Spiritual Testament of Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine Filaret (Denysenko)

Spiritual Testament of Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine Filaret (Denysenko M.A.)
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate
to the Entire Fullness of Ukrainian Orthodoxy

All my life I have devoted to the building and strengthening of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It has been a difficult and thorny path, filled with many trials. Yet now I clearly see that there is no other way for the existence of the Ukrainian Church than being independent (autocephalous) and united, and that soon the time will come for the unification of the entire fullness of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

Being of sound mind and fully aware of my responsibility before the Lord God, the devout Ukrainian people, and the Ukrainian Church, I appeal to the episcopate, clergy, and faithful of all branches of Ukrainian Orthodoxy with a call to forget all personal quarrels, interconfessional misunderstandings, and to make every possible and even impossible effort toward uniting into one Church. Let there be unity and Christian love in all your deeds and intentions, as our Lord Jesus Christ said: “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). This unity and love are necessary for us to attain the Kingdom of Heaven and to strengthen and affirm the Ukrainian State. Therefore, I call on everyone to gather in the throne city of Kyiv for a unification council to create a truly united Ukrainian Orthodox Church, independent both from Moscow and from Constantinople, with a patriarchal structure of governance. Such an order will ensure spiritual independence and strengthen the national identity of the Ukrainian people, promoting their unity in the face of contemporary challenges. The council must become a historic step where common prayer and dialogue will lead to spiritual unity.

Having been elected at the Local Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate on October 20, 1995, I am the lifetime-elected Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Holy Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine. At the same time, I am not the Honorary Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, as its representatives and leadership claim.

In the event of my death, I decree that the funeral and burial service be conducted in the St. Volodymyr Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv by the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, and not of the OCU.

I especially ask Ukrainians to preserve the faith, traditions, and independence of our Church, passing them on to future generations as their highest treasure. I pray and invoke God’s blessing upon the long-suffering Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian Church, and our native State! May, through the prayers of the Mother of God, the venerable fathers of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and all the saints of the Ukrainian land, our country overcome the enemy and be granted a peaceful and prosperous life. May each of us live with faith in our hearts, labor for the good of Ukraine and our neighbors, fulfill the commandments of God, and thus enter into the joy of our Lord (Matthew 25:21).

By God’s mercy,
Filaret,
Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine