Category: faith

The Orthodox Church is getting attention in the world’s media. It is not getting attention in a good way. The Russian Orthodox Church is getting the attention and this is because Patriarch Kyril of Moscow has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine. News sources have made references to the Orthodox Churches that oppose the war.

One has to wonder what ordinary people who have never heard of Orthodoxy think of all this. The Russian Patriarch not condemning war even though his flock in Ukraine is being bombed. The media is also referencing the ongoing fights between Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Kyril.

The Russian Church is beginning to pay a price for its reluctance to condemn the war. Fifteen bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have stopped commemorating Patriarch Kyril during liturgy. There is evidence that the canonical Churches are beginning to join the non canonical “Church” established by Patriarch Bartholomew in 2018. The Russian Patriarch is losing his Church in Ukraine.

“Supporters” of Patriarch Bartholomew have condemned the war and this is correct considering that innocent people are dying. However, they are taking cheap shots and diminishing their moral high ground by using the war to justify Constantinople’s intrusions on the canonical territory of Moscow. The word “supporters” is in italics because both Constantinople and Moscow have supporters as if they were political leaders feuding with one another.

Leaving political sympathies aside (I am a Hellenic Russophile) the issue before all Orthodox Christians is one of morality. From a strictly moral and spiritual perspective the war is sinful and wrong. Russia needs to end the war and the Russian Church has to make clear its opposition to the war.

The Orthodox Church must find its voice. If there is anything the present Ukrainian crisis demonstrates it is that the Church is universal consisting of various local Churches that are its members but the Church can only be one. The Church of Constantinople is one part of the Church and Moscow is another part.

We have seen in the past few years that it is possible for one member of the Church to go astray. This happened to Constantinople when it began to claim universal authority over the whole Church. It is now happening to Moscow which appears to out of touch with its own priests. Over two hundred and eighty Russian priests have condemned the war.

Most Orthodox Churches have condemned the war. It would be better if all the local Churches were able to formulate a common stance against the war at a time when the world is watching the Orthodox Church. Constantinople should not criticize Moscow. Constantinople should adopt a posture of reconciliation and should offer apologies for its intervention in Ukraine.

Moscow in turn should condemn the military invasion of Ukraine. Many of us are tired of the Church becoming divided by factionalism. By taking a moral position against war does not denote being against Russia or being unsympathetic to Russia’s diplomatic and political stances.

The war is distinguishable from politics. The Orthodox Church must remember that morality comes from heaven. Morality over politics. The Orthodox Churches must condemn this war and should refrain from being partisan against one another.

When Orthodox Patriarchs are warring with one another, how can they be a good example to the secular leaders of warring nations?

What an immoral state of affairs in which we commemorate the triumph of Orthodoxy! One Orthodox country has invaded another Orthodox country. Orthodox and other Christians in Ukraine are fleeing the bombs of Orthodox Christians!

When Orthodox Christians are not killing each other, Patriarchs are feuding with one another and denouncing one another. This blog has been critical of Patriarch Bartholomew and it is now time to criticize Patriarch Kyril of Moscow as well. Patriarch Kyril has badly mishandled the Russian Church’s position on the Ukrainian war.

There are certain things that Patriarch Kyril has said that are true about the west’s hostility toward Russia. It was in poor taste to make these points while Ukraine is being bombed. The present inter Orthodox wars bring to mind the destructive and mad policies of the past.

During the fourteenth century Emperor John Cantacuzenos of Constantinople turned to help from the Turks to fight Orthodox Serbs. Greeks and Serbs were at war. The Greek Emperor brought in Turkish mercenaries to the Balkans to fight the Serbs. The Turks did not leave and the Ottoman Turkish conquest of the Balkans was begun.

During the first Balkan War, Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria fought the Turks. The Bulgarians were unhappy with their share of territory and proceeded to attack fellow Orthodox Greeks and Serbs. The Greeks and the Serbs (joined by Romania) got the upper hand. Bulgarians burned Greek Churches and Greeks burned Bulgarian Churches! Orthodox Christians indeed!

