Month: May 2020

Categories
position papers

Restoring Greek National Independence Part One

The apogee of modern Greece from a nationalist perspective occurred from 1821 when the Greek war of independence began until 1923 when the Treaty of Lausanne formally gave to Turkey the lands of Asia Minor, Constantinople, Eastern Thrace, and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos. The Treaty of Lausanne whitewashed the genocide of Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian Christians and should have served as a lesson for Greeks. Greeks unfortunately have failed to learn the lessons of history.

In 2020, Turkey challenges the sovereignty of Athens over the Greek islands. Article 12 of the Treaty of Lausanne states regarding the sovereignty of the Aegean islands, “regarding the sovereignty of Greece over the islands of the Eastern Meditteranean, other than the islands of Imbros, Tenedos, and Rabbit islands, particularly the islands of Lemnos, Samothrace, Mytilene, Chios, Samos, and Nikaria, is confirmed, subject to the provisions of the present treaty respecting the islands placed under the sovereignty of Italy which form the subject of Article 15.” In Article 15 of the same Treaty it is written that “Turkey renounces in favor of Italy all rights and title over the following islands Stampalia, Rhodes, Calki, Scarpanto, Casos, Piscopis, Misiros, Calimnos, Leros, Patmos, Lipsos, Simi, and Cos which are now occupied by Italy, and the islets dependent thereon, and also the island of Castellorizo.”

The “Treaty of Peace with Italy” signed in 1947 declares the following, “Italy hereby cedes to Greece in full sovereignty the Dodecanese Islands indicated hereafter namely Stampalia, Rhodes, Calki, Scarpanto, Casos, Piscopis, Misiros, Calimnos, Leros, Patmos, Lipsos, Simi, Cos, and Castellorizo as well as the adjacent islets.”

The predatory nature of the Turkish Republic which was born through genocide can be seen by the demands of President Erdogan to revise the Treaty of Lausanne. Ankara has now put forward claims over the Greek islands despite the signing of the above mentioned treaties in 1923 and 1947. Turkey also does not care that these islands are historically Hellenic and that they are now and have always been populated by ethnic Greeks.

Greece’s problems with Turkey are compounded by the fact that Athens has never formulated a specific goal or agenda in terms of what it wants to achieve. The cancer that has eaten away at the Hellenic Republic over the decades is that of internationalism. The specific form of internationalism that is referred to here is that of blind devotion to the west. For example, Greece has shown an absolute pathetic loyalty to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) despite the fact that the latter has done nothing for Greece or Cyprus.

NATO in fact can be blamed for the destruction of the Greek Orthodox communities in Constantinople, Imbros, and Tenedos. NATO can also be blamed for the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus. When the Turkish government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes organized the infamous pogroms against the Greek community in 1955, there was not a protest from any member of NATO or the organization itself. In fact, Greek officers serving NATO in Smyrna at the time were assaulted and none of their colleagues in NATO protested.

Turkey as a member of NATO invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974 which was, and remains non aligned. Turkey’s war crimes in Cyprus and the practice of ethnic cleansing against Greek Cypriots has never been opposed by NATO. Even now at this late date as Turkey threatens the islands of Greece in complete defiance of the above mentioned Treaties NATO refuses to express support for Greece’s territorial integrity.

The submissive stance of virtually all Greek governments (there are occasional exceptions) to western dictates has not doused the fire. The United States, NATO, and the European Union expect Greek foreign policy to conform with their interests. Greek submission to these expectations have been utterly destructive and has contributed to the present circumstances of helplessness that Greece finds itself in.

The worst Government that Greece has had not only in the post dictatorship era (1967-1974), but arguably since the formation of the modern Greek state has been that of Prime Minister Costas Simitis (1996-2004). Under Simitis, Greek sovereignty was effectively eradicated as Athens delivered Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan to the Turks. Furthermore. Simitis and his Foreign Minister George Papandreou negotiated the Annan Plan for Cyprus which was rejected by seventy six percent of Cypriots and which would have denied Greek Cypriot refugees the right of return and freedom of movement.

