OCU Synod condemns activities of group of people using the name "Kyiv Patriarchate"

The Holy Synod of the OCU has issued an official statement regarding the illegal activities of a group of people who continue to “unreasonably use the name ‘Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate‘”. According to the official website of the OCU, the relevant text was approved at a meeting of the Synod on May 11, 2026.

The statement emphasizes that according to the decision of the Local Council of the UOC-KP and the Unification Council of December 15, 2018, the “Kyiv Patriarchate” completely ceased to exist as a separate jurisdiction, becoming part of the OCU. All rights to the names “Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate” and “Kyiv Patriarchate” are legally reserved to the OCU. According to the OCU, the use of these names by outsiders is a gross violation of the law.

According to the Synod, the activities of a small group that declared itself the “Kyiv Patriarchate” after the death of Filaret Denisenko are “an unsuccessful attempt by a marginal group to generate schism” behind which Russian interests can be traced. The OCU emphasizes that most of the members of this association are outside Ukraine and have nothing to do with the real spiritual needs of Ukrainians.

In connection with the commission of “canonical crimes,” the Synod decided to defrock the persons who had previously been banned from ministry. In particular, the monks Nikodim Kobzar (who calls himself the “patriarch”), Mikhail Kovaluk and Nikon Grablyuk (who call themselves “metropolitans”) were officially “deprived of their holy rank. ” The OCU emphasizes that these individuals have never had “episcopal dignity,” and their titles have not been and will not be recognized by the OCU.

Earlier, the UOC-KP refuted the statement of the Synod of the OCU of April 3, 2026, calling it “outright disinformation”. The official statement emphasizes that the canonical status of the hierarchs of the UOC-KP cannot be considered within the OCU, since the “Kyiv Patriarchate” is not part of Epiphany Dumenko’s organization. At the same time, the UOC-KP drew attention to the fact that in the OCU itself, part of the “episcopate” that came from the UAOC has dubious ordinations.