On March 12 we commemorate the triumph of the icons and the defeat of the iconoclast heresy. What triumph do we commemorate in the midst of war and inter Church strife? It did not have to be this way.

Exactly thirty years ago, a young and energetic new Patriarch in Constantinople convened a remarkable synaxis at the Patriarchate to commemorate the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The heads of all Orthodox Churches were there except the Archbishop of Cyprus and the Patriarch of the Georgian Church. It was a display of real Orthodox unity coming on the heals of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Orthodox Churches from the communist yoke.

For the peace of the Church and the world, things seemed promising. Now we see how things have transpired. Wars in Ukraine over the Church have been accompanied by a real military war.

There are three Patriarchs in Orthodoxy today (Constantinople, Alexandria, Moscow) who behave more like politicians than spiritual leaders. Patriarch of Moscow faces a rebellion from the bishops of the canonical Church in Ukraine whose faithful do not wish to hear the name of the Russian commemorated in the liturgy. Greeks should not be throwing stones at the Russian Patriarch.

Patriarch Bartholomew gave his blessing to Turkish troops in 2018 who proceeded to invade the Kurdish regions of Syria. Patriarch Bartholomew in collaboration with the State Department started the Church war in Ukraine. Adding to this chaos, Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria has the audacity to condemn the Russian Church for establishing an exarchate in Africa when Alexandria entered into communion with schismatics in Ukraine.

The Church should be a force for morality in peace in the midst of the present war. Instead, Patriarchs are taking partisan political stances by siding with secular authorities. The Orthodox Churches must remember that in our tradition there is no such thing as “Crusades” or “Holy War”. There is no such thing as just war as the Roman Catholics teach.

The Emperor Alexios Comnenos of Constantinople and the members of his Court were critical of the Roman Catholic Crusaders for mixing faith and war. This writer is a Hellenic nationalist and a proud Russophile. At this hour, the Orthodox world should be thinking about the ordinary people in Ukraine.

On the other hand, there are the Russian speakers of Eastern Ukraine who were bombed an harassed for years by Ukrainian fascists. We should be thinking all these people who are created in the image of God. The war must end!

Being opposed to the war does not make one sympathetic to either NATO or the United States. NATO’s expansion and a decade’s worth of anti Russian hate in the media contributed to tensions. At this point, Russia should heed the calls of Orthodox Patriarchs who have appealed to Moscow for an end to the war.

The most important Orthodox bishop in the world right now is his beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev. He is the canonical bishop of Ukraine who along with his clergy and faithful have endured persecution by the schismatic entity for several years. The invasion of Ukraine does not make their plight easier.

The War Must End!

Written on the eve of the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2022

Theodore Karakostas

Orthodoxy in America is divided between various “jurisdictions”. These include the OCA (Orthodox Church in America), Antiochian, Greek, Russian and other Orthodox Churches. According to Canon Law, there must be one bishop or Church in each place.

There are established Orthodox Churches in Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Georgia and elsewhere. There is no reason why there should not be an American Church that unites all Orthodox in America. The Greek Archdiocese has become involved in international politics involving both the State Department and the governments of Greece and Turkey.

The Russians are involved with Russia. Here in America, we can begin to separate the spiritual from the political. Certainly, we can all be supportive of the old countries but the priority of the Church is to evangelize in accordance with the will of Jesus Christ. It really is past time to solve this problem.

At a time when international problems are growing and people are becoming fearful, the voice of God is needed to be heard. All Orthodox should focus on building a united Church in America that will free itself from the political problems afflicting the Churches in the mother lands. We are Orthodox Christians and we should focus now on spiritual matters rather than on factionalism and division.

A united Orthodox Church in America should have been established long ago. It is time for all Orthodox in America to temporarily put Constantinople and Moscow aside and focus on what is happening here. There are souls to be saved and a fight that is looming from the neo pagans and secularists.

