In Lviv, the presence of a UOC hierarch at the opening of a medical center sparked a scandal

A public outcry erupted in Lviv following the participation of Metropolitan Filaret of Lviv and Halych (UOC) in the grand opening of the new rehabilitation wing at the UNBROKEN center. The presence of a representative of the UOC sparked a wave of outrage from representatives of the UGCC and the OCU, who demanded an investigation by the SBU.

Justyn Boiko, a cleric of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ( ), publicly condemned the event’s organizers, calling the hierarch’s visit a “triumph of the Moscow Patriarchate” and accusing Mayor Andriy Sadovyi of “moral insensitivity.” The UGCC representative called for the creation of a special city council commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the invitation and demanded that the mayor issue a public apology to the military and the public.

For his part, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi attempted to distance himself from the incident, stating that he was not involved in compiling the guest list and did not invite the representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), calling what happened “an unfortunate incident.” However, critics, including Mykola Bilyak (OCU), accused the mayor of hypocrisy, pointing out the inconsistency of his position. Bilyak emphasized that only military chaplains—not hierarchs of the UOC—should have been present at the rehabilitation center, which is intended for the recovery of Ukrainian servicemen.

The situation took a further turn when the head of the Lviv Regional Council, Yuriy Kholod, also stated that the metropolitan’s appearance at the opening came as a surprise to him. Despite officials’ attempts to shift the blame, public outrage over this incident continues to grow.