Category: Letters

Greetings and wishing those at the Orthodox Times a blessed Lent, 

My name is Theodore Karakostas. I am under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. I happen to be opposed to the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine. Just as the faithful of the Church of Constantinople in the eighth century were opposed to the iconoclastic Emperors and Patriarchs, and just as the faithful sons and daughters of the Church of Constantinople opposed the signing of the Union of Florence in 1439, I oppose the uncanonical actions of the Church of Constantinople in Ukraine. 

In the May 16 commentary, Ms(rs) Efthimiou launched a severe attack on the Russian Orthodox Church and even upon the person of his beautitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem. The unofficial council that convened in Amman, Jordan last year was a necessary first step to resolve the schism in Orthodoxy that was created by the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s unilateral actions in Ukraine. In the aftermath of the Ukrainian schism, both Patriarch John of Antioch and Archbishop Anastasios of Albania wrote to the Ecumenical Patriarch asking him to convene a council. His holiness Patriarch Bartholomew refused to do so.

At the present time, the Churches of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Metropolitan Onuphry are being seized and faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Church are being beaten and subject to acts of violence. The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s collusion with the State Department in a common antiRussian policy is scandalous and harmful not only to the whole of Orthodoxy, but to the Great Church of Constantinople itself. I for one am particularly angry that American officials have stuck their anti Christian noses in the affairs of the holy Church of Jesus Christ.

The Orthodox Church does not have a Pope. Patriarch Bartholomew’s claims of total authority over the Orthodox Church is inconsistent with the conciliar and synodical tradition of the Orthodox Church. It should be remembered the notorious heretic Nestorius was once Patriarch of Constantinople as were other heretics such as John Bekkas and Gregory Mammas. It has been customary for the Ecumenical Patriarch as “first among equals” to convene Pan Orthodox councils but considering the fact that the Church of Constantinople refused to do so at this time, it is necessary for another Church to take the initiative. 

Since September 2018, the Orthodox Church has been in a state of semi-paralysis as a result of the schism. There is absolutely no evidence that Patriarch Theophilos is being pressured by the Russian Orthodox Church. In fact, the evidence demonstrates quite convincingly that Patriarch Bartholomew with the backing of American officials is the one who has been bullying the various Orthodox Churches to fall into line with his dictates. 

A perfect example is the manner in which Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and other Greek Bishops succumbed to pressure from Constantinople’s American friends at the State Department. Is it not obscene that former American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and American “Ambassador” to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt are intervening in Church affairs and trying to dictate as to what constitutes an Orthodox Church. The Bishops of Constantinople and Greece who have colluded with American officials against the sister Church of Russia and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church have betrayed Orthodoxy! 

Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem is right to work to convene another council to solve the Ukrainian crisis. The Orthodox Church is led by Jesus Christ and not by any particular Patriarch or Archbishop. Authority in the Orthodox Church consists in a universal or ecumenical council in which the entirety of the Church participates. The Ecumenical Patriarch has made a mockery of the conciliar tradition by attempting to grab complete and total authority that he has no right too. 

There are those of us within the Greek speaking Orthodox communion who are appalled by the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s policies and distortions of Orthodox ecclesiology. We want nothing more than an end to the Church crisis and the liberation of the Greek speaking Orthodox Churches from the authoritarian hand of secular America. Under the leadership of the two previous Archbishops of Athens Serapheim and Christodoulos, the Church of Greece fiercely resisted Patriarch Bartholomew’s encroachments on the canonical territory of the Church of Greece and would not have tolerated American interference in Church affairs as the cowardly Archbishop Ieronymos has done. 

Orthodox tradition requires the faithful to speak and to oppose Patriarchs and Bishops when they begin promoting teachings that are erroneous to the faith. The faithful of Constantinople rioted in the streets and denounced the Patriarch and the Bishops who signed the heretical Union of Florence. Greek Orthodox Christians should actively oppose and speak against the subjugation of the Greek speaking Churches by American secular interests.The Greek Orthodox world today is unfree and this has been proven by the attention that American officials have given to influencing the Churches of Constantinople and Greece to participate in their aggressive anti Russian campaign.

Wishing you a blessed Lent on the day after the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2021. The Sunday of Orthodoxy which commemorates the victory of the triumph ofthe veneration of Icons. Let it be remembered that Patriarchs and Bishops of the Church of Constantinople had promoted the heresy of iconoclasm. Let it be remembered that the ordinary faithful of the Church of Constantinople were persecuted by the Emperor and heretical Patriarchs because they protected and revered the holy icons. 