In addition, Simitis attacked the Orthodox Church of Greece and its leader Archbishop Christodoulos who rejected not only the anti Church policies dictated by Europe but the violation of Greek sovereignty by the the European Union. Greece has always had an interest in aligning with anti Turkish forces. Greece had an interest in supporting the Kurds in their fight against Turkey, so it was an outrage when Athens colluded to betray the Kurds in 1999.

Likewise, the Simitis government permitted NATO to use Greek territory to take off and bomb Serbia. Serbia is Greece’s closest ally in the Balkans and the two countries defeated the Turks and the Bulgarians in the Balkan wars. Greece did not have an interest in the destruction of Serbia but as always Athens did what Washington dictated.

It is the year 2020, Turkey for now has stable and cordial relations with both Washington and Moscow. This is despite the fact that Turkey since 1994 has gradually evolved into an Islamic state under the leadership of President Erdogan. Turkey has colluded with the genocidal ISIS by purchasing oil from the “caliphate” when it was at the height of its power and in occupation of one third of both Iraq and Syria.

Volunteers from the west who sought to join ISIS travelled through Turkey to make their way to join the Jihad. In 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian plane over Syria, and the Russian Ambassador in Turkey was assassinated by a Turkish Jihadist. Inexplicably, Turkey remains in good standing with Washington and Moscow.

The Trump administration is the first administration to actually reject Turkish demands. It has refused to extradite the exiled Fetullah Gulen to Turkey, and when Erdogan demanded it, the Trump administration refused to cut off the Syrian Kurds when they were fighting ISIS. Since the downfall of ISIS, the Trump administration betrayed the Kurds and has reconciled with Turkey.

International relations are immensely complicated and alliances are changing frequently. Turkey’s present relations with Moscow and Washington may not remain friendly over the long term. Turkish President Erdogan has demonstrated that he is a psychopath and is even less restrained than his Kemalist predecessors whom he dislodged once and for all after the coup of 2016.

In 2010, a group of spoiled and immature left wing activists left on a flotilla from the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus and proceeded to Gaza to confront the Israelis. The situation in Gaza is beyond the scope of this analysis but Turkey instigated a confrontation with Israel that could have led to war. The Israelis backed off.

In 2015, Turkey shot down the aforementioned Russian plane over Syria. Turkey is a member of NATO and the latter has a commitment to come to Ankara’s defense. Erdogan ordered the shooting of the Russian plane without consideration for the possibility that a third world war could have broken out. The Russians, like the Israelis, chose to deescalate.

The Trump administration having committed to the destruction of ISIS armed the Syrian Kurds. Turkey actively threatened to invade the Kurdish areas of Syria and was willing to risk a military confrontation with American forces. The Trump administration chose deescalation. Deescalation gradually evolved into appeasement of Turkey.

Greece has badly mishandled relations with Russia. Most of the blame here goes to former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. For some time, Moscow appeared interested in ties with Greece. After the shooting down of the Russian plane by Turkey, Greece had a chance to negotiate with Russia and to raise the issues of Cyprus and territorial rights in the Aegean.

Like the Simitis government that surrendered Abdullah Ocalan and signed the Annan Plan for Cyprus, the Tsipras government followed the command of Washington and rejected the possibility of negotiating with Russia. One could spend much time reflecting that Greek sovereignty and independence are non existent but that would take too long. One must only remember how Washington brought down the Karamanlis government in 2009 because that administration was planning to build an oil pipeline with Russia.

In 2018, the Greek Foreign Ministry stupidly accused the Russians of meddling in Greek internal affairs. The history of modern Greece has no shortage of western meddling in Greek affairs, and if there was time we could go back to the Crusades and the invasions of Constantinople, Cyprus, and other Greek lands. In 2018, Russian officials anxious to keep Skopje (FYROM) out of NATO lobbied various Greek officials for assistance.

