Category: Letters

My name is Theodore Karakostas and I am a
Greek American. I would respectfully like to criticize the “art” that was displayed in your gallery. Those of us who are Orthodox Christians are offended and outraged by the blasphemous depictions of the icons of the most holy Theotokos and our God and savior Jesus Christ, and of the icon of Saint George the great martyr. The display of this “art” was thoughtless and a betrayal of Greece’s Orthodox faith which sustained Hellenism during the centuries of Turkish Occupation. 

The thoughtlessness of depicting this “art” 
Is exacerbated by the genocide now under way in the Middle East which Christian communities from Syria to Gaza are enduring. This is the time of year when the Orthodox are observing Great lent. This is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Perhaps some apologies are in order. The museum and the artist might wish to apologize for the desecration of the icons. Christians are forgiving. The Greek Orthodox Church has permitted museums in America to display their sacred icons in the past. 

Is not the display of desecrated icons a step down for a museum to display? Many of us expect better from Museums which should display real art and not items that glorify destruction.

An icon is a holy item. Christians must not overreact but neither can we be indifferent  to such vile displays. There is a war on Christianity as can be seen by the aforementioned genocide in the Middle East, and an increasing intolerance for Christians among the powerful in Europe and America.

It was Saint John of Damascus who said  that 
Icons are Bibles for the eyes. To desecrate icons is to desecrate books. Those who desecrate books are usually fascists or 
Communists. They are not enlightened and 
the display of this “art” indicates a lack of enlightenment on the part of those who approved it. 

Theodore Karakostas 
Boston, MA
USA

As a Greek Orthodox Christian, I wish to respond to the article by Jo Lawson – Tancred
“Greek politician destroys art.. “. First, let me state that it is not consistent with the precepts of the gospel(especially during the Orthodox period of Lent) to engage in violence. Speaking for myself, I do not approve of violence in response to the blasphemous paintings in the Athens Museum.

It is indicative of how far the art world has fallen when it chooses to honor “art” that can only be seen as vile and reprehensible. The artist in question states that he did not mean to be offensive. It is indicative of his own ignorance if he did not understand how profaning the icons of Christ, the Mother of God, and Saint George the Great Martyr would offend Christians.

In my opinion the Art gallery in Athens should be defunded if public funds are being used to subsidize this sort of “art”. As Christians we are taught to forgive and to pray for those who persecute us. The artist in question would demonstrate enormous good will if he were to apologize for desecrating the holy icons and if the art community were to be more sensitive in terms of what they endorse.

Orthodox Churches (especially the Greek speaking Churches) have demonstrated remarkable displays of good will for the art community in the past. The Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai has in the past permitted icons to be displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Monasteries of Mount Athos have likewise cooperated with museums in the past by permitting icons to be displayed.

The artistic community is supposed to value and demonstrate artistic expression. The desecration of holy icons in Athens is nothing more than hooliganism and the equivalent of criminal elements who desecrate religious buildings in the commission of a hate crime.

In my view, the Orthodox Church should respond by ceasing any cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Culture in the future. Freedom of expression is one thing, but no one is guaranteed a right to display anti Christian displays in a Museum that is publicly funded by Christians.

In my opinion, this occasion should lead to mutual acts of forgiveness and understanding. The art world should acknowledge the sacrilegious nature of this “art” and should distance itself from it. The Greek Church in turn should call its faithful to order and to protest using peaceful means at a time when the Orthodox observe the period of Lent.

Theodore Karakostas 
Boston, Ma
USA 

Letter to Foreign Affairs Magazine

The following letter is intended to convey a critical view of NATO in response to “What NATO means to the World” by Jens Stoltenberg. Being of Greek ancestry, I am acutely aware that NATO has double standards. A perfect example of this is NATO’s treatment of Greece and Cyprus. Greece has been on the receiving end of Turkish threats and the government in Ankara has openly claimed the Greek islands. NATO member Turkey is an aggressor state and an outright sponsor of terrorism and jihadism as can be seen by its alliances with pro Al Quada elements and its tolerance of Islamic State. 

