Farewell to Filaret to take place at St. Michael's Cathedral – OCU
Despite the demand to hold the funeral service at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral, Filaret's body will be brought to St. Michael's Cathedral on the evening of March 20.
On March 20, 2026, the structure of Epifaniy Dumenko announced the schedule of mourning events in connection with the death of Filaret Denysenko, reports the OCU official website. According to the published statement, the body of the deceased will be brought to St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv on Friday evening.
The beginning of the faithful’s farewell to Denysenko is scheduled for 20:00, although the organization’s press service noted that the time may change slightly. Mourning events will continue throughout the day on March 21, and the funeral service and burial have been set for Sunday, March 22. Details of the upcoming funeral will be provided to journalists by the OCU spokesperson, Yevstratiy Zoria, during an official briefing to be held on the grounds of St. Michael’s Monastery.
It is noteworthy that the OCU leadership's decision to organize the farewell at St. Michael's Cathedral directly contradicts the "spiritual testament" of Denisenko himself. In the document that became publicly available in October 2025, the leader of the UOC-KP categorically forbade representatives of Dumenko's structure from conducting his burial.
"I bequeath that the funeral service and burial be performed in St. Volodymyr's Patriarchal Cathedral of Kyiv by the clergy and hierarchs of the UOC-KP, not the OCU," as emphasized in the text of the testament. In addition, Denisenko stated that he did not consider himself the "Honorary Patriarch" of the OCU and had no relation to this organization. Also in his final address, he called for the creation of a church in Ukraine that would be independent not only from Moscow, but also from Constantinople.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Zelensky commented on Filaret's death.