FYROM which was the acronym of the country now called “northern macedonia” provoked Greece by stealing the name and cultural and historical heritage of Macedonia. Macedonia is a northern Greek province and is the birthplace of Alexander the Great and the region that produced the Macedonian dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire for two hundred years. The Russians aware of Greece’s dispute with FYROM sought to work with Greece to achieve their own goals.

Prime Minister Tsipras taking orders from Washington expelled Russian diplomats and subsequently signed an agreement with FYROM that gave it the use of the name “Macedonia”. It gets even more depraved after this. Athens obeying the dictates of Washington blocked a Russian Bishop and priests from making a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Athos.

Washington has now actively intervened in the affairs of the Greek Orthodox Churches. There are two posts on this blog that offer a perspective on what has taken place. They can be found here https://thedoubleheadedeagle.blog/the betrayal-of-the-spiritual-heritage-of-constantinople/2020/faith/ and here https:thedoubleheadedeagle.blog/therecent-past-of-greek-orthodoxy-and-the-crisis-of-today/2020/political/

Greece today has no vision beyond being “western”. Greeks need to define what their goals and aspirations are. They need to rediscover the memory of their ancestors who fought for the liberation of Greek lands. Membership in NATO has been destructive for Greece, and membership in the European Union has been disastrous as well.

Greek diplomacy is a failure. However, there is still the possibility of preventing catastrophe. Erdogan makes many demands of other nations and eventually one or all of them may come to the realization that the Turkish tyrant cannot be reasoned with. Erdogan cannot be removed from within Turkey. Somewhere down the line, he may have to be removed by a foreign army.

There is still some hope for Greece. Erdogan may have done all enemies of Turkey a favor by destroying the vestiges of Kemalism. Turkey was in many ways indestructible as long as the ideas of Mustafa Kemal maintained their influence over the Turkish military.

One of the aspects of Kemalism that made Turkey so influential over western societies was the narcissism of westerners themselves. Kemal abolished the Fez, the headscarf, and the veil. He forced men to shave and he forced men and women alike to dress like Europeans and Americans. It was hard for westerners not to be impressed with Kemal’s efforts to clone his people after them, notwithstanding his responsibility for genocide.

Furthermore, Turkey’s borders near Russia (and its successor the Soviet Union), central asia, the balkans, and the middle east attracted America and Europe. Economic considerations likewise played a role. Turkey was also one of the very few Muslim countries that recognized Israel.

As an officially secular country, the Turkish military was able to influence their civilian leaders into a friendship and subsequent military alliance with Israel. In 1996, Turkey and Israel signed an important military agreement and then Chief of Staff of the Turkish Army General Ismail Hakki Karadayi was given an honorary dinner by the Israelis upon the signing of the pact.

That alliance led to Israeli participation in the capture of the leader of the Kurds and Israeli spies were sent to Cyprus to gain information on the S 300 anti aircraft missiles that were then planned to be installed by Nicosia. Erdogan has destroyed what was once an invaluable alliance for Turkey. He has repeatedly expressed his contempt for Israel and has accused Tel Aviv of genocide.

The secular Turkey that made such an impression on the west is gone. Erdogan’s hostility has destroyed the alliance with Israel that the Kemalists had worked very hard to establish. Erdogan has nearly started wars with Israel, Russia, and the United States.

The biggest problem for Greece is that the Greek elites think in terms of being Europeans and westerners, rather than as Greeks. A future post will discuss this particular matter. Greece must recapture the mindset of past heroes ranging from Theodore Kolokotronis to Eleutherios Venizelos who were Greek nationalists.

In conclusion, the priorities of the Greek government must be the liberation of Cyprus and the reversal of Turkish colonization, the defense of all Greek islands and other territory, and the restoration of Greek national sovereignty and the removal of foreign intervention in the formulation of Greek foreign and domestic policies. Greece and Cyprus both face an existential crisis.

Foreign policy must be based on this reality. Greek foreign policy must undergo a policy of radical Hellenization in order to meet the growing Turkish threat. It is a tremendous mistake for anyone to believe that Greek foreign policy is being conducted solely and exclusively for the benefit of the Hellenic world.

