Overview
- Seven hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate elected Archbishop Nykodym (Volodymyr Kobzar) as patriarch on March 21 at an extraordinary synod, with the decision announced via video and a written statement.
- Nykodym, previously the Archbishop of Sumy and Okhtyrka, said bishops inside Ukraine and abroad took part in the meeting and vote, with those outside the country joining online.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska joined senior parliamentary and military leaders at a public farewell for Filaret at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv on March 21, with the farewell continuing through March 22.
- Metropolitan Epiphanius announced Filaret’s passing on March 20 and praised his decades-long role in preserving church life and pressing for Ukrainian ecclesiastical independence.
- Filaret’s legacy includes helping forge the 2018 unification that led to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s 2019 recognition by Constantinople, while the Kyiv Patriarchate now operating under Nykodym remains unrecognized by the OCU and other major Orthodox churches.