Honored Patriarch of Kyiv and all Russia-Ukraine Filaret (Denysenko) has said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) has filed a lawsuit against Ukraine’s Culture Ministry for its decision to remove the registration of the UOC-KP.
“We filed a lawsuit against the Culture Ministry, which illegally removed the registration of the Kyiv Patriarchate and Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate,” Filaret said at a briefing in Kyiv on July 31.
Filaret said it is illegal to take such actions without his approval, adding that a lawsuit against Ukraine’s Justice Ministry is also possible.
Filaret said the UOC-KP does not intend to file suit against ex-President Petro Poroshenko.
According to Filaret, the UOC-KP currently consists of six bishops, including Filaret, and 15 dioceses.
“Some 15 regions have parishes which have preserved the statutes of the Kyiv Patriarchate. This means that they belong to the UOC-KP,” he added.
Filaret could not say how many priests and parishes belong to the UOC-KP.
