The farewell ceremony for Honorary Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine Filaret took place in Kyiv. In accordance with his spiritual will, the hierarch’s body was buried in the crypt of St. Vladimir’s Cathedral.
This is reported by Finway
Liturgy and Farewell
On the morning of March 22, a requiem liturgy was held at the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, led by the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius. Hundreds of people came to bid farewell to Patriarch Filaret, reflecting his authority and significance for the Ukrainian Orthodox community.
After the liturgy, a mourning procession with the body of the patriarch set off from the monastery through St. Sophia Square to St. Vladimir’s Cathedral. Thousands of clergy and laypeople participated in the funeral march.
Life Path and Contribution of Filaret
“On March 9, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine called on its faithful to pray for the health of Patriarch Filaret, announcing his hospitalization and deteriorating health condition.”
On the afternoon of March 20, it became known that Patriarch Filaret had passed into eternity. Ukrainian Orthodox archbishop Filaret (born Mykhailo Denysenko) was born on January 23, 1929. Since October 1995, he had held the position of head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In December 2018, after receiving the tomos from the Ecumenical Patriarch, Filaret was proclaimed Honorary Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In June 2022, after the onset of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, Filaret called for the unification of the three branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy — the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), and the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate — to strengthen the spiritual unity of the country.
