Orthodox Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv has died at 97. He is remembered for his work to establish an independent Ukrainian Orthodox church that was free from Moscow’s religious authority.

Filaret led a movement in Ukraine that created a schism among Orthodox believers and, ultimately, a church independent of Moscow.

Filaret Denysenko co-founded the unrecognized Kyiv Patriarchate in 1992 and was the patriarch of Ukraine from 1995 to 2018.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church said Friday its former head, Patriarch Filaret, who was excommunicated by Moscow for breaking ...