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Protests against the Ecumenical Patriarch

Ukrainian Orthodox Christians have begun holding protests in Kiev against Patriarch Bartholomew. They have many legitimate reasons to protest. Patriarch Bartholomew transgressed Canon Law by intervening in the canonical territory of the Russian Church, by attempting to restore defrocked and disgraced bishops that were anathematized by the Moscow Patriarchate, and establishing communion with a group of laypeople masquerading as bishops and priests.

As a result of this intervention in Ukraine, violence has increased against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The people of God in Ukraine have legitimate grievances against Patriarch Bartholomew and are right to protest. It is rather sad to see how the Patriarch has estranged and offended Orthodox Christians not only in Ukraine but throughout the world.

There was a time when one might have hoped that Orthodox Christians worldwide might have demonstrated on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its difficulties in Turkey. That is a scenario that has long faded into fantasy. No Orthodox Christian outside the Greek speaking world cares about the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate not long ago was an oppressed Church in Constantinople. The key word being “was”. The Patriarchate has now become so entangled with the State Department’s anti Russian foreign policy it is impossible for anyone to look past the devastation that has been wrought on Orthodoxy over the past two years.

The oppressed has become the oppressor. Patriarch Bartholomew is complicit in the persecution of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and the schism between the Greek and non Greek Churches. He is also responsible for the divisions that have broken out among the Churches of Greece, Cyprus, and the Monastics on Mount Athos. It is important also to note that Patriarch Bartholomew’s extremism did not begin in Ukraine.

There were signs from time to time that Patriarch Bartholomew was interested wholly and entirely in power. When four Russian Monks on Mount Athos in 1992 refused to commemorate the Patriarch in the liturgy, they were brutally expelled from the Holy Mountain. During the 1990’s, the would be Turkish Pope used the Greek Police as his own personal enforcers to attempt to drive out the dissenting Monks of Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos.

In 2006, Patriarch Bartholomew sent a group of Monks to forcibly evict the brotherhood of Monks that was already residing within the Esphigmenou Monastery. This resulted in an appalling and scandalous brawl between the two groups of Monks. The Monks protested Patriarch Bartholomew’s pro ecumenist policies by refusing to commemorate him during the divine liturgy. The same Greek government that eagerly embraced the atheism and secularism of the European Union by trying to remove Orthodoxy from public schools had no problem putting its Police force at the disposal of the Patriarch.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has reverted back to the Ottoman era. Perhaps this is appropriately so considering that President Erdogan seeks a restoration of the Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman era, there was a rivalry between the Greek and Slavic Monks on Mount Athos. These old wounds have been reopened as a result of Patriarch Bartholomew’s intervention in Ukraine and his alliance with Washington.

It is very hard to envision any of this resulting in a happy ending the longer the Church crisis drags on. If there be any illusions about Patriarch Bartholomew at this point, one has only to look at the scandals and financial mess that is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Orthodox Christians everywhere should support the Ukrainian protesters in Kiev who are defending the faith against their own wicked government and its accomplices at the Phanar and in Washington.

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Church Crisis Worsens

The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus voted ten to 7 not to oppose the decision of Archbishop Chrysostomos to establish communion with the schismatic entity of Ukraine that masquerades as a Church. While it is still not entirely clear what this means for the Church of Cyprus over the long term it is apparent that nothing good can come from the outcome of these deliberations. The best case scenario indicates that the Church of Cyprus is going to be split with a possible schism occurring.

Patriarch Bartholomew’s destruction continues. Patriarch Bartholomew openly challenges Orthodox ecclesiology by claiming Papal style authority for himself and has made a mockery of the conciliar tradition of the Orthodox Church. The Church of Ukraine (the real one) has been undergoing a process of persecution by the government of Ukraine and a variety of neo-Nazi militia groups and white supremacists. The Greek Churches are all in a state of chaos having been morally and spiritually compromised as a result of blindly obeying the dictatorial Patriarch Bartholomew.

The Church of Greece has been split because of this Ukrainian situation. The Patriarchate of Alexandria has been split by the Greek hierarchy and many of the native African priests which has resulted in ugly allegations of racism being directed against the Greeks. The Patriarchate of Alexandria was a bright light in Orthodoxy and had very warm relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. Those relations are destroyed.

The chaos has spread to the Church of Cyprus. Even more disturbing are the rumors surrounding the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Hitherto, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem has been a rock and stood firm in refusing to recognize the schismatics. Early on in the Church crisis, the Patriarch cancelled a meeting with Ukrainian President Poroshenko when he realized he was going to be pressured to recognize the schismatics.

