Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Calls for Church Trial Against Self-Proclaimed 'Patriarch' and 'Bishops' of the UOC-KP

On April 3, 2023, a significant meeting of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) took place in the Synodal Hall of the Metropolitan Residence at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. During this meeting, the Synod reached a pivotal decision to initiate a church trial against the self-proclaimed 'patriarch' and 'bishops' of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP). This resolution emerged as a direct response to the anti-canonical actions of a group of individuals, including clergy who have been defrocked and banned from serving.

The Synod of the OCU condemned the actions of this group, which has unlawfully and unilaterally appropriated the title of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, a designation that is officially recognized as belonging to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as its sole legal successor. This announcement was made public by OCU spokesperson Metropolitan Yevstratiy (Zorya) in a post on social media platform Facebook.

In the Synod's resolution, it was noted that a public notification would be issued to previously banned clergy of the OCU, including Archimandrite Nikon (Volodymyr Kobzar), Archimandrite Daniil (Dmytro Kudybin), Igumen Mykhailo (Mykola Kovaliuk), and Hieromonk Nikon (Yuriy Hrabliuk). These individuals have unlawfully claimed episcopal titles and have committed numerous publicly documented offenses against canonical order and church unity. Church judicial proceedings have been initiated against each of them, and they have been summoned to provide explanations at the next meeting of the Holy Synod, scheduled for May 2026.

The Synod also reminded that, according to canonical law and the decisions of the OCU, the conferral of episcopal rank to individuals declared in the name of the UOC-KP after December 15, 2018, without a decision from the OCU Synod and without the blessing of the primate, is invalid. Consequently, these individuals cannot be recognized as bishops and will not be acknowledged as such in the future.

Additionally, the Synod reported that several former clergy of the OCU, including Monk Ioasaf (Shybaiev), Monk Filaret (Panku), Monk Petro (Moskalov), Monk Andrii (Marutsak), and layman Bohdan Zghoba, have been stripped of their clerical status due to gross violations of canonical order that have caused serious harm to the Church.

The Synod's announcement also addressed participants in Greek Old Calendarist schismatic communities, such as Axentius Marinīs and Georgios (Chrysostom) Kallis, who refer to themselves as 'bishops' of the UOC-KP. The Synod emphasized that these individuals are not bishops and fall under the jurisdiction and judgment of the Church of Greece. This decision was made during the meeting on February 2, 2022, and was communicated in writing to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.

It is noteworthy that following the death of Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko) on March 20, 2026, the bishops of the UOC-KP elected Archbishop Nikodim (Volodymyr Kobzar) of Sumy and Okhtyrka as the new primate. This decision was made at the Bishops' Council through a secret ballot, despite the fact that the UOC-KP was legally dissolved in 2019.

Metropolitan Yevstratiy (Zorya) expressed the view that the activities of the group formally led by the 'new patriarch of the UOC-KP' Kobzar could be interpreted as a special church operation by Russian intelligence services against Ukraine. He called for an appropriate state legal assessment of this situation, as well as a public response.