End of Part One

Categories
history

The Fall of Constantinople

On 29 May 1453, the glorious capital of Christendom fell to the Ottoman Turks after a heroic fifty five day resistance. Constantine XI Paleologos fought to the end after refusing all entreaties throughout the siege to save himself and leave the City. In an exchange with Sultan Mehmet during the siege he defiantly declared, “To surrender the city is not for me to do, nor anyone else who inhabits it; because it is our common decision to die voluntarily and not to spare our lives.”

Constantine XI Paleologos defending Constantinople to the end

The last Emperor was an honorable but tragic figure. He was twice widowed and left no heir. He was a man of character who came to the throne when the city was long past its glory. Constantine was governor at Mystra when he learned of the death of his brother John who was Emperor in 1448. Because of the tensions at Constantinople owing to John’s acceptance of the heretical Council of Florence in 1439, Constantine could not be crowned at Hagia Sophia. He was crowned at the Church of Saint Demetrios at Mystra.

In 1451, a new Sultan came to the throne of the Ottoman Empire which was then at Adrianople. Mehmet II was only nineteen years old and was known for his ruthlessness and ambition. The city was in his sights for the glory of Islam.

Constantinople was inaugurated in the year 330 AD by Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor. Constantine was the Roman Emperor who legalized Christianity and who presided over the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 AD which condemned the heresy of a priest named Arius and established Orthodox teaching that the father and son within the trinity were of one essence and being and that the second person of the trinity the incarnate logos and word of God was not a creature as Arius had been teaching.

Constantine the Great set in motion the new Christianized Empire which would last for over eleven centuries. Over the centuries, the Empire would be divided by numerous heretical teachings that arose. Ecumenical as well as lesser councils would be convened to clarify what was Orthodox and to condemn heresies and their proponents. Such heresies included nestorianism, monophysitism, and iconoclasm.

Constantinople became well known for its Cathedrals and Churches. In 537 AD, the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia was consecrated under the auspices of the Emperor and theologian Justinian the Great. Justinian presided over the Fifth Ecumenical Council that affirmed the decisions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council one century earlier that taught that Jesus Christ had two natures human and divine, he was both God and man.

Constantinople became a place of learning and culture. The City preserved texts in its splendid libraries from classical Greece and Rome. It produced a few heretics but more Saints such as Photius the Great in the ninth century. Saint Photius followed Saints Gregory the theologian, John Chrysostom, and John the Faster on the Patriarchal throne.

Like the early Church fathers, Photios the Great was a staunch teacher of Orthodoxy that sought to correct the errors of the Latins in Rome. He protested the addition to the creed (the filioque) by Rome which asserted the Holy spirit proceeded from both the father and the son. This was in complete defiance of three ecumenical councils which prohibited any alterations to the creed and it confused the hypostasis of the father with the son.

In 1054, the Latins formally left the Church when they arrogantly threw a bull of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia supposedly excommunicating the Greeks.

Previous to this in 988 AD under the Emperor Basil II Russia was converted to Christianity,


“When we journeyed among the Bulgarians we beheld how they worship in their temple, called a Mosque while they stand ungirt. The Bulgarian bows, sits down, looks hither and thither like one possessed, and there is no happiness among them but instead only sorrow and a dreadful stench. Their religion is not good. Then we went among the Germans, and saw them performing many ceremonies in their temples; but we beheld no glory there. Then we went to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heavan or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty.”  Russian envoys report to Prince Vladimir
Medieval Russia’s epics, chronicals, and tales

In August 1071, an event occurred that has cursed the Greek world up to the present time. The Battle of Manzikert led to the Seljuk Turks defeating the Eastern Roman (Greek) Empire and conquering many of the eastern territories. This not only created a security threat but it deprived Constantinople of important sources for taxation.

