A priest was seen in Kyiv during Lent at… McDonald's

A video filmed by a fast food restaurant visitor in Kyiv has become very popular in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet: when, even during Lent, you see a priest with a burger and fries.

The person in the video is Viktor Veryaskin, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine of the Apostolic Orthodox Church (AOC). He has already received a lot of hate from users online.

It turned out that the Apostolic Orthodox Church has a completely different attitude towards fasting than the canonical Orthodox churches of Ukraine, as found out in the publication “Tramvay”.

According to the “Statute for Communities of the Apostolic Orthodox Church,” fasting is not mandatory: “Fasting is a spiritual matter that must be in perfect harmony with the faith and spiritual state of a person. The ascetic side of fasting is left to the discretion of each believer.”

The Declaration on the Formation of the AOC also states that “We consider it possible… to weaken the strict practice of fasting, to make the ascetic feat the conscience of everyone.”

The AOC is not a canonical Orthodox church recognized throughout the world; it is the so-called “liberal wing” of the True Orthodox (Catacomb) Church.

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