Details Have Emerged About the Pressure Exercised by the Authorities on the “Unification Council” in Kyiv in 2018

An internal document from the Patriarchate of Constantinople has been made public, shedding light on the events surrounding the so-called “Unification Council” held in Kyiv in December 2018. According to the website “The Life of the Church,” citing a report by Metropolitan Gregory of Anka, the process of establishing the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) took place under the strict control of state authorities and President Petro Poroshenko personally.

In the document—a chronicle spanning more than 20 pages—Metropolitan Gregory describes an atmosphere of total surveillance. The delegation from Constantinople, led by Metropolitan Emmanuel, was effectively under house arrest: delegation members were prohibited from leaving the country, and their accommodations were under constant surveillance by the security services. The authors of the report mention that the delegation members were forced to communicate via notes, fearing that their conversations were being eavesdropped on.

According to the source, pressure was exerted at every stage of the council’s preparation. In particular, when Filaret Denisenko refused to sign the documents necessary for the unification of the schismatic structures, Petro Poroshenko intervened. After a tense phone conversation between the Ukrainian president and Patriarch Bartholomew, the issue of the signature was resolved within an hour. It is also noted that government officials were directly involved in editing the charter of the new religious organization.

The document also describes the day of the event, December 15: the President of Ukraine personally awaited the delegation at St. Sophia Cathedral, addressed the gathering, and intervened in the proceedings to ensure the election of the desired candidate—Epiphany Dumenko. This information confirms critical observations regarding the high degree of politicization of the process, which the authorities positioned as Ukraine’s attainment of “spiritual independence.”

As a reminder, a recent publication of an archived interview with the former leader of the “Kyiv Patriarchate,” Filaret (Mikhail) Denisenko, which refuted Constantinople’s official version of the reasons for its interference in Ukraine’s church affairs. According to new information, Patriarch Bartholomew was playing a double game and laying the groundwork for the legalization of the schism as early as a decade before the Tomos was granted, secretly contacting individuals under anathema.