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy we recalled those Orthodox who kept the faith and recall the anathemas against the heretical Patriarchs and Bishops who burned and destroyed Icons. The Church of Constantinople properly repented and became Orthodox once again. May the Bishops of Constantinople and their partners within the Churches of Greece and Alexandria who have colluded in undermining the holy canons in Ukraine repent and be restored to Orthodoxy. Then Orthodox unity can be restored.
               

Theodore Karakostas 

I am writing to protest Mayor Walsh’s commemoration of Khojaly Day which is a rehashing of Azerbaijani propaganda. The Armenian people are the inhabitants of the entirety of the province of Nagorno-Kharabakh and have been defending themselves in their struggle for self determination for more than three decades. The Armenian during the twentieth century lost one and a half million people in the genocide perpetrated against them by Azerbaijan’s chief supporter, the Republic of Turkey.

This particular proclamation is especially offensive and outrageous coming as it does in the aftermath of war between the Armenian inhabitants of Artsakh and the genocidal regime of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a regime that is hostile to the Armenians as it actively promotes the denial of the Armenian Genocide. At the outset of the recent war of aggression against the Armenians, Azerbaijani leaders openly advocated an attack on nuclear facilities within the Republic of Armenia.

This declaration of “Khojaly Day” is morally offensive and should be revoked with apologies extended to the Armenian people. Perhaps a reading of history is in order. See the recent “Thirty Year Genocide” by Israeli historians Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi. I respectfully ask that the Mayor of Boston revoke proclamation as quickly as possible.

Theodore G. Karakostas 

UPDATE

Received response from Ekathemerini that they received letter and purpose of letter to show other side succeeded

The following is in response to the assertion that Russia and Turkey are uniting against the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I am a Greek Orthodox of the United States under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I have long considered myself proud to be part of the flock of Constantinople but ceased to be so following the events of 2018 when the Ecumenical Patriarchate violated the canons of the Orthodox Church by intervening in the territory of the autocephalousRussian Orthodox Church.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is considered to hold a “primacy of honor” among the world’s Orthodox Churches. The Patriarch is considered “first among equals” and is commemorated first by all the primates of the Orthodox Churches. The Ecumenical Patriarchate however has no authority or power outside of the various eparchies that it presently presides over in America, Australia, Canada, and parts of Greece. The Orthodox Church is conciliar and the only real binding authority emanates from the authority of an ecumenical council in which all autocephalous Churches participate. 

 In 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate intervened on the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an autonomous part of the Russian Church. It has been part of the Russian Church since 1686 as can be proven by the Tomos then given to Ukraine by the Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysios IV. Furthermore, the canon laws of the Orthodox Church prohibit one autocephalous Church (regardless of honor) from intervening in the affairs of another. 

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has committed an abundance of canonical violations which include an awkward attempt to restore bishops who had been properly deposed and anathematized by the Russian Church. These are all ecclesiastical matters grounded in canon law and Orthodox ecclesiology. Theologians, Church historians, and canonists from throughout the Orthodox world (including Greece and Cyprus) have made a solid case against Constantinople. 

The Orthodox Church is founded by Christ and led by the savior alone. Secular governments have no business interfering in Church matters. The Church of Christ is not a political party nor a non governmental organization. It is not a tool to be used by secular American officials and secular journalists unfamiliar with the dogmas,theology, and ecclesiology of the Orthodox Church. 

At the present time, there is a violent campaign directed against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is the authentic Church because its bishops have valid consecrations and its priests have valid ordinations that can be traced to the apostles. This is in contrast to the fake bishops supported by Patriarch Bartholomew and the American State Department. The bishops in this so called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” are either self ordained lay people or defrocked clerics from the canonical Ukrainian Church.

As a Greek American, I am more than aware of the delicate position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. As a writer, I have written extensively on the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its brutal history during the twentieth century from the genocide of 1922 until the pogroms of 1955 and the more recent terror attacks against the Ecumenical Patriarchate by various Turkish ultranationalist groups. Despite my love for the Church and city of Constantinople, I stand in opposition to what Patriarch Bartholomew has done in Ukraine because it violates Orthodox ecclesiology. 

