the eve of the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, Yushchenko actively courted the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, seeking from him the desired solution. But, apparently, Bartholomew was not as greedy for earthly blessings and joys as Filaret - as a result, the Kyivan Patriarchate was never recognized.

In August 2009, during a visit to Ukraine Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill Yushchenko addressed him with the following words: "The greatest desire of the Ukrainian people is to live in a single local Orthodox Church."

“This church, Mr. President, exists. - Kirill retorted, meaning the UOC-MP, - There is a local church in Ukraine. If it were not for it, there would be no Ukraine today ”.

Mikhail Antonovich Denisenko turned 86 in January 2015. In pursuit of the satisfaction of imperious ambitions, he did not stop at anything. To today's blessing of the bloody murders of Donbass residents, he walked, step by step, all his long life.

He will be judged for everything by another judge, who will not be affected by either the authority of the President of Ukraine or the machine guns of the Ukrainian Nazis.

Probably, this is the only trial that Monk Filaret fears. If, of course, he believes in God.

On January 15 of the same year, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy ordained him a hierodeacon, and on June 18, on the Day of the Holy Trinity, he was ordained a hieromonk.

On February 4, he was consecrated Bishop of Luga, vicar of the Leningrad diocese, and was appointed administrator of the Riga diocese. The rite of consecration was performed by: Metropolitan of Leningrad and Ladoga Pimen, Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov Nikodim and bishops: Kazan and Mari Mikhail, Tambov and Michurin Mikhail, Novgorod and Old Russian Sergius, Dmitrov Cyprian, Kostroma and Galich Nikodim.

The next day, May 27, followed the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kharkov, to which Metropolitan Filaret did not want to appear. The council expressed no confidence in him and dismissed him from the Kiev See, and for committing schismatic actions, as a pre-trial measure, forbade him to serve as clergy pending a decision on this issue by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church.

At a meeting on May 28, the Holy Synod of the Russian Church expressed its agreement with the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Church and appointed the convocation of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church for June 11. Metropolitan Filaret received a three-fold summons to the Council of Bishops from Patriarch Alexy, but did not appear at the sessions, after which the Council, according to the canons, could consider the case of the accused in his absence. In the meantime, ignoring the decisions of the Council and the Synod, forbidden in the priesthood, Filaret continued to perform divine services and even episcopal "ordinations."

After separation from the Moscow Patriarchate and the creation in the year of the schismatic organization "Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate" (UOC-KP), he became deputy patriarch Mstislav (Skrypnik), after whose death in 1993 he became deputy of the new patriarch Vladimir (Romanyuk), who died in 1995 year.

Awards

• Church:
• the right to wear the second panagia (decree of Patriarch Pimen on June 17, 1971)
• personalized panagia (in connection with the 25th anniversary of the episcopal consecration 1987)
• personalized panagia (for active participation in the preparation and holding of jubilee celebrations dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus on July 4, 1988)
• Secular:
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR on January 23, 1979)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for active peacekeeping and in connection with the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus on June 3, 1988)
• Order of Yaroslav the Wise V degree (1999)
• Order of Yaroslav the Wise IV degree (2001)
• Order of Yaroslav the Wise III degree (2004)
• Order of Yaroslav the Wise II degree (2006)
• Order of Yaroslav the Wise I degree (2008)
• Order of Liberty (2009)