Patriarch Theophilos also called a Pan Orthodox meeting in Jordan back in February in defiance of Patriarch Bartholomew. This was a sign that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem was maintaining its independence. Now it appears Patriarch Theophilos has met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, a sign that appears to be ominous.

Greeks forget that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is not an ethnically Greek Church. Its hierarchy is mostly Greek but its faithful are Palestinian Arabs who have legitimate grievances over the way they have historically been treated. If Jerusalem recognizes the schismatic entity things are going to get very ugly real fast. Other Orthodox Churches have refrained from interfering in the internal affairs of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

This may very well change if Jerusalem recognizes the Ukrainian schismatic entity. The Russian Orthodox Church has a strong presence in the Holy Land and the Russians may very well back the Palestinians with their legitimate grievances. On the other hand, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has historically maintained its independence from Constantinople.

Jerusalem has never adopted the modern calendar and throughout the twentieth century maintained communion with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Of Russia (ROCOR). Patriarch Theophilos may very well resist Constantinople’s encroachments. It not, the Greek speaking world will find that losing Hagia Sophia is by no means the worst thing that could happen to Greek Orthodoxy.

The Holy Shrines in Jerusalem have for centuries been maintained by the Greeks. On the one hand, this is a source of pride for those of us who are Greeks, but on the other hand the treatment of the native Arab Orthodox has been racist and shameful. The Patriarch of Jerusalem should refuse to bow to Patriarch Bartholomew’s bullying and should maintain communion only with the canonical Church of Ukraine.

In addition, Patriarch Theophilos should finally proceed to admit Arabs into the hierarchy of the Patriarchate and begin the process of reconciling the hierarchy with the faithful. The Arab faithful have a right to determine the course of their own Church and to decide what happens in relation to Church finances. Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem has stood bravely against the pressures imposed on him by the thuggish Patriarch Bartholomew. He must remain strong.

This entire Ukrainian affair has been nothing but utterly destructive for Orthodoxy. Only the blind can continue to support Patriarch Bartholomew at this point in time. Patriarch Bartholomew must be deposed! Of this there can be no question.

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Orthodoxy and the Virus

Patriarch Irenaios of the Serbian Orthodox Church passed away from Covid 19. His memory be eternal! In addition, the primates of the Orthodox Churches of Greece and Albania have both been hospitalized after coming down with covid 19. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to both of them.

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Ukrainian Schism engulfs Church of Cyprus

Four Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus have angrily responded to the commemoration in the divine liturgy by Archbishop Chrysostom II of Epiphanios Dimenko, the “bishop” of the schismatic entity in Ukraine. The Archbishop’s commemoration of a man who has no priestly ordination or bishop’s consecration and is therefore not the head of an autocephalous Church is a serious violation of the canonical order of the Orthodox Church. This threatens to lead to a rupture of communion between the Orthodox Church of Cyprus and the Russian Orthodox Church of which the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an autonomous part of.

It is quite probable that the Archbishop has succumbed to pressure from the Ecumenical Patriarch and his powerful friends in the American government. The Members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus are rightfully furious with the Archbishop for making a decision that could destroy relations with the Russian Church and affect its relations with the rest of the Orthodox Church unilaterally.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II is only the latest Greek hierarch to disregard the holy and sacred canons of the Orthodox Church and to recognize the fake entity in Ukraine. Originally, the Bishops of the Church of Greece entered into communion with the fake “church” of Ukraine. Some of the Greek Monasteries on Mount Athos concelebrated the divine liturgy with some of the fake “bishops” of Ukraine. Like Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, Archbishop Chrysostom had stated that he recognized only the canonical Ukrainian Church but then turned around and recognized the schismatics.

This action on the part of the Archbishop of Cyprus has now engulfed the last of the Greek speaking Churches in Orthodoxy. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has refused to recognize the Ukrainian schismatics but while the Patriarch and most of his Bishops are Greek, the Patriarch’s flock is Arab. Jerusalem is therefore both an Arab and a Greek Church.

It cannot be stressed enough that Patriarch Bartholomew is provoking a schism in Orthodoxy that widens each time an autocephalous Church enters into communion with the schismatics. As all the Churches to have recognized the schismatics are Greek, this will leave the Greek Orthodox world estranged and cut off from the whole of Orthodoxy. Since the Ecumenical Patriarch invaded the Russian Church’s territory in Ukraine we have seen the following,

1) The persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ukrainian authorities.

