Category: faith

Turkish officials are renewing traditional criticism of the Ecumenical Patriarchate because of the term “Ecumenical”. Patriarch Bartholomew has been slammed for attending a peace conference in Ukraine. The Turks are reverting to their traditional harassment of the Patriarchate.

This means Patriarch Bartholomew’s alliance with the US government and anti Russian policies have failed miserably. The US has done nothing to protect the Patriarchate. The Patriarchate has also alienated the Orthodox world and has become morally complicit in the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Patriarchate is in a deep hole spiritually and politically. The way out is for the Patriarch to withdraw his recognition of the fake Church in Ukraine, to restore communion with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and to condemn the persecution of the Ukrainian Church. The Patriarchate needs to be strengthened spiritually and restored as Orthodox if it wants to survive in Constantinople.

The Orthodox Church of Greece convened a synod on January 23. The bishops voted unanimously to oppose plans by the government to legalize gay marriage. It should be understood that there is no opposition to gay people sharing benefits or having what appears to be civil unions.

Marriage is a religious concept and belongs to the jurisdiction of the Church, and not that of the government. Prime Minister Mitsotakis is likely pushing this because of the European Union and Greek leaders traditionally accept all western dictates uncritically. Marriage from a biblical and theological perspective can only be between a man and a woman.

This is not “homophobia” which critics will label opponents of the Mitsotakis government. Only twenty years ago, a Massachusetts court found that marriage can include couples of the same sex. This ruling spit in the face of all civilizations and cultures. The issue which the Church is fighting has less to do with people who are gay, and entirely with the matter of an ideology that smacks of paganism.

The “right” of same sex couples to marry has led to the trans movement. Today, a man who declares he is a woman can enter the ladies room, women’s showers, and participate in female sports. Women and girls have been injured by them.

In addition, we have seen the rise of drag queen story hour, in which men in drag read books to school children and teach them about “twerking”. Then there are the horrors of “drag” children, boys dressed as girls dancing in clubs for grown men who throw money at them. In some states, it is legal for thirteen year olds to get sex changes WITHOUT the approval of parents. Wait till the bishops of Greece see what same sex marriage in America has led to.

The uproar by the Church in Greece has led to Patriarch Bartholomew expressing his opposition to same sex marriage. Some good things are developing. The Church must stand its ground against the pagan LGBT agenda but should make clear that the Church is a hospital for sinners and that gay people are welcome as are heterosexual sinners.

The New Testament teaches us not to judge others. Therefore, the defense of marriage is not aimed at gay people, but at the ideology that is being exported worldwide by the Biden administration. The US government is promoting LGBT ideology worldwide and targeting children.

The bishops of Greece are specifically motivated to stop adoptions by gay couples. It should be remembered that Greek boys under the Turks were taken from their families, converted to Islam, and forced into the Janissaries. Generations of boys were lost to the Turks.

Greeks will not lose further generations of children to the Rainbow Janissaries. Now that the Greek Churches have found their voices, they can do the right thing by breaking off with the fake “church” in Ukraine and reestablish communion with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

But one thing at a time.

The Orthodox Church today commemorates the consecration of Hagia Sophia of Constantinople in addition to the Saints commemorated on the Church calendar. Hagia Sophia will always be our holy Church regardless of its present status. The Church is named for Christ himself. Its present plight will not be forgotten.

The Orthodox Church of Greece has expressed condemnation of the government’s plans to recognize same sex marriage and the right of gay couples to adopt children. This is the right call as the Orthodox Church cannot accept social policies that conflict with the Christian teaching on marriage and the family. However, there is still a noticeable difference of opinion between the Church of Greece and the distorted and heretical views of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Recall the baptisms of two children in Greece by the American Archbishop whose parents were a gay couple in 2022.

Archbishop Elpidophoros misled the Metropolitan of Glyfada when he failed to inform him that “parents” of the children were both men. The Archbishop left behind much anger in Greece and has remained unrepentant over his actions. The bishops of Greece who are rightfully standing in opposition to the anti Christian agenda of the Mitsotakis government really need to also direct their words at Archbishop Elpidophoros and the Ecumenical Patriarch.

In addition, while the bishops of Greece are doing the right thing in the area of social morality, they can do the right thing in the area of religious freedom. This means they should condemn the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They should also cease communion with the fake “church” and restore communion with the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian Church.