There is an irony here that has been overlooked by everyone. American officials at the State Department hypocritically claim to champion the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. There predecessors in 1955 not only ignored the horror of the anti Greek pogroms in Constantinople but they threatened  to cut off aid to Greece when Athens protested the atrocities against the faithful of Constantinople. During the 1960’s when the ethnic Greek Orthodox of Constantinople and islands of Imbros and Tenedos were ethnically cleansed there was not a word of protest from the State Department or NATO. 

That was the period when the Ecumenical Patriarchate lost most of its flock and why it is in the precarious state that it is in. The Church of Constantinople has remained alive since 1453 because it was secured by the power of Christ and remained a spiritual institution. Its politicization in the last several years by Washington for use in its anti Russian campaign is devastating the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Church of Constantinople would stand stronger by remaining in good standing with the universal Orthodox Church than currying favor with the State Department. 

It is a tragedy that so few are able to see the terrible situation that presently afflicts Orthodoxy. It is a tragedy that bishops in Constantinople, Alexandria, Greece, and Cyprus have come under the influence of secular governments. Russia presents no threat to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The threat to the Ecumenical Patriarchate comes from those who are using it to foment anti Russian hysteria. 

The consensus of opinion in Orthodoxy is that the Russian Church has grievances over what has transpired in Ukraine since 2018. Only the secular world believes that Constantinople is the victim in this entire situation. It pains me profoundly to speak against the Church of Constantinople but I follow the example of the Greek Orthodox faithful in history who rejected the iconoclasm of the Patriarch of Constantinople during the eighth century and the Greek speaking faithful of the holy city of Constantinople who in 1439 supported Saint Mark of Ephesus and rejected the Bishops who signed the Union of Florence. 

There must be peace and reconciliation in the Orthodox Church. Only when the canonical situation in Ukraine has been restored will Orthodoxy be at peace. When Orthodoxy is at peace, then the Ecumenical Patriarchate might begin to repair the damage that has been done to its as a result of its uncanonical actions in Ukraine.

Above all, it should be remembered that the theological school of Halki remains closed. The Greek Orthodox world has suffered the loss of Hagia Sophia. The StateDepartment has taken no action to rectify these matters or to hold Turkey accountable, because its only concern is with provoking Russia. All Orthodox Greeks should join the rest of the Orthodox world in condemning the disruption of peace in the Church of Christ by secular political interests. 

                                                                 Thank you,
                                                       Theodore G. Karakostas 

 Greetings,

My name is Theodore G. Karakostas and I have written to you in the post regarding the status of Hagia Sophia. You have kindly responded to mein the past. As such, I am writing to you once more regarding the matter of the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople (Istanbul) which was converted into a Mosque in July 2020.

Reports in December indicated that there was an interest on the part of the Director General of the UN’s Cultural Legacy Ernesto Ottone to send UNESCO officials to Turkey to inspect both the Hagia Sophia and the former Church of the Savior at Chora (also converted into a Mosque). Reportsindicate that the Director General was concerned about the possible damage to the Christian iconography within these former Churches.

Perhaps you can provide me with information as to what has become of these inquiries and what UNESCO has been doing with regard to the HagiaSophia and Chora Church of the Savior. I look forward to your response.

Most Sincerely,
Theodore G. Karakostas 

The following is respectfully submitted in response to the commentary by his Eminence Archbishop Sotirios of Canada, “Are there Taliban in the Orthodox Church?”I am a Greek Orthodox Christian under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in the United States. I happen to believe that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is completely wrong to have intervened in Ukraine which happens to be under the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch is in fact “First among equals”as stated in the commentary. 

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is part of the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church but is not above and beyond the authority of the universal Church. The Church founded by Jesus Christ existed for three and a half centuries before the Church of Constantinople was established as a Patriarchate at the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. The Ecumenical Patriarchate does not have the authority to dictate over the autocephalous and local Churches. The decisions of an Ecumenical Council are reached through consensus, the universal agreement of all.

If we are going to discuss the question as to whether there are “Taliban in the Orthodox Church” we might pose that question to the schismatic entity known as “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. This alleged “church” consisting of unconsecrated bishops, unordained priests, and defrocked clergy are not a Church but they could claim to be a sort of Taliban. This group has the backing of the political leadership in Ukraine as well as various neo fascist groups and militias who have been terrorizing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church for many years through acts of violence against clerics and laypeople and have forcibly seized Churches in complete violation of the spirit of love emanating from the Holy Gospel. 