Proceedings

• "The doctrine of the atonement of the holy fathers of the IV century - Athanasius the Great, Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian." (Candidate essay).
• Speech when naming Bishop of Luga. ZhMP. 1962, no. 3, p. 12.
• "In the name of unity and peace". (Pilgrimage of Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia to the shrines of the East). ZhMP. 1961, no. 3, p. 10-64.
• "Visiting Anglican Monks". ZhMP. 1960, no. 8.
• "Participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the World Peace Congress in Helsinki". ZhMP. 1965, no. 10.
• "In the name of brotherhood and friendship." ZhMP. 1967, no. 3, p. 9-12.
• "Cyril and Methodius celebrations in Thessaloniki". ZhMP. 1967, no. 3, p. 50-54.
• "Works of Saints Cyril and Methodius on the Territory of the Russian State in Russian Historical Literature": (Report on the jubilee of the 1100th anniversary of the beginning of the educational activities of Saints Cyril and Methodius, read in Thessaloniki on October 22, 1966). ZhMP. 1967, no. 3, p. 55-58.
• Appeal regarding the events in Greece (Easter of Christ, 1967). ZhMP. 1967, no. 6, p. 7-8.
• Message in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. ZhMP. 1968, no. 1, p. 7-9.
• Speech at the presentation of the bishop's baton to Bishop Savva (Babinets) on March 30, 1969. ZhMP. 1969, no. 6, p. 11-14.
• "Foundations, practice and prospects of joint efforts of various religions in support of cooperation and peace between peoples": (Co-report at the first meeting of the 5th working group of the Conference of representatives of all religions in the USSR, July 2, 1969). ZhMP. 1969, no. 9, p. 53-59.
• Speech at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. ZhMP. 1971, No. 8, p. 7-14.
• Speech at the presentation of the bishop's baton to Bishop Nikolai (Bychkovsky). ZhMP. 1971, No. 8, p. 32-34.
• Speech at the opening of the interview of theologians of Russian Prav. Churches and Churches of the Brothers in the United States. ZhMP. 1971, No. 10, p. 53-59.
• Speech at a reception hosted by the League of Religious Leaders of Japan in honor of the World Conference on Religion and Peace Oct 16. 1970 year. ZhMP. 1970, no. 12, p. 38-39.
• Speech at a reception at the Association for New Religions on October 23, 1970. ZhMP. 1970, no. 12, p. 40-41.
• Reception speech in Tokyo Oct 29. 1970 year. ZhMP. 1979, no. 12, p. 41-42.
• Speech at the conferral of the archpastoral staff to Bishop Varlaam (Ilyushchenko) 22 Oct. 1972 year. ZhMP. 1973, No. 1, p. 15-18.
• "Fraternal visit of the Moscow Patriarch to the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church". ZhMP. 1973, No. 6, p. 8-16.
• Word on the day of the namesake Saint. Patriarch Pimen September 9, 1973. ZhMP. 1973, No. 10, p. 16.
• "World Congress of Peace Forces". ZhMP. 1973, No. 12, p. 41-43.
• "Fraternal visit of the Church delegation of the Soviet Union to India". ZhMP. 1975, no. 5, p. 70-72; No. 6, p. 55-61.
• Speech at the presentation of the bishop's baton to Bishop Agafangel of Vinnytsia and Bratslav 16 Nov. 1975 ZhMP. 1976, no. 3, p. 10-12.
