Why does OCU cleric serve on an antimins from Patriarch Kirill?

Filiuk serving on an antimins from the Patriarch of the Russian Church. Photo: Filiuk's Instagram

A popular online “priest-blogger” from the Ternopil region, Oleksii Filiuk, accidentally revealed in a video that he is serving on an antimins signed by Patriarch Kirill.

Yet not long ago, in an interview with national media, he claimed that only the “brainwashed” attend the “Moscow Church” where “they give drugs instead of Communion”.

Such statements are common among OCU members, including Dumenko himself. For them, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is a heretic, a supporter of Putin, a propagandist of the “Russian world”, and in general – an enemy.

The OCU publicly blames UOC clergy for even mythical ties to Patriarch Kirill. Meanwhile, they themselves serve on his antimins. How can this be explained?

The church shown in the video is not named by Filiuk, but the inscriptions inside are in Ukrainian. It was originally built by the OCU, the UOC-KP, or the UAOC. The antimins, however, was clearly taken from one of the seized UOC churches. In other words, Filiuk brought it into his church deliberately. But why?

Even before the Tomos, some “priests” from the UOC-KP and UAOC would secretly bring their children to be baptized in the UOC, not fully trusting in their own grace.

It seems the same is happening here. Did Filiuk want a touch of “canonicity”?

We see no other explanation.

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