 Church history has shown that Patriarchs, Bishops, and Priests, as well as laypeople are susceptible to heresy and other transgressions. This is why we have the Holy Canons which were ratified by the universal authority of the Church following the convening of the Seven Ecumenical and other Councils in Church history. The Patriarchate of Constantinople is answerable to Christ the head of the Church and to the universal Church as a whole. The infamous heretic Nestorios was a Patriarch of Constantinople who was deposed and condemned by the authority of the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. It should be remembered that Saint Cyril of the Patriarchate of Alexandria was the true champion of Orthodoxy in the dispute with Nestorius. 

Furthermore, during the iconoclastic crisis that raged for over a century the Emperor, Patriarch, and Bishops destroyed icons while the faithful (mostly women) and the monks protected and revered them. Are we to believe that the Patriarchs of Constantinople who destroyed icons were not heretics? The authority of the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787 AD which is commemorated during the first Sunday of Great Lent (the Sunday of Orthodoxy) exonerated those who resisted the heresy of the iconoclasts. 

Finally, we have the example before us of the faithful of the Great Church of Constantinople who took to the streets to protest when they heard that the Emperor, Patriarch, and Bishops signed the Union of Florence in 1439. History has shown that in 1439 as in earlier periods of Church history the faithful were right to challenge their hierarchs. Orthodox Christians are obligated to defend the faith at all times and on those occasions when their hierarchs are in the wrong. 

Theodore G. Karakostas 

The following letter is in response to your article falsely accusing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of “attacking” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.This is an absolutely false allegation. The reality is that the American Department of State has intervened blatantly in ecclesiastical matters and has created a catastrophic schism in the Orthodox Church. As a Greek American I am outraged by the intervention of people such as outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and “Ambassador” Geoffrey Pyatt in the affairs of the Orthodox Church.

This collusion between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and certain Bishops in the Churches of Greece and Cyprus with the State Department has contributed to the spiritual decline of these three Greek speaking Churches. The primary foreign policy aim of the American government is to isolate and contain Russia which is the last real bastion of Orthodox Christianity in the world. Russia is the Orthodox country that proceeded to save the Christians of Syria from genocide which resulted from the American Crusades in the Middle East. Russia is the Orthodox country that has blocked the neopagan gay, lesbian, and transgender ideology from being imposed (by western backed think tanks) on its territory.

On the matter of Ukraine, it was always the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and all Orthodox Churches that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Moscow was the authentic canonical Church. This stance did not change until the State Department meddled in Church affairs in 2018 and the Churches of Greece and Cyprus likewise refrained from entering into communion with Ukrainian schismatics until American officials all of whom are secularists or belong to certain Protestant heretical groups lobbied them to recognize the schismatics. 

The Russian Foreign Minister did not “attack” the Ecumenical Patriarch. He told the truth about Patriarch Bartholomew’s stance toward the Orthodox world. By tradition and by the teaching of Orthodox ecclesiology Patriarch Bartholomew is “first among equals” and holds a “primacy of honor” in the Orthodox Church. He is not an Eastern Pope and does not have the right to intervene in the internal affairs of any autocephalous Orthodox Churches. What he has done in Ukraine has violated canon law by attempting to restore”bishops” who were lawfully deposed by their own synods and has attempted to grab ecclesiastical territory (Ukraine) that has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1686. 

 As a Greek, I also happen to love the city of Constantinople and the Great Church itself. However, I follow the example of Saint Mark of Ephesus who rejected the decisions of the Emperor John Paleologos and the Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1439 after they accepted the heretical decisions of the Council of Florence. The Orthodox Church has as its eternal leader the incarnate logos and word of God Jesus Christ! The Orthodox Church functions through the process of conciliarity in which the highest decision making authority emanates from an Ecumenical Council in which all Bishops from all local Churches convene to reach decisions.

Patriarch Bartholomew’s intervention in Ukraine undermines the conciliar tradition of the Orthodox Church at the behest of the atheist and heretical officials of the American State Department. Making this ecclesiastical crisis even worse is the violent persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ukrainian Government and by various Neo-Nazi and anti semetic militias and groups in Ukraine. The Greek Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria and those Bishops in Greece and Cyprus who have entered into communion with defrocked Ukrainian shysters and unordained crackpots have committed serious ecclesiastical crimes against the Church of  Christ!

