Clergymen from all over Ukraine and hundreds of believers came to see off the outstanding church figure
A farewell to the long-time head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, Filaret, was held in St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral on March 22. Hundreds of people came to say goodbye to him. This is reported by hromadske, the PromPolitInform portal reports.
As reported, some of those present entered the church to pay their respects in person, while others remained outside. Priests from different regions of Ukraine also arrived in Kyiv. A special place with a book of remembrance was set up on the territory of the cathedral, where everyone who wished could leave their memories of the patriarch.
After the farewell, the funeral procession marched around the church, then went to Sophia Square and Sophia Cathedral. The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Epiphanius, also took part in the procession. Law enforcement officers blocked Volodymyrska Street while the column was moving, and people gathered along the route to pay their last respects. The funeral service ended at Volodymyrs Cathedral.
What is known about Filaret
Filaret died on March 20 at the age of 97. Before that, he was hospitalized several times, including shortly before his death. On March 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the First Lady said goodbye to Filaret. He called him a symbol of spiritual independence.
The Patriarch, in the world Mykhailo, was born on January 23, 1929 in the Donetsk region. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy and took monastic tonsure while still studying.
In the 1960s-1980s, he held a number of high church positions, including being the Exarch of Ukraine and Archbishop of Kyiv and Galicia. After Ukraine gained independence, he initiated the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Church from the jurisdiction of Moscow, but did not receive support from the Russian Orthodox Church.
This led to a conflict, as a result of which he was removed from his position in the UOC. Later, he became one of the founders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate and its primate. For this, he was stripped of his rank and anathema in the ROC.
As it was written, the UOC-KP has already elected a new patriarch after the death of Filaret. The voting was even held online, with bishops from Ukraine and abroad taking part.