Turkey also invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974, which is not a member of NATO. This makes NATO itself an aggressor and supporter of Turkish ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Cyprus. More recently, the Greek Prime Minister asked Secretary Stolenberg himself to condemn Turkish threats against Greece. Mr. Stoltenberg refused to so do, making him and NATO hypocrites who are ready to sacrifice Greece and Cyprus to Turkey. In addition, NATO has looked the other way as Turkey aided and abetted the genocide of Armenians from Artsakh by the fascist-jihadist regime in Azerbaijan.

The NATO alliance is not indispensable. It is in many ways a threat to small countries considered of less importance as can be seen by the struggles of Armenia, Cyprus, 
and Greece. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston

The following letter is in response to the February 23 interview with former American National Security Advisor John Bolton. Mr. Bolton is a notorious “neoconservative” and advocate for the pro war foreign policy of the United States. Much of the interview focused on Donald Trump and the possibility of a future Trump administration leaving NATO. NATO has not been good for Greece. The staff at Ekathemerini need reminding that after the anti Greek pogroms of September 1955 and the further ethnic cleansing campaigns by Turkey against the Greeks of Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, NATO did nothing to condemn the Turks or to restrain them. 

NATO member Turkey invaded Cyprus and still occupies thirty seven percent of Cyprus after having ethnically cleansed Greek Cypriots from the occupied territories. History has shown that American wars in the middle east and American and European wars (hot and cold) against Russia increases the west’s reliance on Turkey. This is what happened in 1853 after the outbreak of the Crimean War when an anti Russian hysteria in Europe broke out. Great Britain and France went to war on behalf of the Ottoman Empire against the Russians.

The more recent anti Russian hysteria which broke out in the United States over the past decade has led to a revival of the traditional 
pro Turkish foreign policy by NATO and the United States. The Russians in turn have sought to counter NATO by attempting to gain Turkey as an ally. This rivalry between the west and Russia has once again increased Turkish influence and power as both Washington and Moscow desire Turkey as an ally. 

Either the abolition of NATO or a reconciliation between the west and Russia is a necessity for Greece. While the west has viewed Moscow as its main enemy, Turkey has gradually been increasing its influence and power over the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central Asia. Turkey assisted Azerbaijan in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Where is NATO to condemn the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression?

The former administration of Donald Trump was unique in recent American history. It did not start any wars in contrast to its predecessors,or its successor. This is important for Greece as long as American administrations come along which seek to pursue policies in pursuit of an empire, and wars specifically in areas surrounding Turkey, then Ankara will be looked upon as indispensable for American and western interests. It would be beneficial for Greece to have an administration in office that seeks to stop intervening abroad and considers dismantling the Cold War era alliance. 

It is telling that the interviewer only asked one question about Greece and that was the very last question. The interview focused exclusively on NATO. Greek interests do not coincide with NATO or the pro war policies that American officials such as Mr. Bolton support. Greece’s primary interests lie in self defense against increasing hostility and territorial expansionism openly espoused by Turkish President Erdogan and other Turkish officials. 

When Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis appealed to NATO to demand that Turkey stop threatening to invade the Greek islands, the Secretary General of NATO refused to intercede. When Athens asked Germany to stop the sale of submarines to Turkey, the German government refused. Greece is in serious trouble with “allies” such as this. 




Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA
USA

The following letter is in response to the February 16 item “Turkey and Greece to join European missile shield”. The report states that the initiative is intended against the kind of attacks that Russia launched against Ukraine. There is plenty of irony in this assertion and the article in general. Europe has been attacked in recent years by Al Quada and ISIS, not by the Russians. This is an important fact to point out because NATO member Turkey which has been invited to join the Sky Shield Initiative has been a prominent collaborator with both ISIS and Al Quada. 

