Author: admin

In a recent interview, Patriarch Kyril of Moscow stated that Patriarch Bartholomew recognized the schismatic “church” faction in Ukraine because of pressure from “powerful political forces”. It remains a mystery why the local Orthodox Churches have refrained from confronting the American government through their embassies in their respective capitals? At this point, the primates and bishops of all Orthodox Churches should begin raising awareness among their flocks as to what has transpired.

All Orthodox Churches should publicly denounce the State Department and its intrusive policies in Church affairs. It is time to break the silence of the past two years. Patriarch Bartholomew has been justifiably criticized from throughout the Orthodox world. This criticism along with appeals from some Orthodox primates to the Ecumenical Patriarch to convene a council has failed to achieve anything.

There have been reports over the past year indicating that the Orthodox primates in Georgia, Serbia, and elsewhere have been visited by American diplomats who asked them recognize the fake “church” in Ukraine. To their credit, these Churches have refused to establish communion with the fake “bishops” of Ukraine. One wishes the Archbishops of Athens and Nicosia, along with the holy kinot of Mount Athos had followed the examples of the Georgian and Serbian Churches.

The inter Orthodox fighting has produced nothing. Patriarch Bartholomew has refused to listen to reason and the reality is that he is simply not free. Making appeals to the Ecumenical Patriarch to convene a council has failed because Patriarch Bartholomew is under pressure from the American government. Therefore, the defenders of Orthodoxy need to redirect their criticism to those “powerful political forces” that instigated this entire crisis.

A council should be convened in a similar way as that which was convened by the Patriarch of Jerusalem last year. This time, the subject of the council should address the American problem. It is very clear that a resolution to the ecclesiastical crisis in Ukraine will not be forthcoming until secular political interests have removed themselves from the spiritual and canonical life of the Orthodox Church.

A council should be convened to discuss very simply the involvement of secular interests in the Church and how the free Orthodox Churches should react to the encroachments of the secular world into the spiritual domain. The council could be convened once again under the Patriarch of Jerusalem or it could be convened under the presidency of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.

It does not really matter under whose presidency such a council occurs as long as it convenes and addresses the destructive intrusion into Church life of the secular powers. This does not have to be a formal council with binding decisions as it will not be dealing with either dogmatic, doctrinal, or canonical issues. The restoration of the application of canonical law and norms in Ukraine is a long way off and will have to be dealt with sometime in the future.

Last year’s council in Jordan was not binding but it was productive in the sense that several local Churches took a step forward in discussing the crisis. The next step should be for the local Churches to discuss and to condemn the secular intrusions into the spiritual life of the Church of Christ. As the Churches of Constantinople and Greece are presently not free, they should not be expected to attend such a council.

In any case, the synods of the free Churches should gather among themselves to coordinate protests among the faithful in their own countries and to ask their own governments to protect religious freedom before their local Churches follow the path of the Churches of Constantinople, Greece, and Alexandria. It is time for Orthodoxy to shake off the blows that have been inflicted upon it since 2018 and begin the process of defending the faith.

The above suggestions may not sound like much but at the very least it is time to address the origin of the whole Ukrainian crisis. This is a much needed first step on the road to restore Orthodox unity. The work of the State Department in attempting to influence the Church as if it were a political party or non governmental organization is an outrage and a a violation of religious freedom.

The Orthodox Church must react toward Washington as if the State Department were actually closing closing Churches and suppressing the freedom of Orthodox Christians. What it has done by fomenting schism in the Church and targeting the Russian Church and its daughter Church in Ukraine is just as evil as more open and more direct forms of persecution.

The free Orthodox Churches must go beyond criticizing Washington in interviews. They must begin discussing ways of uniting with one another to resist the ongoing efforts to drag more local Churches into recognizing the schismatics and must openly confront the evil.

Only when the State Department has withdrawn from its meddling in the Churches will peace and unity be restored in the Orthodox Church. Perhaps the Ecumenical Patriarch and the others who have recognized the schismatics will repent?

The Orthodox Church of Greece is confronting the Greek Government over the complex issue of closing Churches for the impending feast of the theophany on January 6. Closing Churches is always a painful matter but in the middle of a worldwide pandemic the Church needs to consider the matter of permitting large numbers of people to congregate in Church. The Bishops of the Church of Greece need to be more flexible with the government and need to consider the expertise of doctors and scientists.

This is absolutely the wrong time for the Church of Greece to confront the Greek government. Back in 2017, when the Tsipras government legalized gay marriage and introduced legislation favoring transgenderism, the Bishops barely protested. Of course, Church services must continue but under the circumstances it is understandable if the Church is not filled with faithful.

The possibility of the spread of covid 19 from one individual to another necessitates that steps be taken to prevent large numbers of people from congregating. Some sort of compromise could be reached such as ensuring only a certain number of people be permitted to attend Church services and all should be required to wear a mask.

It is ironic that the Bishops of Greece have taken a hard line stance now. The possibility of closed Churches is a temporary phenomenon and with scientists predicting the end of the pandemic at some point during 2021 (possibly by fall) this situation will be rectified. The Bishops of the Church of Greece have ironically abandoned their ecclesiastical responsibilities for over a year now and are suddenly presuming to take positions on matters of public health which are the domain of secular authorities and scientists. The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece should be more preoccupied with the ongoing schism within universal Orthodoxy over the Ukrainian affair which threatens the unity of the Orthodox Church over the long run. The Ukrainian schism preceded the pandemic and appears likely to remain a problem when the pandemic disappears.