Let us reflect. A united Church in America that is fully autocephalous would be in a better position to witness Orthodoxy in America and to help the Orthodox lands that are in so much turmoil and pain.

As a Greek Orthodox in America, I am profoundly uncomfortable with the state of Orthodoxy in the world. Orthodox Russia has invaded Orthodox Ukraine. Invading other countries is wrong regardless of religion. That Ukraine is Orthodox makes this war doubly tragic.

While tension rise between the West and Russia, Orthodox Churches are feuding among each other. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria has lashed out at the Russian Church for establishing an exarchate in Africa. The Patriarch arrogantly forgets his offense in establishing communion with a schismatic sect on the territory of the Russian Church.

Patriarch Bartholomew without remorse continues arrogantly behaving as if he is not responsible for the greatest schism in Orthodoxy in nearly one thousand years. Patriarch Kyril of Moscow missed the opportunity to speak critically of the war in Ukraine and many bishops of the suffering Ukrainian Church and people have ceased commemorating him.

The Orthodox Churches are behaving badly. They serve as examples to the secular rulers of the world. Patriarch Bartholomew is aligned with Washington and Patriarck Kyril has dangerously aligned himself with the war. In Russia, at least two hundred and seventy two priests have signed a letter calling on President Putin to stop the war.

Orthodox Patriarchs should remember they are supposed to serve Christ first and foremost! Morality is above politics and comes from heaven. Many of us Orthodox seem to have forgotten this in our zeal and our anger at past injustices.

As it stands now, political differences can wait. The Ukrainian people deserve our sympathy and moral support. As the world waits for the politicians to come to the table, the Patriarchs should be an example of how to behave. If the Patriarchs cannot reconcile with one another, why should the politicians of the world?

Morality before politics. Orthodoxy before politics.

Today is Clean Monday in the Orthodox Church. The Great Fast has begun. A great way for the fast to proceed would by for Orthodox Russia to stop bombing Orthodox Ukraine. The Orthodox Churches have already appealed to President Putin to stop the bombing.

New appeals should be made in light of the beginning of Great Lent. Politics should be put aside and consideration should be given to the people of Ukraine and the soldiers of both countries. Russia should stop the war and let negotiations proceed.

President Vladimir Putin is on the opposite side of the United States and Europe. He has now placed himself in opposition to the public protests and appeals of the Orthodox Churches. A head of state aspiring to lead the Orthodox world can not defy the consensus of Orthodox leaders worldwide.

Russia needs to put an end to the war by agreeing to a ceasefire and ceasing from disrupting the lives of people in Ukraine. As has been written before on this blog, a resolution should be bases on a land for peace basis. Russia should withdraw from Ukrainian territory in exchange for NATO agreeing not install bases in Ukrainian and making Ukraine a member of NATO.

The danger exists of escalation with American and Russian forces possibly confronting one another. On the American side, it should be understood that the dangerous rhetoric over the years directed at the Russians has contributed to the war. On the Russian side, it should be understood that the invasion of Ukraine led to the suffering of innocent people who bear no responsibility for the geopolitical rivalry that was instigated by the west.

Orthodox Christians should strive for and end to the war in fulfillment of the established positions of the synods of the local Churches. It should also be understood that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has condemned the invasion. The war must end and negotiations should proceed.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew opposes the war in Ukraine. The Patriarchs of Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rumania, Bulgaria, and Georgia have spoken out as well. The Archbishop of the Czeck Lands and Slovakia has spoken out. Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens has also spoken out. I may inadvertently have left other leaders out. In one form or another Orthodox leaders have raised their voices either to condemn the war outright or to urge President Putin to cease all military actions.

The voices of such a large portion of the Church cannot and should not be ignored. The most important plea for an end to the invasion of Ukraine came from Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev who is the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is the canonical Church under the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.