The Turkish newspaper “Aydinlink” has expressed criticism that the Ecumenical Patruarchate includes the term “ecumenical” in its title. This is indicative of the fact that Turkey remains hostile to the Patriarchate. America in the end will do nothing for the Patriarchate.

Just as America did nothing after the anti Greek pogroms of September 1955 and the subsequent ethnic cleansing of Greeks from Constantinople.The Ecumenical Patriarchate made a disastrous decision to cooperate with the US against the Russians by interceding in Ukraine, the canonical territory of the Russian Church. The Russians will be unlikely to help the Patriarchate considering the Ecumenical Patriarch’s Russophobia. The Patriarchate has split Orthodoxy and compromised itself when its future is far from secure.

Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko recently praised the “tomos” that the fake “church” in Ukraine received in 2018 from Patriarch Bartholomew. Does Patriarch Bartholomew think the Nazi political elite in Ukraine will help the Patriarchate from the hostile Turks? Both the Ukrainian and American governments will leave the Patriarchate to its fate when the anti Russian hysteria fades away when the war ends.

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Greek City Times reports on the risk that the dome of Hagia Sophia could collapse in the event of an earthquake. It is asserted that pieces from the ceiling are falling because of the humidity caused by too many visitors. This is an indictment of the appalling mistreatment of the Great Church by the Erdogan government.

It will be a loss for the world if Hagia Sophia is destroyed. It will be a bigger loss to Orthodox Christians and Greeks specifically if the damage to Hagia Sophia continues unabated. There is still time for UNESCO and the academic community to raise their voices.

The fight for Hagia Sophia did not end when the conversion took place during the summer of 2020. While there has been serious damage to the Church-Museum, Hagia Sophia still exists and remains worth fighting for. The academic community remained silent in the run up to the conversion of Hagia Sophia. The historians and scholars of Byzantium can speak up now.

The Greek government reportedly is concerned about Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and divisions in the Greek American community. There are several factors to consider. The major interest of Greece was the participation of Archbishop Elpidophoros at the Turkish cultural center two years ago when the guests included the leader of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus.

Archbishop Elpidophoros should be removed for a variety of offenses. These include his participation in the aforementioned Turkish event but mostly for ecclesiastical and theological offenses. The Archbishop gained notoriety ten years ago when he suggested the Ecumenical Patriarch was “first without equals” in Orthodoxy with universal jurisdiction. This became more problematic after Patriarch Bartholomew claimed Ukraine as his own territory with the right to create an autocephalous Church.

In addition, the Archbishop held a liturgy at an Episcopal Cathedral which would be problematic even without that denominations embrace of Neo pagan LGBT ideology. The removal of the Archbishop would be a good start but Greece and Greeks cannot ignore the problem of Patriarch Bartholomew.

It was Patriarch Bartholomew who selected the present Archbishop. Patriarch Bartholomew divided Orthodoxy through his actions in Ukraine and specifically created divisions on Mount Athos and within the Greek speaking Churches of Greece and Cyprus.

Athens should be concerned about American involvement in the affairs of the Churches of Constantinople and Greece. Athens should intercede to drive out State Department involvement in Greek Church and diplomatic affairs. In any case, changing the Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of America is a good place to begin cleaning up Greek Church affairs.

Previously, the FBI announced that it would monitor Roman Catholic Churches that observed the Latin rite. The insane justification for this is that traditionalist Roman Catholics were involved with white supremacy! Never mind that historically white supremacists such as the Ku Klux Klan (the real ones) were notoriously anti Catholic.

The latest target for the FBI is the Russian Orthodox Church. The false assertion has been made that the Russian government is trying to infiltrate Russian Churches in America. This is both an attack on religious freedom and a disturbing assault on Russians living in America.

The degree of malice and stupidity that follows in the trail of the Russo-Ukrainian war gets worse in time. At this rate, anyone not going along with the anti Russian hysteria or anyone demonstrating concern about the eruption of a third world war is going to be labeled a Putin stooge. This anti intellectual madness is being further spread by CNN and other American propaganda outlets.

Greeks and other Orthodox Christians in America should not be complacent. An attack on one Orthodox Church is an attack on all. The FBI’s targeting of any religious institution should be condemned. The Biden administration is becoming dangerously authoritarian.