"Are the elections coming soon?": Filaret Denisenko and Yulia Tymoshenko discuss creation of a single local church in Ukraine

on December 22, 2025, the head of the UOC-KP Filaret Denisenko met in Kyiv with the leader of the Batkivshchyna party and parliamentary faction Yulia Tymoshenko. The main topic of discussion was church-state and inter-church relations, including the need to create a single Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The meeting was held at the residence of the head of the UOC-KP. It was also attended by the rector of St. Volodymyr’s Patriarchal Cathedral, Borys Tabachek, and the head of the Service of the head of the Batkivshchyna party, Mykhailo Livinsky.

According to the press service of the UOC-KP, Filaret Denysenko emphasized the importance of Christian love in the life of the people: «The basis of life is love. Out of love God created the world and man, out of love He gave us salvation and constantly cares for us. Out of love for their people and homeland, our soldiers sacrificially defend Ukraine. Therefore, the basis of the happy life of the Ukrainian people should be love for God and neighbors, for each other and for their native land.»

In turn, Yulia Tymoshenko emphasized the importance of prayer and joint efforts to achieve a just peace. She stated: «We have to pray and do everything possible to achieve a just peace in Ukraine and its revival. We will build a country where harmony and justice will prevail. I am confident that the Lord God will bless Ukraine with peace in freedom and give our people prosperity and well-being.»

Special attention was paid to the issues of church-state and interchurch relations in Ukraine.

The head of the UOC-KP strongly emphasized the need for church unity: «The unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church will unite our people into a single whole. The church is the spiritual foundation of the Ukrainian people, and we must do everything possible to ensure that there is a single Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Through the unity of the Church, Ukraine will be united, strong and invincible.»

The leader of the Batkivshchyna party praised the role of Filaret Denysenko and his ministry in the modern history of Ukraine: «We highly appreciate your many years of work and significant contribution to the development of the independent Ukrainian Church. You are a strong and unbreakable personality. We sincerely thank you for the word of God that you inspire in the hearts of Ukrainians, for praying for our people, our soldiers and for Ukraine.»

Yulia Tymoshenko wished Filaret Denisenko good health, God’s help and the fulfillment of his dream of achieving «the unification of Orthodox Ukrainians in a single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church.» In his turn, the head of the UOC-KP «blessed» Yulia Tymoshenko for further work for the benefit of Ukraine and presented her with a souvenir of the Kyiv Patriarchate.

Earlier, we reported that OCU hierarch Oleksandr Drabynko took part in religious events at St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral of the UOC-KP. This event, which took place on December 18, 2025, caused a significant resonance given Drabinko’s past position on the non-canonicity of the UOC-KP and the current relations of the OCU with this structure.