Overview
- The Orthodox Church of Ukraine confirmed Filaret’s death on March 20 at age 97, citing an exacerbation of chronic diseases after his March 9 hospitalization.
- Kyiv held farewell rites at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral on March 21–22, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and senior officials in attendance.
- Seven hierarchs of the UOC–KP announced Archbishop Nykodym as their new patriarch in an extraordinary session, with some participants joining online.
- The OCU does not recognize any claim to a Patriarch of Kyiv by the Kyiv Patriarchate, which remains outside communion with major Orthodox churches, including Constantinople.
- Filaret led the 1992 break from Moscow, helped forge the unified OCU in 2018 that received recognition in 2019, and later clashed with Metropolitan Epiphanius despite a 2025 public rapprochement.