2) The cessation of communion between the Russian Church and the Churches of Constantinople and Alexandria.

3) The cessation of communion between the Russian Church and some Metropolises of the Church of Greece.

4) The division and estrangement between the upper ranks of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the native African Bishops that resulted when African Bishops protested the Patriarch’s decision to establish communion with the Ukrainian schismatics.

5) A division within the Church of Greece between twelve principled Bishops who refuse to violate the canons of the Church, priests, monastics, theologians, and faithful on the one side and the Archbishop of Athens and a vast majority of Bishops on the other side who endorsed entering into communion with the Ukrainian schismatics.

At a time when Greece and Cyprus face increasing encroachments on their territorial rights from Turkey, this latest development in the two year crisis within the Orthodox Church is especially unwelcome. Over the past two years, Patriarch Bartholomew has sought to portray himself as a Greek nationalist. His infamous chauvinistic comments about the Russians needing to recognize “our people” at the head of Orthodoxy comes to mind.

Patriarch Bartholomew has failed to recognize the damage he has done to Orthodoxy. From the outset, the Ecumenical Patriarchate made itself an accomplice in the fierce persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. By colluding with American officials in Washington and Athens to pressure the Church of Greece (and later the Patriarchate of Alexandria) to establish communion with schismatics, the Ecumenical Patriarchate made their synods complicit in the persecution of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

In recent days, Russia has released statements supporting Greece’s territorial rights in the Aegean against Turkey. Russia has released a statement reminding Turkey of the Russian bombardment of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Navarino in 1828. Very crucially, the Russian government has condemned the Turkish decision to reopen the town of Varosha in the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus.

The decision of Archbishop Chrysostom to commemorate the fraudster Dimenko is despicable first and foremost for violating the canons of the Orthodox Church. It is also inherently stupid for alienating the Russians at a time when Russian diplomacy has been stepping up for Cyprus and Greece. The violation of canon laws by the Greek speaking Churches and the appalling treachery and cowardice by Greek hierarchs in four Churches demonstrate that the Greek Orthodox world has reached its greatest spiritual crisis in at least two centuries.

All this can be blamed on the Ecumenical Patriarch, the so called Greek “ethnarch”. Many Greeks scattered throughout the world have remained fervently loyal to Patriarch Bartholomew. This misguided loyalty has not been returned by the Ecumenical Patriarch.

If Patriarch Bartholomew cared for the Greeks and the Greek speaking Churches he would not have sought to divide them from their sister Churches in the communion of Orthodox Churches. Nor would he have destabilized them by creating one crisis after another in Greece, Alexandria, and now Cyprus. Greeks who continue to support Patriarch Bartholomew should ask one question.

If the Ecumenical Patriarch cared about Greece and Cyprus would he be creating divisions and conflicts not only between the Greek Churches and the Russian Church, but divisions among Greeks themselves?

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The Impending Ruin Of The Ecumenical Patriarchate

The Ecumenical Patriarchate for me was always worthy of admiration and reverence as an ecclesiastical institution. I am reminded of Steven Runciman’s classic “The Great Church in Captivity” about the Patriarchate’s history under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the fall of Constantinople to the Greek War of Independence. Runciman, a legendary historian of Byzantium wrote about the Patriarchate with a good deal of sympathy.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate survived the fall of Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire. It has appeared to have survived the demise of the Turkish Republic which was a greater threat to its existence than the Ottoman Empire ever was. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has survived much political hardship and persecution but its demise appears to be on the horizon as a result of the policies of its current Patriarch rather than as a result of Turkish oppression and brutality.

This is a profound shame. The Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes the Ecumenical Patriarch as “first among equals” and considers the Patriarchate to have a “primacy of honor”. This is not an insignificant status. Indeed, Constantinople could have done much good for the whole of Orthodoxy had its leadership been content with the recognized status that it holds.

The primary focus of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been itself rather than the interests of Orthodoxy in general. The Ecumenical Patriarch could have been the statesman of Orthodoxy but chose instead to become a partisan figure putting forward claims on the territorial rights of autocephalous Churches that are not substantiated by canon law or Orthodox ecclesiology. The present Ecumenical Patriarch in the early years of his Patriarchy achieved some good things.

In March 1992, he convened a historic synaxis or gathering of Orthodox Patriarchs and primates at the Ecumenical Patriarchate that was truly historic. Less than a year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Patriarchs worked together to produce a statement criticizing the Vatican for its missionary activities in Russia and other freed Orthodox countries and for supporting the Unia in Ukraine and Rumania.

