OCU invalidates "spiritual will" of late head of UOC-KP

The OCU does not officially recognize the document presented to the public as a «spiritual testament» of Filaret Denisenko. According to the organization’s officials, the late head of the UOC-KP signed the paper without first reading its contents, and the document itself is related to attempts to establish control over church property.

According to LB.ua, OCU spokesman Yevstratiy Zorya said that Filaret had actually seen the document for the first time at the time of signing. The text, which the OCU refuses to consider a genuine expression of will, allegedly contained a ban on the funeral service of Denisenko by representatives of the OCU. However, Zorya noted that after this incident, Epiphany Dumenko and Filaret Denisenko continued to keep in touch and hold meetings.

According to the speaker’s statement, the initiators of the publication of the video with the signature were supporters of Nikodim Kobzar. Zorya emphasized that the key goal of those promoting this «will» is to gain control over St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral and the residence of the head of the UOC-KP. He added that the initiators have no legal grounds for such claims, and the signing process itself was manipulative.

As reported earlier, Oleksandr Pyvovarsky, chief specialist of the Department of Cultural Heritage and Religions of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Zhytomyr Regional Administration, said that the Kyiv Patriarchate, led by Filaret Denisenko, has not legally ceased to exist, as the head of the UOC-KP has not handed over the constituent documents. In this regard, there are still a large number of UOC-KP communities in the state register.