Patriarch Filaret of the UOC-KP receives Primate of the OCU Epiphany, and before that made a will

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, met with Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In October, Filaret wrote a will in which he asked that after his death he be buried by the bishops of the UOC-KP, not the OCU, which was recognized by Constantinople.

According to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the meeting took place on November 5 at the Metropolitan's House for the second time in the last two weeks. The previous one took place on October 26, during which Epiphany congratulated Filaret on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his enthronement (the moment he began to perform his duties).

It is noted that Epiphany expressed gratitude to Filaret for "many years of service in the development of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church" and presented a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his services in the revival of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its consecration.

"Thank God that we can communicate like this. We need to show love and constantly thank God for all His blessings," said the 96-year-old Filaret .

Epiphany and Filaret also discussed the challenges of Russian aggression and the situation in the temporarily occupied territories, and held a prayer for Ukraine's victory over Russia.

In his spiritual testament, which was published by the UOC-KP on October 19, Filaret called on everyone to gather in the "throne city of Kyiv" for a unification council to create a "truly united" Ukrainian Orthodox Church, independent of either Moscow or Constantinople, with a patriarchal system of government.

"The Council should be a historic step, where joint prayer and dialogue will lead to spiritual unity," the will says .

Filaret also emphasized that he is not an honorary patriarch of the OCU, despite the claims of its leadership and representatives. He called himself the life-long elected head of the UOC-KP, the Holy Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine.

"In the event of my death, I will that the rite of funeral and burial be performed at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral of the Patriarchate of Kyiv by the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, not the OCU," Filaret willed.

• Filaret had been heading the UOC-KP since 1995. on December 15, 2018, the Unification Council of Orthodox Churches in Ukraine was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, which formed the OCU. The Ecumenical Patriarchate granted the OCU a tomos of autocephaly.
• After being elected head of the OCU, Epifaniy declared Filaret the spiritual mentor of the OCU, who "will continue to be an honorary acting [mentor] for life, helping us to jointly build our one local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.".
• Filaret noted in his will that he is still the elected head of the UOC-Kyiv Patriarchate and is not an honorary patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
• Since 2022, Filaret has been demanding the restoration of the UOC-KP – filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv District Administrative Court.