Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate Filaret (in the world - Mykhailo Antonovich Denysenko) was admitted to one of the capital's hospitals for a routine examination. The UOC-KP reports this, noting that the patriarch's health is satisfactory.
The church message states: "In connection with various media reports, we inform you that the health of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret is satisfactory, he is undergoing routine examination and treatment. We ask you to offer prayers for the health of our Primate."
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a competitor of the UOC-KP, noted that the health of the emeritus patriarch has "obviously deteriorated" and called on the congregation to pray for his recovery.
Filaret was born on January 23, 1929 in the Donetsk region. After graduating from the Moscow Theological Academy, he quickly made a career in the Russian Orthodox Church, becoming a bishop and later metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia. After the collapse of the USSR, he actively advocated for the independence of the Ukrainian church and in 1992 headed the newly created Ukrainian Patriarchate of the Kyiv Patriarchate, which caused a conflict with the Moscow Patriarchate.
In 2018, Filaret participated in the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and received the status of honorary patriarch. However, already in 2019, he declared the formality of his role in the OCU and tried to revive the Kyiv Patriarchate, which led to a conflict with the primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epiphany.
Despite this, Patriarch Filaret continued to conduct divine services in the Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv.