• Interview to APN correspondent on February 20, 1976. ZhMP. 1976, No. 5, p. 4-5.
• Speech before the opening of the ceremonial act on May 15, 1976 in Lviv. ZhMP. 1976, No. 9, p. 9-10.
• Sermon at the Ecumenical Service at Erfoot Cathedral 12 Sept. 1976 ZhMP. 1976, no. 12, p. 53.
• Speech at the presentation of the archpastoral staff to the Bishop of Kirovograd and Nikolaev Sevastian. ZhMP. 1978, No. 1, p. 31.
• Speech at the presentation of the archpastoral staff to Bishop John of Zhytomyr and Ovruch. ZhMP. 1978, no. 2, p. 18-19.
• Speech at the opening of the 3rd theological interview in Kiev by representatives of Russ. Right. Churches and the Union of Evangelical Churches in the GDR, 2 Oct. 1978 year. ZhMP. 1978, no. 12, p. 53.
• "On the Fifth All Christian Peace Congress". ZhMP. 1979, no. 2, p. 43-49.
• Speech at the presentation of the bishop's baton to Bishop Lazar of Argentina on April 18. 1980 year. ZhMP. 1980, no. 7, p. 35.
• "Word on the 70th anniversary of St. Patriarch Pimen". ZhMP. 1980, no. 9, p. fourteen.
• Speech at the presentation of the diploma of Doctor of Theology of the Prešov Faculty of Theology on May 20, 1980 ZhMP. 1980, no. 10, p. 41.
• The word of congratulations is holy. Patriarch Pimen on the day of the name of 9 Sept. 1980 ZhMP. 1980, no. 11, p. 6.
• Speech on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo in all Saints Cathedral in Tula 18 Sept. 1980 ZhMP. 1980, no. 12, p. fourteen.
• Speech at the World Parliament of Peoples for Peace. ZhMP. 1980, no. 12, p. 45.
• Report at the opening of the KOPR meeting (Eisenach, October 14, 1980). ZhMP. 1981, No. 1, p. 38.
• "Local Church and the Universal Church": (Report at the theological symposium "About Oriente" in Vienna on December 1, 1980, ZhMP. 1981, No. 3, pp. 70-76; No. 4, pp. 60-67.
• "On the Spiritual Image of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel". ZhMP. 1981, No. 5, p. 55-60.
• A word about forgiving offenses. ZhMP. 1981, no. 6, p. 36.
• Report at the solemn act of celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Lviv Church Council in 1946 (May 16, 1981). ZhMP. 1981, no. 10, p. 6-13.
• Sermon at the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral on 4 December. 1982 ZhMP. 1983, no. 2, p. 17.
• On the decisions of the Second Pre-Council Pan-Orthodox Meeting. ZhMP. 1983, No. 8, S. 53; No. 9, p. 46; No. 10, p. 44; No. 11, p. 43.
• Speech at the presentation of the diploma of Doctor of Theology "Honoris Kausa" by the Faculty of Theology. Jan Hus in Prague. ZhMP. 1984, no. 10, p. 58; No. 11, p. 61.
• Answers to the questions of the correspondent of the Italian newspaper "Unita" 21 Feb. 1985 ZhMP. 1985, no. 6, p. 63.
• "V1-th All-Christian Peace Congress" Global threat to humanity - a global strategy for peace. (The report was read on July 4, 1985 at the Congress). ZhMP. 1985, No. 10, p. 38.
• Word in the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra on July 23, 1985 ZhMP. 1985, no. 11, p. eight.
• Report at the ceremony dedicated to the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Lviv Church Cathedral (Lviv, May 17-19, 1986). ZhMP. 8, p. 5-9.