In 1095, Emperor Alexios Comnenus with the best of intentions asked for mercenaries from the west to help defeat and turn back the Seljuk Turks. In response, the Pope created the concept of the Crusades. Over 100,000 angry Crusaders arrived at Constantinople.

The Latins arrived and were astonished by the glorious city of Constantinople. The Greek city was full of spiritual and cultural treasures which were lacking in the west. They were further confused by the inability of the Greeks to comprehend the idea of “holy war”. The Greeks explained to them that their wars were imperial wars and while the Church blessed the Emperor and the army it did not bless the killing of people itself.

By 1187, the Crusaders were driven from the holy land. A subsequent Crusade intended for Jerusalem was in effect diverted to Constantinople by the stupidity of a Greek named Isaac Angelus who claimed authority that he did not have and offered them funds the treasury of the empire did not have. It ended badly when the Crusaders attacked and destroyed Constantinople and confiscated its wealth while perpetrating massacres and destroying Churches. The Latins occupied Constantinople from 1204 until its liberation in 1261.

By this time Constantinople was in irreversible decline. Theology was still important for the Greeks as can be seen by the Palamite councils of 1341 and 1351 which exonerated the teachings of Saint Gregory Palamas and his teaching on “hesychasm”, a mystical form of prayer. By the end of the fourteenth century, the Ottomans for the first time attempted to conquer Constantinople.

Emperor Manuel II Paleologos travelled to England and France to obtain European support but to no avail. He returned to his city with nothing to show for his troubles. The second Ottoman attempt to take Constantinople occurred in 1422 but ended in failure.

At this point, the Greeks were desperate and in times of desperation people turn to desperate measures. Emperor John Paleologos sought survival through the union of the Greek Church with the Latins. This was too much for the Orthodox party that found such a solution intolerable. A Monk later known as Saint Mark of Ephesus emerged as the leader of the opposition.

Saint Mark was elevated to the status of bishop in order to attend the Council of Florence and negotiate with the Latins. The other Bishops having been intimidated by the Emperor agreed to union with the Latins although the latter failed to repent of their heretical doctrines. Saint Mark alone refused to sign and returned to Constantinople.

In Constantinople, the people of the city responded in anger at the news that the bishops betrayed Orthodoxy. Riots and protests broke out. All this was in the background when Emperor John died and his brother Constantine was called to take up the throne of Constantinople. The Megaduke Lucas Notaras declared, “better the turban of the Sultan than the cardinal’s hat”.

Sultan Mehmet began the siege in the first days of April. Two thousand Italians from Venice and Genoa had arrived to fight for the city. Considering that the Greeks had five thousand soldiers who could fight and the Sultan had an army of eighty thousand, this was not enough. So much for the efforts of the unionists.

Constantinople under Turkish attack

Whatever else can be said, the Greeks fought valiantly, and the Italians who arrived deserve admiration particularly the General Giustiniani. The Greeks fought hard and they frustrated the Ottomans. The elderly and others contributed by bringing food and water to the soldiers defending the walls of the city.

During the siege of the city, priests led a procession carrying the icon of the Most holy theotokos. The icon fell to the ground and broke. This was seen as a terrible sign of things to come. The Emperor himself maintained his composure and remained optimistic throughout the siege.

Near the end the Emperor’s military ally, Giustiani was wounded by the Turks and he lost his nerve and returned to his ship to depart. Earlier, the Turks had purchased cannons from a man named Orban. He had originally offered the sale to the Greeks but the latter could not afford it. The great walls of the city that had saved it and its inhabitants so often in the past were devastated by the cannons.

On the eve before the fall of the city, the Emperor entered Hagia Sophia to receive holy communion for the last time. He expressed remorse to all those who he may have offended. With great humility he received the holy gifts.

On the early morning of 29 May 1453 the Emperor spoke offering encouragement to his troops. Off to battle he went for the last time and fell as a common soldier having thrown off the royal purple. The city had fallen!