Patriarch Kyril of Moscow has been widely criticized for making a vague statement regarding the war. At this point, it is too early to judge and criticize. Patriarch Kyril made a statement very early on when it was unclear what was happening and why. Why should there be criticism for a a statement that was carefully guarded and restrained before all the facts were out?

As the war has progressed it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify Russian actions. Especially when Orthodox Christians are suffering. The religion of people in a war should not make a difference since we are all people. As it stands there are still many uncertainties and unknown factors.

Morally, Orthodox Christians should oppose the war. Not just this war but wars in general. Politics is clouding the issues here because factually the “international community” hates Russia. To bring about an end to the hostilities diplomacy must be given a chance to work.

The Orthodox Church could have the most significant influence on ending the war and its voice should be considered welcome by the world. President Putin is a churchgoer who has made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Mount Athos. There are reports that two hundred Russian priests are calling on the President to stop bombing Ukraine.

During the winter of 1996 there were pro democracy demonstrations in Belgrade, Serbia against the rule of President Slobodon Milosovic. The demonstrators were blessed by the late Serbian Patriarch Pavle. The Serbian Orthodox Church and other Serbian groups wanted peace in the former Yugoslavia and were willing to help remove Milosovic.

What the Church and the Serbs wanted was to ensure that Kosovo would remain part of Serbia. The United States and its leaders such as Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Richard Holbrooke, and Wesley Clarke preferred to destroy Serbia. Before the beginning of hostilities in 1999, Undersecretary of State Holbrooke presented the Serbs with a plan for “peace”. The plan would have required the Serbs to give up Kosovo after three years.

They knew the Serbs would not sign such a plan. They wanted to destroy Serbia. There are important similarities between Serbia and Russia. Kosovo was the spiritual center of Orthodox Serbia with its glorious Churches and Monasteries. Kiev is the birthplace of Orthodox Russia.

It is of extreme importance that the voice of the Orthodox Church be heard by all sides. As a son of the Church, President Putin should demonstrate his piety by ending the war. The west should cease and desist its hostile propaganda and military actions (NATO) against Russia.

Even more importantly, the west should give up trying to export LGBT to Orthodox countries. A member of British intelligence has said the campaign against Russia is about gay and transgender rights! People like this should have nothing to do with the sensitive issue of the war.

Just as President Putin should grant the requests of the Orthodox Churches and stop the war, the west should respect and acknowledge the Orthodox Churches. For decades western culture has promoted secularism in the name of pushing faith into private life.

The power and influence of Orthodoxy in Russia and Ukraine may very well be the key to restoring peace in the Russian and Ukrainian lands. This is assuming that the west has better intentions toward Russia than it had for Serbia.

Nearly one thousand years ago, the western Crusaders were on their way to the holy land when they were passing through Constantinople. Previous to this, Emperor Alexios Comnenos sent a message to the Pope requesting that mercenaries be sent to Constantinople to help recover territory that had been lost to the Turks in 1071. What the Emperor got to his horror were 100,000 crazed religious fanatics from western Europe.

Pope Urban had completely distorted the Emperor’s original intent. The Emperor had asked for mercenaries to recover territory in Anatolia since the Turks posed a threat to the Empire as a whole. The Pope had fantasies about liberating Jerusalem and so illiterate and uneducated Latin fanatics signed up for the Crusade which was something entirely different from what the Greeks wanted.

A discussion was had between the Greek Orthodox Emperor and the leaders of the Crusades. The Crusades were bloodthirsty and insisted that killing Muslims for Jerusalem would result in the remission of their sins. The Emperor insisted that murder was a sin no matter the religion of the victim.

The Emperor pointed out that the Christian Empire of the Greeks only waged war for defensive purposes. Since the Turks controlled large portions of Anatolia, the security of the Empire was under threat. The Emperor also suggested that the wars of the Empire were imperial wars, not religious wars. Orthodoxy does not have holy wars.