The statement released stated that Orthodox dialogue with the Vatican was being limited strictly to discussions over the Uniates that were seen by Orthodoxy as a threat. It was a wonderful statement achieved through the traditional method of conciliarity. This Patriarchal reign that started with promise appears to eventually in tragedy.

Patriarch Bartholomew’s goal was to secure the existence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate after its near extinction as a result of the Turkish sponsored genocide and ethnic cleansing of the twentieth century. Patriarch Bartholomew’s primary achievement has been to upgrade the status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from a nearly forgotten ancient Church facing severe restrictions to an internationally recognized Church that enjoys diplomatic status and protection.

This remains an impressive accomplishment. The problem regarding the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been that it thinks only in terms of itself. For example, the Patriarchate believes its interests are the interests of Orthodoxy and vice versa when this is clearly not the case. Each autocephalous Orthodox Church is inseparable from the rest and must act in accordance with the tradition of conciliarity and not independently or above the desired will of the body of local Churches.

Constantinople has adopted an authoritarian streak that is not compatible with Orthodox tradition. This ethos has led Constantinople to make fatal errors in its relations with the Russian Orthodox Church which it sees as a rival rather than as a sister Church. While the Ecumenical Patriarchate has achieved diplomatic recognition from the western world as a counter to Turkish oppression and discrimination, this has led Constantinople to align itself with extremist political interests in Washington that are anti Russian.

This collusion with the west against the Russians has tragically placed the Ecumenical Patriarchate against the greater interests of Orthodoxy. Russia is the largest Orthodox country in the world that has been targeted by western liberals and others because it is a Christian country that espouses sacred values. Constantinople should have praised the miraculous building of Churches and Cathedrals throughout Russia and should have recognized that contemporary Russia is the carrier of the great spiritual tradition of Constantinople.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s intervention in Ukraine has done enormous damage to Orthodox unity. The damage was not limited to Ukraine but was carried over into the Churches of Greece and Alexandria which have become severely compromised, and onto Mount Athos itself which has become divided. Constantinople’s actions are truly lamentable.

The Ukrainian crisis has been recounted in greater depth on this blog. Needless to say, the longer this crisis continues the less likely that the Ecumenical Patriarchate will recover its reputation and prestige. The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s disastrous handling of affairs in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has further damaged its reputation and prestige.

There are certain Greek elements that have endorsed each and every disastrous decision made by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. These cheerleaders are contributing to the eventual ruin of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

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More chaos in the Greek Archdiocese

Without getting into the specifics as the facts are not fully known at this time. What is fairly certain is the fact the Greek Orthodox Archbishop has now chosen to abrogate the Archdiocesan charter without consulting the members of the Holy Synod or the faithful. In other words, more controversy within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

This is on top of the scandals involving Saint Nicholas Shrine and the near bankruptcy of the Archdiocese itself. At a time when the faithful have serious anxieties owing to the coronavirus and the political upheavals in America, and the possibility of a Greek war with Turkey, one would think the leadership at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Archdiocese would have greater empathy for the Greek Orthodox faithful. Apparently, the Archdiocese and by extension the Patriarchate do not grasp the realities under which we are all living.

A spiritual shepherd would be looking to give assurances to the faithful of the Archdiocese not to despair under the present difficulties. Assurances would be given that the light of Christ always manifests itself even during the times of darkness. The faithful would be encouraged to persevere and to endure the hardship in expectation of better things to come through the miraculous glory of Jesus Christ our King and our God.

That the Archdiocese continues to antagonize the faithful and to create new problems on top of the old is beyond comprehension. In any case, we can all be assured that the head of the Church is Jesus Christ. We can also be assured by the fact that there are in the Church today untold numbers of living Saints not yet recognized as such.

During the twentieth century we have seen wonderful people of God including Saint Nektarios of Aegina (himself having endured difficulties with Church officials). We also have the examples of Saint Tikhon of Moscow and other Russian clerics who were martyred by the Communists but who endured their suffering to the end with Christian endurance. There are also the examples of Saint Chrysostom of Smyrna who was butchered by the Turks after refusing opportunities to save himself in order to remain with his flock.

During the Second World War, there was the example of Saint Maria Skoptskova, a Russian nun from Paris who died at a Nazi death camp because of her activities in assisting French Jews. There are no shortages of Saints who have lived remarkable and self less lives many of whom suffered horribly at the end in witness to Christ and for the love of other human beings.

