Vitaliy Sayenko, Marta Gichko12:42, 20.03.26

The earthly journey of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret ended at the age of 98.

Patriarch Emeritus of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Filaret (in the world Mykhailo Antonovich Denysenko) died at the age of 98. He was hospitalized in March due to deteriorating health. This was announced by Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, abbot of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphanius on the social network Facebook .  

“Today, there is deep sadness and regret in my heart, as in the hearts of many Ukrainians, because today the earthly journey of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret has ended,” Epiphanius noted. 

The head of the OCU called on the all-Ukrainian flock to offer heartfelt prayers for the repose of the soul of the newly departed Patriarch Filaret, who departed to be with the Lord today.

“We ask the Almighty to accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom. Heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased bishop!”, Epiphanius added. 

As the abbot of the OCU emphasized, Filaret’s instructions on the importance of maintaining the unity of the Ukrainian Church around the Kyivan See will always be remembered. 

“We will also remember and fulfill his lessons and instructions about the importance of conciliarity, about humility before the will of God and the will of the fullness of the Church, about devoted service to God, the Church of Christ, and the Ukrainian people,” Epiphanius emphasized.  

As the head of the OCU emphasized, Filaret’s heart stopped at the age of 98. 

“But prayer and memory of him will remain in the local autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church forever. May the memory of the newly departed Patriarch be bright and eternal, and may his soul rejoice in heaven with the fruits that his good work here on earth has given and will give! The Kingdom of Heaven, eternal memory and eternal peace to the departed Patriarch Filaret!”, Epiphanius noted.

What preceded

As is known, on March 9, it became known that due to the deterioration of Filaret’s health, he was hospitalized in one of the medical institutions in Kyiv. He was under the supervision of doctors and received the necessary medical care.

As UNIAN reported, after Ukraine gained independence, Patriarch Filaret fought for the restoration of Ukrainian church independence and for granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Before receiving the Tomos, he headed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In 2018, after the unification council and the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Filaret became its honorary patriarch. 

(c)UNIAN 2026