Columbia University published an entire report that showed the extent to which Turkey was helping ISIS when the latter was engaging in full scale genocide against Christians, Shiite Muslims, and Yazidis. Furthermore, Turkey has been assisting the Al Nusra front and others in Syria who were part of Al Quada’s terrorist network. The Turkish government was supporting Al Quada elements who were fighting in the civil war in Libya as well. Most recently, Turkey exported Al Quada terrorists from Libya and Syria where they participated in the genocide and ethnic cleansing of ethnic Armenians by the Turkish army of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

The article falsely states that Turkey has “a longstanding rivalry and unresolved disputes with fellow alliance member Greece”. Actually, this is not true. Turkey is a predator nation that has openly threatened to invade Greece and seize the Greek islands that are located near the Asia Minor coast. The leader of one of Turkey’s fascist parties (National Action Party) openly displayed a map which showed the Greek islands as being part of Turkey.

In 1974, Turkey invaded and occupied thirty seven percent of Cyprus and instituted a policy of ethnic cleansing against 200,000 ethnic Greeks. Turkey has also threatened Cyprus over oil rights which belong under the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. Inviting Turkey to join the Sky Shield Initiative is absurd. The greatest threat facing Europe comes from Turkey under the leadership of Recep Teyyip Erdogan who has threatened to flood Europe with millions of refugees. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA

The following is in response to the Guardian’s February 15 article on the lamentable decision of the Greek Parliament to recognize something as fictitious as “same sex marriage”. As an Orthodox Christian of Hellenic ancestry in America, I for one believe this was a deplorable decision by the Greek Parliament.

It was done undemocratically without conferring with the Greek people who were not even permitted a referendum on the matter. All of a sudden, the institution of marriage is altered and changed because the Prime Minister in an authoritarian manner chose to align himself with the ideological interests of America and Europe rather than with the traditional culture and faith of Greece. The issue here has nothing to do with equality. Marriageis an institution that has always existed between one man and one woman. 

Greece has been a functioning democracy since 1974 when the military dictatorship collapsed. Greece did not need Prime Minister Mitsotakis to come along to enlighten its traditions and heritage. All Greek citizens enjoy protection under the law, and this includes homosexuals. During the centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule, and more recently Nazi occupation and a Communist instigated insurgency, it was the Orthodox Church and the family that provided stability for Greece and the ability to rebuild following disastrous wars. 

Same sex marriage is a foreign idea that is the product of western moral confusion that has been imposed on Greece. This can be seen by the American and various European Embassies who gleefully congratulated the Greek Prime Minister after passing this notorious law. Every nation has its own faith and cultural traditions. What might work in one country does not work in another country. 

In any case, a great injustice has just been committed by the government of Greece against its own citizens. This is a historical affront and betrayal of Greece’s spiritual heritage and traditions. It is for Greeks such as myself a time of mourning, and not a time of celebration. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA
USA

As a Greek Orthodox, I would like to condemn the desecration that occurred at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral by the lunatic LGBT neo pagans whose extremism in America and elsewhere continues unabated. An attack against one Christian Church or house of worship is an attack against all. Indeed, recently in the Greek town of Larissa, the Orthodox Cathedral was defaced and spray painted with hateful slogans by LGBT activists. Last week in Athens, Orthodox  Christians who gathered in front of Parliament to protest the introduction of a law to legalize same sex marriage were accosted. The editor of an Orthodox newspaper was stabbed by two radicals. 

The anti Christian hate by these extremists in unmistakable. Indeed, the horror show that took place at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral reminded me of the outrage last year when the LA Dodgers invited that LGBT group that ridiculed Roman Catholic nuns. It is apparent that our country is in danger not only from these extremists who are actively targeting and grooming children into their ideology, but from the media and all those who are silent when such blasphemous activities are undertaken.

Please know that Roman Catholics are not alone. As a Greek Orthodox, I stand with the Roman Catholics against these hate crimes. All Christians must stand together or else we will all suffer together if these extremists are not arrested and prosecuted. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA

This letter is in response to the November 29 article by David E. Sanger on Henry Kissinger. Mr. Sanger omits Kissinger’s crimes and offenses perpetrated in Greece and Cyprus during his disastrous back to back tenure as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Kissinger and the Nixon administration remain complicit in supporting the Greek military dictatorship and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Kissinger overruled all suggestions by State Department officials to stop the Turkish invasions of Cyprus that occurred during the summer of 1974.