American officials such as outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and “Ambassador” Geoffrey Pyatt have intervened blatantly in the internal ecclesiastical affairs of the Churches of Constantinople and Greece by urging them to recognize the pseudo-church in Ukraine that consists of hierarchs and priests who were either defrocked or never ordained and consecrated by the canonical Orthodox Church. American officials have made a mockery of Orthodox ecclesiology and canon law and the Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Greece failed to stop them.

The Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Greece should have erupted in anger and rebellion in 2019 when American officials approached them and asked them to recognize the Ukrainian pseudo-church. The Bishops of Greece need to focus on spiritual affairs and to get their house in order. Certainly, it is wise to maintain a healthy distrust of the motives of the Greek government but faced with the reality of the pandemic it is not unreasonable for the Church to make certain non dogmatic concessions in the interest of public health.

The Bishops present confrontation with the government cannot hide the fact that they failed to defend Orthodoxy at a time when it truly mattered and allowed the secular interests of the State Department to intrude into the sacred affairs of the holy Church of Jesus Christ!

The Orthodox Church of Greece should work with the Mitsotakis government in the Justinian tradition of “symphonia” (meaning synergy or harmony). “Symphonia” refers to the traditional alliance between Church and State that was formalized under the Emperor-Saint Justinian of Constantinople during the sixth century. The present Greek government is preferable to both PASOK and Syriza both of which would have been pursuing very aggressive anti Church and anti Christian policies had they been in power at the present time.

The Bishops of the Church of Greece should proceed with prudence and wisdom, and above all with faith. All Orthodox Christians have faith that the healing power of Jesus Christ will end the pandemic! In the meantime, the Church should witness to Christ to both the faithful and to its enemies through fidelity to sacred worship and holy tradition within the present realities that this fallen world finds itself in.

Throughout history, the holy Church of God has always had enemies. This remains unchanged up to the present day. The Bishops of the Church of Greece should respect the opinions of those in the secular sphere such as doctors and concentrate on spiritual matters such as the great spiritual crisis which has created a terrible schism in Orthodoxy.

Mercifully, the year from hell is finally over. The year that brought us the coronavirus, the murder of George Floyd and riots throughout the country, and the victory of Joe Biden in the Presidential election is gone! The year that saw Hagia Sophia and the great Chora Church of our Savior in Constantinople become Mosques is gone!

May the light emanating from the birth of the most glorious King of Israel in Bethlehem shine brightly in the new year! May the incarnate logos that was born of woman and dwelt among men heal the world of the afflictions of disease, madness, and extremism. Glory to Jesus Christ our King and our God, vanquisher of death and disease!

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/12/27/last-byzantine-greeks-facing-extinction-in-islamist-led-turkey/

The article in the link above about the last Greeks of Constantinople is very good. This is what the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church of Greece should be focusing on. Very sadly, the Greek Orthodox world has been led to disaster as a result of the collaboration of Patriarch Bartholomew and some Bishops in Greece with the State Department.

Patriarch Bartholomew had one major challenge confronting him when he was enthroned as Ecumenical Patriarch in November 1991. That was to save the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its remaining flock in Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos. For a long time it appeared that Patriarch Bartholomew was in fact proceeding to revive the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

A major Pan Orthodox synaxis was held in Constantinople in March 1992 that was unprecedented. Patriarch Bartholomew showed a good deal of courage in surviving nearly a dozen assassination attempts or bomb attacks at the Patriarchate. It can still be said that he faced down Turkish-Islamic terrorism with great bravery.

Alas, with the convening of the problematic pseudo-council of Crete and the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s intervention in Ukraine much damage was done to Constantinople’s prestige in addition to the damage done to Orthodox unity. The plight of the Greek communities in Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos is tragic. Quite noticeable is the fact that the Patriarch’s allies have done nothing to alleviate their plight.

The theological school of Halki remains closed and Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church of the Savior are being used as Mosques. The Greek speaking Churches need to end the crisis in Orthodoxy. Any Greek who believes that the Ecumenical Patriarchate ended the schism in Ukraine is deluded. Constantinople has in fact contributed to the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Church and created a major schism throughout the universal Church.

As an old admirer of the Great Church of Constantinople I am now a profound critic of the Patriarchate and its policies. What the Patriarch needs is criticism and opposition and not blind obedience. This is the Orthodox way. In earlier centuries, the spiritual children of the Church of Constantinople criticized and rebuked their Patriarchs when they strayed from the truth as occurred during the iconoclastic crisis and after the convening of the false Council of Florence. The Patriarchate has an important function to play but not the function Patriarch Bartholomew wants it to play.

The Patriarch has the responsibility to protect itself, its important shrines that remain in Constantinople, and its remaining flock. The Patriarchate cannot fulfill these aspirations if it is defying the precepts of Orthodox ecclesiology and inventing a non existent role for itself and claiming to be “first without equals” in the worlds Eastern Orthodox hierarchy.