It is time for the Greek speaking world to come out of the slumber that it has been in since 2018 and to recognize that the State Department is using the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Churches as if they were political parties or non governmental organizations. The Ukrainian affair has to do with proper ecclesiology and canon law, with the validity or non validity of the consecration of Bishops and the ordinations of Priests. These are matters that American officials have no business discussing or commenting on. 

Those Greeks who support Patriarch Bartholomew in his Ukrainian venture are in fact undermining the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As one who is under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and who has authored a book about its glorious history and has been active in raising awareness of its plight in Turkey, I say that I am against the activities of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine. These activities and claims of supreme authority have destabilized and undermined the Church of Constantinople and its place in the Orthodox Church. Those who love and appreciate the great spiritual heritage of Constantinople are obligated to speak against the betrayal of this heritage by what is occurring in Ukraine. 

I conclude my letter by recalling the great irony in this entire affair. The State Department hypocritically claims to be protecting the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Anyone familiar with the history of the Church of Constantinople is aware of the fact that in the aftermath of the anti Greek pogroms of 1955  and the ethnic cleansing of Greeks from Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos during the 1960’s surely recalls that the State Department refused to condemn or protest the atrocities against the Greek Orthodox population by the Turkish authorities. It should also be recalled that Archbishop Spyridon of Athens bravely condemned the Turkish government and the American and British governments for their passivity in the aftermath of the 1955 pogroms despite enormous pressure from the Greek Government and the American Embassy to keep silent. 

The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s strength has been spiritual, not political. Its strength throughout the hardships of the twentieth century emanated from its spiritual ties with its sister Orthodox Churches. As a result of Constantinople’s unwise and uncanonical invasion of the territory of the Russian Church in Ukraine it has cut itself off from the Russian Church and badly strained its relations with the other local Orthodox Churches. 

By harming the canonical and spiritual unity of the Orthodox Church through its invasion of Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has also harmed itself by damaging the spiritual foundations upon which it was founded  and which has enabled the Great Church to survive since 1453. 

             Theodore G. Karakostas 

This letter is intended to remind UNESCO of the Turkish Government’s misuse of the Hagia Sophia Church-Museum in Constantinople this past July. As far back as 2013 I began to contact UNESCO when the Turkish government converted the historic and spiritually significant Hagia Sophia Church-Museum of Trebizond into a Mosque. I also visited UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris in 2015 to ask that protests be taken with the Turkish government in order to prevent the conversion of Hagia Sophia. It was obvious for as long as seven years previous to the Turkish governments infamous conversion of Hagia Sophia that Ankara had designs on converting Saint Justinian’s Church into a Mosque.

I would like to remind UNESCO that Turkey has also converted the the Church of the Savior of Chora into a Mosque. Outrageous as these actions are, it is still possible for UNESCO and other organizations to do the right thing. As a result of Turkey’s seizure of two Church-Museums that were on UNESCO’s own list of world heritage sites, your organization should call for the imposition of sanctions on Turkey owing to these outrages. Hagia Sophia in Greek means literally “Holy Wisdom”. Justinian’s Church means literally “The Church of the Holy Wisdom of God”. Hagia Sophia is specifically named for Christ himself the second person of the Holy Trinity and the incarnate “logos” (or word of God). 

Therefore, in the aftermath of the conversion of the Great Church (as those of us of Greek descent refer to Hagia Sophia) UNESCO should respond with wisdom. Considering Turkey’s endless list of crimes against humanity including genocide against Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Christians, repression against the Kurds and many of its own Turkish dissidents, territorial expansion as with the case of Cyprus, and support for governments that sponsor terrorism and genocide as in the case of Ankara’s support for Azerbaijan, the opportunity is at hand for the civilized world to redeem itself for its long and inglorious tolerance of Turkish crimes against humanity. 

UNESCO should push the United Nations and the international community to impose sanctions on Turkey both for the seizure of former Churches Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Savior at Chora, as well as its past and present crimes against humanity that have become infamous. UNESCO considers itself to be in favor of human rights. The time is at hand to hold Turkey accountable for its actions. The desecration of the Hagia Sophia Church-Museum should have sent a loud and clear message to the world that Turkey is a pariah state. 

