The Orthodox Church of Ukraine has appealed to the faithful to pray for the health of Patriarch Filaret. As reported by the Kyiv Metropolis of the OCU, the prominent church figure is experiencing a deterioration in health due to the exacerbation of chronic illnesses.
This is reported by Finway
Hospitalization and Condition of Patriarch Filaret
On March 9, 2026, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret was urgently hospitalized in one of the capital’s medical institutions. The Church has called on all Ukrainian believers to intensify their prayers for his health.
“The Kyiv Metropolis of the OCU reports that on March 9, 2026, due to a deterioration in health from the exacerbation of chronic diseases, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret was hospitalized in a medical facility in Kyiv. We urge the nationwide flock to offer intensified prayers for the health of His Holiness Patriarch Filaret.”
Life Path and Role in the Establishment of the OCU
Filaret, known in the world as Mykhailo Denysenko, was born on January 23, 1929, and is now 97 years old. Since October 1995, he has led the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In December 2018, after receiving the tomos of autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine granted him the status of honorary patriarch.
In June 2022, shortly after the onset of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, Honorary Patriarch Filaret of the OCU called for a unifying council involving three branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate.