Births on January 23

Filaret, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan

Patriarch Filaret (secular name Mykhailo Antonovych Denysenko, born 23 January 1929) is the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (1995–2018; 2019–present). He was the honorary Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (2018–2019), and the former Metropolitan of Kyiv of the Russian Orthodox Church (1966–1992). He was defrocked and in 1997 excommunicated by the ROC.

On 11 October 2018, the Patriarchate of Constantinople reinstated him in church communion. However, while restored to the episcopate, the Ecumenical Patriarchate never recognised him as Patriarch and views him as the former Metropolitan of Kyiv.On 15 December 2018, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate united with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and some members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine; the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate thus ceased to exist.