The Crusaders had entirely different views. The Greeks cited the canon of Saint Basil (a part of Orthodox canon law) in which a soldier who has killed in times of war is denied communion for a period of two or three years. This is not to suggest that a Christian soldier sinned by doing his duty to his country, but the Church recognizes that enemy soldiers are people created in the image of God.

Debates could be held about the righteousness of the Greek War of Independence, World War Two, and other conflicts. Circumstances vary and while the Roman Catholics have developed a doctrine for “just wars”, the Orthodox do not have the equivalent. Orthodoxy does not endorse war but recognizes that a country has a right to self defense as the Church in Byzantium recognized the Empire’s right to defend itself.

On the matter of Ukraine. The Russians should have probably restrained themselves and avoided invading Ukraine. Being anti war, I am inclined to suggest Russia may be in the wrong for invading Ukraine. However, the Russians made attempts at diplomacy and were rebuffed.

The Biden administration refused to recognize Russia’s security interests and concerns about being encircled by NATO. Therefore, the issue becomes somewhat blurred although the anti war position may have been the ideal strategy. What is beyond dispute is that war would not have started under a Trump administration.

The western world has a history of warmongering. A thousand years ago the Crusaders committed genocide against Muslims and Jews in the name of Christianity. Today, the Crusades come in the form of NATO and under the guise of democracy.

The United States and NATO have bombed Serbia, invaded Iraq, and engaged in war against Syria. These wars have led to the destruction of Eastern Christianity much as the Crusades led to the attack on Constantinople in 1204 which was left in devastation. The Biden administration like the Clinton and Bush administrations is intent on war.

Donald Trump was an attractive candidate mainly because of his anti war stance which in many ways resembled the position of the Christian Emperors of Constantinople. Anti war in principle but war when necessary and in self defense. The Clinton, Bush, and Biden administrations support ideological wars which is in the tradition of the Crusades. The neoconservatives and the neoliberals of today believe as the Crusaders did that the ends justify the means.

None have ever taken into account the misery of innocent people. From a Christian standpoint we should take into consideration the misery of ordinary people in Ukraine. They are the victims of the Russians to an extent, but they are more the victims of the west which exacerbated tensions.

Orthodox Church leaders have sent messages to President Putin asking for a cessation of hostilities. His beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Ukraine is among those who have asked for an end to the war. There should be a ceasefire and negotiations should begin between Washington, Kiev, and Moscow.

Washington needs to get rid of the arrogant view that it has the right to intervene anywhere in the world. The basis for peace should be that Ukraine maintain a neutral status outside of NATO in return for Russian withdrawal from occupied territories. Land for peace.

Being anti war and opposed to the invasion of Ukraine does not mean one does not sympathize with Russia. The Russians have serious grievances with the west. A permanent peace and reconciliation between Russia and the west is possible as demonstrated by the administration of Donald Trump.

The Trump administration did not provoke the Russians and there was never any war over Ukraine. If the hysteria emanating from the media and the Democratic Party had not made it impossible, America and Russia during the Trump years might have achieved a real and genuine peace.

What some of us feared from the Democrats has come to pass.

A Greek television station MEGA has been broadcasting a series on the life of Saint Paisios the Athonite (1924-1994). Saint Paisios is one of the most beloved Saints in the recent history of Orthodoxy. He was a holy and pious monk from Mount Athos who taught love and assisted anyone who sought his guidance. Miracles are said to have been attributed to him during his lifetime and after his death.

He was added to the list of Saints in 2015. Churches named for him have been built not only in Greece, but in Russia and Syria as well. His tomb outside Thessaloniki at the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian is a site of pilgrimage from throughout the Orthodox world.

Now, a secular Greek politician has proceeded to ridicule the series on Saint Paisios. Petros Tatsopoulos made one serious point but even that point was mangled by the insults and ridicule that he directed at Orthodox Christians. He suggested that the story of Saint Paisios cannot be considered historical. From the viewpoint of secular history and research this point is valid and in itself does not disrespect religious faith or the life of the Saint.

