On 20 March 2026, Patriarch Filaret, who is associated with a long period in Ukrainian Orthodoxy, passed away. At the request of the editors of the website ‘Orthodox Times’, Sergii Bortnyk has written a short article about his life and principles. One of the ideas was to compare two turning points – in 1992 and 2019 – when most of his colleagues and disciples abandoned him.
Sergii Bortnyk also recalled an important principle that Filaret had long defended and which had prompted him to establish the ‘Kyiv Patriarchate’: ‘An independent state deserves an independent church’. It is quite likely that this principle stands in contrast to Christ’s words to Pontius Pilate: ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ (John 18:36).
One can read the mentioned article by Sergii Bortnyk via the following links:
- https://orthodoxtimes.com/patriarch-filaret-1929-2026-an-independent-state-deserves-an-independent-church/ (in English)
- https://www.orthodoxtimes.gr/patriarchis-filaretos-1929-2026-ena-anexartito-kratos-axizei-mia-anexartiti-ekklisia/ (in Greek)