Literature

• ZhMP. 1962, No. 2, p. 23; No. 3, p. 11-16; No. 4, p. eighteen; No. 7, p. 20, 36; No. 11, p. nine; No. 12, p. 12.
• - "-, 1963, No. 2, p. 18, 20, No. 3, p. 9, 10; No. 6, p. 11, 13; No. 6, p. 10, 11; No. 10, p. 14.
• - "-, 1965, No. 1, p. 5; No. 4, p. 5.
• - "-, 1966, No. 6, p. 1; No. 7, p. 9-13; No. 11, p. 1; No. 12, p. 7-9, 33, 38.
• - "-, 1967, No. 1, p. 7, 40; No. 4, p. 20; No. 6, p. 50, 52; No. 9, p. 30; No. 10, p. 3, 8; No. 12, p. 3.
• - "-, 1968, No. 1, p. 14, 25; No. 2, p. 27, 50-54; No. 3, p. 3; No. 5, p. 3, 19; No. 8, p. 1; No. 9, p. 4; No. 11, p. 11; No. 12, p. 34.
• - "-, 1969, No. 1, p. 29; No. 2, p. 4, 28; No. 3, p. 24; No. 4, p. 6; No. 6, p. 9; No. 7, p. 10; No. 8, p. 1; No. 9, p. 5, 31; No. 11, p. 12.
• - "-, 1970, No. 1, p. 5; No. 3, p. 5; No. 4, p. 10, 12, 31; No. 6, p. 11-32; No. 7, p. 10, 11; No. 8, p. 9; No. 9, p. 20; No. 10, p. 6; No. 11, p. 2, 5; No. 12, p. 11, 37-43.
• - "-, 1971, No. 1, p. 5; No. 6, p. 1; No. 7, p. 1; No. 8, p. 45; No. 9,. P. 30, 31, 35; No. 10, p. . 1; No. 11, p. 5, 13.
• - "-, 1972, No. 2, p. 27; No. 5, p. 1, 17; No. 6, p. 1-12; No. 8, p. 17; No. 9, p. 24; No. 10, p. 2, 54; No. 11, p. 27; No. 12, p. 17.
• - "-, 1973, No. 1, p. 13; No. 3, p. 1; No. 4, p. 24; No. 6, p. 8; No. 7, p. 11, 13; No. 8, p. 8, 11; No. 9, p. 11, 13; No. 10, p. 15, 24; No. 11, p. 9, 27.
• - "-, 1974, No. 2, p. 11, 40; No. 3, p. 28; No. 7, p. 16; No. 8, p. 31; No. 9, p. 9; No. 10, p. 26; No. 11, p. 8, 9; No. 12, p. 4.
• - "-, 1975, No. 2, p. 4; No. 3, p. 13, 57; No. 4, p. 3; No. 6, p. 4; No. 8, p. 13; No. 9, p. 50- 57; No. 10, p. 28.
• - "-, 1976, No. 1, p. 23; No. 2, p. 12; No. 3, p. 7; No. 4, p. 5, 6; No. 6, p. 6; No. 7, p. 11, 25; No. 8, p. 37; No. 9, p. 5, 62; No. 10, p. 18; No. 12, p. 10.
• - "-, 1977, No. 2, p. 4, 25; No. 3, p. 7, 8; No. 4, p. 20; No. 5, p. 4, 6, 17; No. 8, p. 4; No. 10, p. 2, 9; No. 11, p. 3, 6, 11, 44.
• - "-, 1978, No. 1, p. 29, 31, 45; No. 2, p. 7, 14, 18; No. 5, p. 6, 7; No. 6, p. 4, 19, 29, 30; No. 9, p. 15, 16, 17; No. 10, p. 7, 20, 21; No. 11, p. 7, 22, 23; No. 12, p. 10, 17.
• - "-, 1979, No. 1, p. 23; No. 2, p. 17; No. 4, p. 5, 15; No. 5, p. 4, 5, 30; No. 7, p. 12; No. 8, p. 5; No. 9, p. 8, 57; No. 10, p. 5; No. 11, p. 2, 21, 22; No. 12, p. 4, 6, 9, 11, 42.
• - "-, 1980, No. 1, p. 12, 53; No. 3, p. 3; No. 4, p. 3; No. 5, p. 18, 20; No. 6, p. 15, 50; No. 7, p. 32, 35; No. 9, p. 12, 34; No. 10, p. 3, 40; No. 11, p. 6, 40; No. 12, p. 4, 8, 9, 28, 31, 42.
• - "-, 1981, No. 1, p. 6, 9; No. 2, p. 4, 9, 15; No. 5, p. 5, 41; No. 6, p. 7, 19, 27, 48; No. 7 , p. 27, 28, 50; No. 8, p. 20, 21, 65; No. 9, p. 22, 66; No. 10, p. 29, 37, 63; No. 11, p. 4, 8, 17 , 20; No. 12, p. 9.
• - "-, 1982, No. 1, p. 9, 20; No. 2, p. 7, 52; No. 3, p. 17, 27, 58; No. 5, p. 6, 58; No. 7, p. 4 -7, 10, 27, 58; No. 8, p. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 45, 46, 53; No. 9, p. 3, 60; No. 10, p. 4; No. 12, p. . 101, 108, 127.
• - "-, 1983, No. 1, p. 57; No. 2, p. 8, 44, 47; No. 5, p. 2, 66; No. 6, p. 26; No. 7, p. 53; No. 8, p. 4, 9; No. 9, p. 5, 21; No. 10, p. 41, 62; No. 12, p. 8, 9.
• - "-, 1984, No. 1, p. 34; No. 2, p. 52; No. 4, p. 5; No. 5, p. 8; No. 9, p. 6, 50; No. 10, p. 52; No. 11, p. 5, 12, 14; No. 12, p. 5, 18.
• - "-, 1985, No. 2, p. 6, 8, 9, 29; No. 5, p. 6, 8; No. 9, p. 78; No. 10, p. 12, 13; No. 11, p. 35 ; No. 12, p. 10, 13.
• - "-, 1986, No. 4, p. 36; No. 5, p. 36, 41.
• - "-, 1987, No. 4, p. 5;
• - "-, 1988, No. 10, p. 7.
• Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Filaret, Exarch of All Ukraine: Biography // ZhMP. 1990. No. 7. S. 5-6.