An initiative has been launched in Kyiv to rename a lane in honor of Filaret Denisenko, the founder of the Ukrainian church schism

A public discussion has begun in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi District regarding the renaming of Rylskyi Lane. City officials are proposing to name the street after Filaret Denisenko, the former primate of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Voting among city residents is taking place via the “Kyiv Digital” mobile app and will continue until September 30, 2026.

Representatives of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) note that such initiatives are aimed at decolonizing urban space. Renaming streets and alleys helps to gradually phase out place names imposed during the imperial and Soviet periods and to commemorate outstanding Ukrainian historical figures.

It should be noted that earlier, the Kyiv City Council decided to rename a section of Lavrska Street in the Pechersk district in honor of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. This decision, according to the city council, “restores the historical name, which was changed in 2010 amid political pressure.”