History is generally written through the prism of historians and researchers whose emphasis is on facts that can be proven in this world. Christian faith is not of this world and so the revelation of God is something that is beyond the scope and purposes of secular historians. The Church itself through the bishops, priests, theologians, and ecclesiastical historians have the task of examining the role of God in history and the world.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized the Elder Paisios as a Saint in 2015. Under the influence of the holy spirit the works and miracles of Saint Paisios were recognized. Secular historians do not recognize divine miracles and it is not their purpose to pass judgement on matters of faith.

Many good secular historians have written about Christianity and other faiths with great respect. They have done so by explaining matters of faith. For example, the study of Byzantine history necessitates a knowledge of Orthodox faith and dogma. There are brilliant secular historians who have written about Byzantium and discussed the dogmas that were formulated by the Ecumenical Councils and Synods.

Now, returning to Tatsopoulos. Tatsopoulos does not do historians any favors by his comments. His attacks on the series depicting the life of Saint Paisios is motivated by ideology, not by his love of history. It is clear that like many officials of the Greek establishment that he is a secularist, an internationalist, and an ass.

His suggestion that Greece will not return to the middle ages is indicative of his western and anti hellenic mindset. The middle ages he refers to have to with Western Europe. Of what does Greece have to do with Europe? Greece languished under the Turks for centuries and before that under the yoke of the Franks who invaded Constantinople and other Greek lands.

Greece is a mess today. Greece has a spiritual crisis as well an identity crisis. The Greek political elite mock the Orthodox faith of the Greeks and their beloved Saints while erasing Greece’s history from schools and subordinating Greek interests to that abomination known as the European Union.

Tatsopoulos is apparently a former Syriza official that has joined New Democracy. This is now the second time someone associated with Prime Minister Mitsotakis has ridiculed the faith of the Greek people. Last December, the Greek representative to the World Health Organization ridiculed the Mother of God.

The Prime Minister needs to distance himself from the enemies of Orthodoxy and Hellenism.

Patriarch Bartholomew has expressed concern that a third world war could break out over Ukraine. His concerns are valid and he is right to speak out and urge everyone to restrain themselves. The problem however is that he has no credibility.

Patriarch Bartholomew’s intervention in Ukraine effectively led to the Ecumenical Patriarchate aligning itself politically with Washington against Moscow. The Church became a political pawn in all this. As far as Russia is concerned, neither the Patriarch nor the Greek speaking world has any influence in Moscow.

Before the Ukraine crisis broke out the Greek Orthodox world had much influence in Russia. The Monasteries of Mount Athos were beloved by the Russians. When Elder Ephraim of Vatopaidi Monastery was arrested in Greece in 2011 the Russians were his biggest supporters.

Greek clerics and theologians once highly esteemed in Orthodoxy have lost their reputations because they sided with Constantinople in Ukraine. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has succeeded in conquering the Greek speaking Orthodox Churches but he has angered and alienated the rest of the Orthodox world.

The Church of Greece is now subjugated under Constantinople and falling into total ruin. The majority of bishops are afraid of challenging Patriarch Bartholomew’s un Orthodox teachings. The Church of Cyprus is divided. The Patriarchate of Alexandria is losing priests and faithful to the Russian exarchate.

Who now will listen to the Ecumenical Patriarchate? Without the Church crisis the Ecumenical Patriarch would have stood as an elder statesman of Orthodoxy. All the Orthodox respected him as being “first among equals”. Without the schism Patriarch Bartholomew could have used his office to serve as a bridge between Washington and Moscow.

This is now an impossible task with the Russians having been alienated and Orthodoxy divided for the foreseeable future. Anti war statements from the Ecumenical Patriarch are very much welcome but will fall on deaf ears in both Washington and Moscow. Moscow because of the Church schism and Washington because they have gotten what they needed from Patriarch Bartholomew and do not care what he has to say.

What a terrible situation when the world is headed for a horrific war the Orthodox Church remains divided. It is terrible to reflect that Constantinople divided the Orthodox Church.