I am aware of the fact that UNESCO never made any protest against Turkish plans to convert Hagia Sophia into a Mosque until it was too much too late. It was only last July when Turkey fully intended to convert Hagia Sophia that UNESCO actually protested. Many years and opportunities to protest were wasted that might have made a difference in saving Hagia Sophia. In any case, UNESCO should seize the opportunity at hand to demand that international sanctions be imposed on Turkey in order to cripple this wicked and sinister government that pursues policies of aggression against United Nations members Greece and Cyprus, and that supports the aggression of the genocidal government of Azerbaijan against the peaceful and democratic Republic of Armenia and the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Dear Sir or Sirs,

My name is Theodore G. Karakostas. I am writing to you in response to your interesting piece last week on UNESCO and Hagia Sophia. UNESCO now claims to be active on the matter of Hagia Sophia even though it is now an official Mosque. I am a Greek American writer and the author of three books on Helleno-Byzantine history and Orthodoxy. Back in 2013, I began to contact UNESCO’s New York office through email and phone calls regarding Hagia Sophia. The Turkish designs on the Great Church go back as far as 2013.

It was in 2013 that the Turks converted the Hagia Sophia of Trebizond another Church-Museum of great spiritual and historic significance. It was apparent that this was a test case for the future conversion of THE Hagia Sophia. There were reports at the time that Turkey would convert Justinian’s Church at the time. UNESCO assured me they would respond to my inquiries. They never did but I persisted. As I persisted one of their New York associates hung up the phone on me but I persisted all the same.

In 2014 in Athens, I visited the UNESCO representative office to express my concerns there about Hagia Sophia. By that time the Church-Museum of Hagia Sophia in Iznik (the former Nicea) had been converted into a Mosque. I told the man at the office that these former Churches had been converted and he assured me all evidence to the contrary that these former Churches were not being used as Mosques. Some time after that, the Hagia Sophia of Edirne (the former Adrianople) was converted into a Mosque.

In March 2015  while on a visit to Paris I stopped by UNESCO’s headquarters where I met with the UNESCO Chief of Europe and North America. I told her about the various news sources that reported Turkish politicians openly calling for the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque. Furthermore, Turks openly gathered in front of Hagia Sophia to hold prayers. Despite this, the UNESCO chief tried to assure me that UNESCO had spoken with Turkish officials and had given their assurances that Hagia Sophia would not be converted into a Mosque. 

I continued to protest and refuted an assertion she had made about Hagia Sophia being designed for the world. I told her that Hagia Sophia was the result of Emperor Justinian’s vision who is a Greek Orthodox Saint. I told her Hagia Sophia was a product of the Gospel and Orthodox theology. I also pointed out to her that there were three parties interested in Hagia Sophia. The Greek Orthodox, the Turks, and cultural-academic organizations such as UNESCO. I firmly told her that only the Greeks who have been denied Hagia Sophia were actively fighting for the Great Church. 

I pointed out to this woman that Turkey historically applies pressure to various governments and other institutions. I asked her if UNESCO had been subject to pressure from the Turkish government she answered that she does not answer “political” questions. I also asked her if UNESCO was doing anything about the cultural monuments of Cyprus and she again answered that she does not answer “political” questions. Before concluding my session I told her flat out that one hundred years ago Anatolia was filled with Greek and Armenian Christians who are all gone now because nobody protested against Turkey then either. 

In 2016, the Turks began using Hagia Sophia for Islamic prayers during the month of Ramadan. UNESCO was not heard from. Then came the 2016 Coup in Turkey where Erdogan subsequently consolidated his power. By 2020 Erdogan was ready to convert Hagia Sophia into a Mosque and proceeded to do so. It was only then that UNESCO sent a meaningless letter to the Turkish government protesting.

 UNESCO had seven years to rise to the occasion to protect Hagia Sophia and failed to do so. Had they protested the conversion of the other Hagia Sophia Church-Museums they might have averted the subsequent conversion of Saint Justinian’s Church. Seven years of apathy and indifference. I myself alerted them to the dangers facing Hagia Sophia as mentioned  above. I do not wish to disparage any activities they undertake in the immediate future regarding Hagia Sophia, but the fact of the matter is they ignored the dangers and warning signs for seven years. 

 Had they acted to take the initiative much earlier they might very well have averted the conversion of Saint Justinian’s Church.
 

Theodore G. Karakostas 

Author 

Dear Senator,

I am writing to inform you of the blatant violation of my right to freedom of religion as a result of the policies of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and American Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt. I will try to be as brief as possible. The State Department has meddled in the internal affairs of Eastern Orthodox Churches in Constantinople (Istanbul) and Greece. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the past two years has asked the hierarchy of these two Orthodox Churches to recognize a schismatic faction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the country of Ukraine.