Kissinger personally loathed and mocked the democratically elected President Makarios of Cyprus and approved his overthrow and the subsequent Turkish aggression in Cyprus. As a result over 200,000 Greek Cypriots suffered the results of Turkish ethnic cleansing and are unable to return to their homeland up to the present time. Kissinger’s ruthlessness and inhuman gangsterism has had devastating consequences for people around the world, including Cyprus who are still suffering and enduring the consequences that emanated from Turkish aggression and the psychopathic mind of Henry Kissinger who supported that brutal invasion.

The article makes very clear that Henry Kissinger is responsible for human suffering on a mass scale around the world. Torture victims in Greece and victims of rape, murder, and ethnic cleansing by Turkish troops in Cyprus occurred largely because of the misuse and abuse of power exacerbated by the now deceased sociopath. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA

To Miss/Msrs. Liouliou 

I am writing to you once again to bring to the attention of UNESCO the ongoing desecration and defilement of the great Hagia Sophia Church-Museum of Constantinople.
Latest news reports refer to the latest problems that Hagia Sophia suffers as a result of official government policies aimed at the Ottomanization of this Greek Orthodox 
shrine. The latest news about Hagia Sophia include dire warnings that the dome may very well collapse in the event of an earthquake. Pieces of the ceiling above are 
reportedly falling to the ground. 

The floor of Hagia Sophia has previously been reported as having been damaged. The Imperial gates through which Greek Orthodox Emperors of Constantinople once entered the Church to worship Christ have been damaged. Also, it was previously reported that the walls are being damaged because too many people are being 
permitted to enter the Church-Museum on a daily basis.

On 1 December 2021, you kindly responded to a previous letter that I had sent and referred me to a published report that UNESCO had done in the aftermath of the 
Ottomanization of Hagia Sophia. I thank you for your letter and for referring me to that report. I further request an update regarding UNESCO’s activities aimed at monitoring activities within Hagia Sophia and would like to ask what is being done for the preservation of Hagia Sophia?

If the present destruction of Hagia Sophia continues, the entire Church-Museum could be permanently lost. For the secular world, this would mean the loss of a world heritage site. Admittedly, a very serious loss. For those of us of Orthodox Christian faith and Greek ancestry, the destruction of Hagia Sophia would be even more catastrophic as this Church is the center of our spiritual heritage. 

All scholars and experts on Hagia Sophia are aware that the Great Church is named for Christ himself and for this alone Christians are horrified and appalled by the callous and insensitive attitude of the Turkish government which insisted on the deChristianization of Hagia Sophia. I respectfully ask that UNESCO continue not only to monitor the desecration of Hagia Sophia, but that the organization actively work to protest and condemn all actions in Hagia Sophia that have taken place over the past three years, and which continue to take place.

Thank you 

Theodore Karakostas 
Author and Greek Orthodox theologian 
Boston, MA

Dear Deputy Secretary of State,

My name is Theodore Karakostas and I am an American of Greek Orthodox faith. I wish to protest the brutal and vicious crackdown against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (not to be confused with the artificially created Orthodox Church of Ukraine) by the Ukrainian authorities. This letter is not political but is intended as a public declaration of my Orthodox Christian faith. There are at least four bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who are being prosecuted by the Ukrainian government.

In addition to this, there are dozens of Churches that have been seized by the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” and its followers from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church through violent and brutal means and clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been assaulted. I am aware of the horrific crisis emanating as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. I am opposed to the war in Ukraine and believe war can never be justified through faith as Orthodoxy does not endorse either jihads or Crusades.

The persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been under way since long before February 2022. Several years before the Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities began persecuting the Ukrainian Church. Much of what has transpired results from the decision of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to grant “autocephaly” to the Church in Ukraine. Firstly, as a matter of Canon Law and Orthodox ecclesiology Patriarch Bartholomew had and has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of autocephalous Orthodox Churches.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been a part of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1686 and no sinister connotations can or should be inferred by the Moscow Patriarchate’s jurisdiction over Ukraine. If we are going to link ecclesiastical jurisdiction and borders with politics, American and other western officials should be reminded that the Vatican was once under the rule of Mussolini and later the Nazi occupation of Rome. American and other western governments never attempted to take away any parts of the Catholic Church from the Papacy.

Under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the State Department violated the religious freedom not just of members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but of all Orthodox Christians everywhere. In addition to Mr. Pompeo, former Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt overstepped his bounds when he interfered
blatantly in the internal affairs of the Orthodox Church of Greece. At one point, Ambassador Pyatt gave a speech at the Greek office of Foreign Affairs in which he commented on the Greek Church’s position on Ukrainian Church matters. Such comments on internal Church matters are profoundly insulting to Orthodox Christians as American officials are treating the true Church of Christ like some political party of non governmental organization.

Orthodox Christians believe the Orthodox Church is the true Church founded by Christ in the Gospel. The purpose of the Church is to serve as a hospital for sinners and not to serve political interests (especially that of an administration that is now scandalously promoting the abuse of children through the
neo pagan LGBT agenda). Some of us have become uneasy about remaining members in the dioceses under the Ecumenical Patriarchate as a result of the Patriarch’s violation of Orthodox canon law in Ukraine and the State Department’s involvement in the matter.

Within the United States itself, it is unconstitutional for the government to make a declaration about any particular faith. Yet, the State Department’s support for the defacto partition of the Russian Orthodox Church and the establishment of the illegitimate “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” is an intrusion into Church affairs as the Department has effectively declared what constitutes a “Church”. The State Department has effectively determined that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not only invalid but deserves to be actively persecuted and outlawed as the government of Kiev is attempting to outlaw the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

There is a great deal of misery and grief that has resulted from this entire Church issue in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church is hampered from serving its spiritual mission as long as secular interests interfere with it. The Ukrainian Church as mentioned above has been part of the Russian Church since 1686 and its status is not something that came about recently. The idea that the Russian Church is serving some sort of sinister political plot is blatantly false. The Orthodox Church might have very well come together to actively oppose the war in Ukraine had Patriarch Bartholomew not recklessly invaded the ecclesiastical territory of Ukraine that does not belong to Constantinople.

The canonical territory of all local Orthodox Churches are determined by canon law and the conciliar traditions of the Orthodox Church. These matters are outside the scope and interests of the foreign policy establishment. Patriarch Bartholomew has created the worst schism in the Orthodox Church since the eleventh century. Orthodox Christians (including myself) are bitterly criticizing him over his policies which are motivated by his hunger for power.

I respectfully and humbly request from your office two things. First, to condemn the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on moral and legal grounds. The State Department has supported the creation of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” under the pretext of religious freedom. Religious freedom means that all individuals should be free to worship where and how they wish to. This means Ukrainians should be free to attend either the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. Let individuals worship where they please.

The second request is to ask that your office take the initiative to disavow any interference in the internal affairs of the Orthodox Church. This means no further commentaries or actions in terms of what constitutes an Orthodox Church. The State Department should be neutral and not side with any faction within Orthodoxy. This means disavowing support for Patriarch Bartholomew’s claims of authority over the Orthodox Church which are rejected by many Orthodox bishops, priests, theologians, monastics, and laypeople.

The United States can not claim to support religious freedom when it in effect presumes to declare what is or is not a legitimate Church as it has done in Ukraine. These actions in Ukraine have reverberated throughout the whole of Orthodoxy and in my particular case has seriously disrupted my spiritual life as the threat of a great Church schism remains.

I respectfully ask that the State Department return to its role as a neutral observer and respect the religious traditions and boundaries of the Orthodox Church as they have stood for many centuries.

Thank you

Theodore Karakostas


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