We must remember the examples of Christ, the Apostles, and the Saints during these difficult times of disease and upheavals. We especially consider the examples of Christ and the Saints even as we remain baffled and perplexed by the ongoing chaos of the Archdiocese.

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On the inaccurate statements of a Church of Greece hierarch

His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos of Alexandroupolis has criticized the Russian Orthodox Church and accused it of trying to erase the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This assessment is completely and entirely false. The Russian Church has done nothing to harm the Ecumenical Patriarchate other than to defend itself, its clergy, and its faithful from persecution.

It is abundantly clear that many of the hierarchs of the Church of Greece are ignorant of what has been happening in Ukraine. Furthermore, there is no excuse for being ignorant considering that fact that several hierarchs of the Church of Greece including Metropolitans Serapheim of Pireaus, Serapheim of Kythyra, Nektarios of Corfu, and Simeon on New Smyrna have informed the Synod as to what has been happening in Ukraine. In addition, prominent priests and theologians such as Father Theodore Zisis, Father Anastasios Gotsopoulos, and Professor Demetrios Tselengides have all spoken against recognition of the Ukrainians schismatics in great detail citing the Church canons.

Over one year ago, a petition in Greece signed by priests, theologians, monastics, and lay people was sent to the Holy Synod asking them NOT to recognize the schismatics. There is simply no reason for the hierarchs of the Church of Greece to be issuing statements based on ignorance. The true facts regarding the situation in Ukraine are well known and it is only because of laziness that Greek hierarchs refuse to be enlightened about Ukraine.

It is an established fact that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the synod of Metropolitan Onuphry is the canonical Church of Ukraine. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Church of Greece maintained communion with this canonical synod until 2018-2019. An “autocephalous” Church cannot be established on the territory where a canonical Church already exists.

The canonical Church consists of two thirds of all Ukrainians. This fact has either been disregarded by Greek hierarchs or these hierarchs are too lazy to get information. The legitimate Church has been fiercely persecuted and Greek hierarchs refuse to open their eyes. We Greeks can’t really complain anymore about the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey since we are in effect supporting the persecution of Orthodox in Ukraine.

His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos seems to forget the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s previous attacks on the Church of Greece. It has been reported previously by the Greek language “Orthodox Typos” in Athens that the late Archbishop Serapheim (1974-1998) refused to invite Patriarch Bartholomew to Athens because of the Patriarch’s encroachments on the canonical territory of the Church of Greece. Furthermore, the late Archbishop Christodoulos (1998-2008) very publicly feuded with Patriarch Bartholomew because of Constantinople’s aggressive actions in Northern Greece.

If the Church of Greece today had the kind of strong leadership that Archbishops Serapheim and Christodoulos provided it is unlikely that the Athens Synod would have recognized the Ukrainian schismatics. The two previous Archbishops were both independent minded and provided guidance to the Holy Synod. The present Archbishop Ieronymos on the other hand has not only not provided leadership he has bowed before the secular interests of the State Department and the American Embassy in Athens.

The Russians have never tried to undermine the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Moscow has always affirmed both by its statements and attendance at Pan Orthodox gatherings that the Ecumenical Patriarch is “first among equals”. Moscow has never tried to remove Constantinople from holding first place in the dyptychs or abolishing its “primacy of honour”.

Moscow has only challenged Constantinople when the latter Church has attempted to exceed its authority by attempting to grab Moscow’s territory as it did during the mid 1990’s when it established its own Bishops in Estonia. His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos should recall that the late Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens openly supported Moscow during the Estonian crisis. In addition, the Church of Greece has resisted Constantinople’s encroachments just as Moscow has.

Yet, it would not be accurate to say that the Church of Greece was trying to “erase” the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The state into which the Greek Orthodox world has fallen is truly lamentable. Our Churches are now under the influence of the State Department.

How ironic this is. His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos accuses the Russians of trying to “erase” the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His Eminence should reread the history of the Church of Constantinople during the 1950’s and the 1960’s. When the Turkish government waged its campaign of ethnic cleansing against Orthodox Greeks through pogroms and mass expulsions the State Department uttered not a single word of protest on behalf of the Patriarchate’s flock.

Who is really trying to “erase” the Ecumenical Patriarchate? It is not the Russians.

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Pompeo must go!

While on a visit to Athens Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the Russians of trying to “coopt” the Orthodox Church. This is laughable coming from a buffoon whose employees at the American embassy in Athens have interfered blatantly in the affairs of the Orthodox Church of Greece and on Mount Athos. It is the fake “church” of Ukraine that is persecuting the bishops, priests, and faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Church.

