In the Ukraine, the honorary Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and Metropolitan of Kiev, His Holiness and Beatitude Filaret, referred to recent speculation of a restoration of the Patriarchate of Kiev, speaking at a press conference.
He underlined that “… Such reports aim to divide the Ukrainian Orthodox Church … there is no need to restore the Patriarchate of Kiev, because it existed, exists and will exist.”
He also clarified that as an honorary Patriarch, he remains an active hierarch in the eparchy of Kiev and is a permanent member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Holy Synod.