There is an ecclesiastical schism in Ukraine which is strictly an internal religious matter for the Orthodox Church to deal with. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State lobbied Orthodox hierarchs in the above mentioned Churches to extend recognition to the Ukrainian schismatics. The Secretary of State had no business intervening in religious matters and had no business lobbying any Orthodox hierarchs on matters that were strictly religious. I am certain that the Secretary of State and the American Ambassador to Greece have violated theAmerican constitution and American law by in effect pronouncing on the validity of religious beliefs and doctrines as they have made a mockery of the Orthodox Church’s traditional teachings on priestly ordinations and the consecration of Bishops. 

 The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that the schismatic faction in Ukraine is invalid under its canon laws which regulate and govern the spiritual life of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide. By intervening in these internal matters the Secretary of State and the American Ambassador are completely out of order and deserve to be reprimanded and/or possibly removed from their present positions as a result of their highly unethical and inappropriate actions. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the country of Ukraine which is considered the legitimate Church by Eastern Orthodoxy has been fiercely persecuted by the Ukrainian government which grants favoritism and support to the schismatic entity whose followers engage in violence and the forcible seizure of Churches from the legitimate Church which meets the criteria under Orthodox Canon law to be considered canonical.

 The intervention of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in these internal religious matters has played havoc with the spiritual life of Orthodox Christians throughout the world. This includes myself as your constituent. I have a parish that I especially like but as a result of the schism in Eastern Orthodoxy that is growing I may have to go to another Orthodox jurisdiction in order to maintain my status as an Orthodox Christian in good standing with the universal Orthodox Church. Presently, I am under the Ecumenical Patriarchate which resides in Constantinople (Istanbul). The present Patriarch altered the traditional stance of his Patriarchate in 2018 and extended recognition to the breakaway faction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the behest of American officials at the State Department.

 During the fall of 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Athens and lobbied the Orthodox Archbishop of Athens to extend recognition to the break away faction of the Ukrainian Church. He had no business asking the Archbishop of Athens to do this. Furthermore, the American Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt in a speech in Athens last November openly endorsed the subsequent change of stance on the aforementioned religious issue by the Archbishop of Athens. The Ambassador had no business commenting on Church matters and no business interfering in them.
 

In recent days, it appears the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus has now followed the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Athens and has extended recognition to the schismatic Ukrainian entity. News reports suggest this decision was made not long after the visit to Cyprus of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. I am sorry to bother you with matters of religion but the fact of the matter is that Secretary Pompeo, Ambassador Pyatt, and others within the State Department are violating the right to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. These matters impact me personally as the actions of these officials may eventually force me to find another Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction in America. 

 Thank you for your time. My thoughts and prayers for you and your staff, and for all the members of the United States Senate during these very difficult times.

Theodore G. Karakostas 

The Following letter is in response to the article, “Greece extends wall on Turkish border as refugee row deepens” (October 21). The Guardian writes that the plight of migrants has been “weaponized” by Greek and Turkish politicians. This is only half right. The migrants have been used and exploited by Ankara for the purposes of serving Turkish expansionist aims at the expense of Greece and possibly exporting the Erdogan governments Islamic Revolution by establishing influence over the people it is pushing into Greece.

 Over the past decade, Greece has accepted many migrants that have fled the chaotic and miserable situation in the Middle East. Greeks have welcomed refugees and provided them with food and shelter. However, there is a limit as to how many migrants Greece can actually accept. Greece did not support any of the Middle Eastern wars. Turkey, on the other hand supported the arming of jihadist rebels in Syria in order to overthrow the Syrian government and to establish influence over a potential jihadist state. 

Turkey is a state sponsor of terrorism and is supporting Syrian jihadists with its ally Azerbaijan in Baku’s war of aggression against Armenia. Turkey is also sponsoring Syrian jihadists in Libya. The refugees in question have only been weaponized by Turkey who are using these unfortunate people as weapons in its expansionist claims against Greece. Having supported the war in Syria, Turkey has no right to complain about refugees on its soil, and certainly no right to push them into Greek territory.

                        Theodore G. Karakostas 

Link to the article being responded to

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/20/greece-extends-wall-on-turkish-border-as-refugee-row-deepens