This artificial creation calling itself “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” is a political creation and has nothing to do with the Church of Jesus Christ and the Holy Apostles! The sickness of anti Russian racism is so depraved that all Russians are apparently being targeted. In the estimation of Mike Pompeo and the State Department Russian Bishops, Priests, and ordinary believers are nothing more than instruments being used by Moscow.

This is utterly despicable. It is Washington alone that has successfully co opted the Ecumenical Patriarchate and a significant portion of the Church of Greece along with the upper ranks of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. At a time when Turkish aggression is manifesting itself against the territorial rights of Greece, Pompeo should have stuck to political and diplomatic matters.

Pompeo should be fired as Secretary of State for being a violator of religious freedom. As a Greek Orthodox, I find it infuriating to watch the Greek Orthodox world being co opted by these secularists as part of their insane anti Russian agenda. The Trump administration has made some mistakes.

One mistake had the name John Bolton and was taken care of. Another mistake is named Mike Pompeo and it is time for him to be shown the door.

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Hagia Sophia Diaries 18

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has announced it will petition the United Nations to pressure Turkey to respect the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. This is a welcome move and it is truly a good thing to see that the effort to protect Hagia Sophia has not dissipated. Hagia Sophia cannot be abandoned to its fate under the Erdogan government in Turkey.

The Hellenic world has united against Turkey in an unprecedented way. The Turkish aggression against Hagia Sophia is in many ways inseparable from Ankara’s aggressions against Greece and Cyprus. Whatever may come from this appeal to the United Nations it will bring attention to the UN that Hagia Sophia is historically, culturally, and spiritually a Church.

I disagree with much that is taking place at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, but I believe that the Archdiocese is on the right track regarding its activities pertaining to Hagia Sophia. Now if the Archdiocese could support religious freedom for the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church that is under persecution in Ukraine, this would be good news as well and would strengthen the moral case for protecting Hagia Sophia while ending the schism that threatens the unity of Orthodoxy.

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The Patriarch of Alexandria and Ukraine

Patriarch Theodoros of the Patriarchate of Alexandria the second highest ranking Patriarchate in the dyptychs of the Orthodox Church took a cheap shot at the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch criticized the Russian Church and said its reaction to the recognition of the pseudo Church in Ukraine by Constantinople, Alexandria, and Greece was “not correct”. The schismatic entity in Ukraine that the aforementioned Churches have established communion with is not a Church as it does not possess catholicy, canonicity, or apostolicity.

The Patriarch knows that the recognition of his Patriarchate of the pseudo Church in Ukraine at the expense of the canonical Church is wrong. When the Ecumenical Patriarchate began the process that would lead to the recognition of the “church” with the bogus bishops in Ukraine, Patriarch Theodoros responded by traveling to Ukraine to concelebrate the liturgy with bishops, priests, monastics, and faithful of the canonical and legitimate Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church is in a state of crisis because the Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, and Greece have bestowed recognition on a political movement whose leaders dress like Orthodox Bishops and Priests but have no ordinations or consecrations as each and every cleric of this “church” has either been defrocked by the canonical Orthodox Church or has never been a part of it. This statement by the Patriarch of Alexandria is a reminder of how dishonest the Churches that have entered into communion with the Ukrainian schismatics really are. Of the three Churches that have recognized the schismatics none have addressed either the canonical issues at stake regarding proper ecclesiology or the political factors that instigated this crisis.

Political factors include the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the state and by various Neo-Nazi militias. Political factors also include Washington’s influence over the three Churches that recognized the schismatic entity. Patriarch Theodoros says that the Ukrainians have a right to have their own Church.

The Polish Orthodox Church has also said that the Ukrainians have a right to have their own Church. But not at the expense of the canon laws of the Church and the disregard for the sacredness of the Holy Orders of the Orthodox Church. Furthermore, the Patriarch of Alexandria surely knows that the canonical Ukrainian Church consists of two thirds of Ukrainians.

The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church has rejected seeking autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church on the grounds that it already enjoys a great deal of autonomy from Moscow. In most areas, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church governs itself without Moscow’s interference. It is hard to believe that the Synods of the three Churches that have established communion with the Ukrainian schismatics have done this with any sincerity or good faith.

On the positive side, the number of Churches recognizing the Ukrainian schismatics has been contained to three. As serious as the crisis remains, it is at the very least contained. Given some time the three Churches may come to reverse their decisions once they realize there will be no further recognition bestowed upon the lay people in Ukraine masquerading as bishops.