“The Christian troops had been waiting silently; but when the watchmen on the towers gave the alarm the Churches near the wall began to ring their bells, and Church after Church throughout the City took up the warning sound until every belfry was clanging. Three miles away, in the Church of the Holy Wisdom the worshippers knew that the battle had begun. Every man of fighting age returned to his post; and women, nuns amongst them hurried to the walls to help bring up stones and beams to strengthen the defenses and pails of water to strengthen the defenses. Old folk and children came out of their houses and crowded into the Churches, trusting that the Saints and Angels would protect them.”

The Fall of Constantinople 1453 by Sir Steven Runciman

The following eyewitness account comes from George Sphrantzes the official and friend of the Emperor,

“As soon as the Turks were inside the City, they began to seize and enslave every person who came their way, all those who tried to offer resistance were put to the sword. In many places the ground could not be seen, as it was covered by heaps of corpses. There were unprecedented events: all sorts of lamentations, countless rows of slaves consisting of noble ladies, virgins, and nuns, who were being dragged by the Turks by their headgear, hair, and braids out of the shelter of Churches, to the acompaniment of mourning. There was the crying of children, the looting of our sacred and holy buildings. What horror can such sounds cause! The Turks did not hesitate to trample over the body and blood of Christ poured all over the ground and were passing his precious vessels from hand to hand;

“Christ our Lord, how inscrutable and incomprehensible your wise judgements! Our greatest and holiest Church of Saint Sophia, the earthly heaven, the throne of God’s glory, the vehicle of the cherubim and second firmament, God’s creation, such edifice and monument, the joy of all earth, the beautiful and more beautiful than the beautiful, became a place of feasting; its inner sanctum was turned into a dining room; its holy altars supported food and wine, and were also employed in the enactment of their perversions with our women, virgins, and children. Who could have been so insensitive as not to wail Holy Church?

The above account comes from “The Fall of the Byzantine Empire A Chronicle by George Sphrantzes 1401-1477 Translated by Marios Phillipides


The slaughter proceeded for three days without ceasing. Before the onset of hostilities, Sultan Mehmet had offered the Greeks a choice. Surrender peacefully and the inhabitants and their families and possessions would remain unmolested. Convert to Islam, or fight and suffer the consequences in which three days of pillage would ensue. The Empire Constantine and the people of the city chose to fight.

The following passage pertains to the horrible fate suffered by the Grand Duke Lukas Notaras and his family. The quote comes from Franz Babinger’s “Mehmed the Conqueror and his Time:”

” the Sultan prepared a great banquet near the imperial Palace. Drunk with wine, he ordered the chief of the black eunuchs to go to the grand duke’s home and bring back his youngest son, a handsome lad of fourteen. When the order was transmitted to the boy’s father, he refused to comply, saying he would rather be beheaded than allow his son to be dishonored. With this reply, the eunuch returned to the sultan, who sent the executioner to bring him the duke and his sons. Notaras took leave of his wife and accompanied by his eldest son and his son in law Cantacuzenos, followed the executioner. The sultan ordered all three beheaded. The three heads were brought to the Sultan; the bodies remained unburied. Notaras, popularly known as the “pillar of the Rhomaioi (Romans) had once declared “Rather the Turkish Turban in the City than the Roman miteir”. His wish had been fulfilled”.

In the aftermath the Greeks lamented the passing of the city and the death and martyrdom of Constantine XI Paleologos. The legacy of Constantine lives on in music, poems, children’s tales. The best known tale is that of the “Marble “emperor”. The children were taught that the Emperor had not died. An angel had taken him in the moments before the final battle and that Constantine sleeps awaiting the moment when the angel will return to bring him his golden sword so that he can liberate his city.

Constantine XI Paleologos and the angel (war museum of Athens)

There is another tale that is told of the mysterious priest in Hagia Sophia. The story is told that when the liturgy was interrupted by the Turks, the walls of the Church opened and the priest was taken inside only to return on the day when Hagia Sophia serves as a Church again.

The priest of Hagia Sophia protecting the holy gifts

In 1589, Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremias II made a visit to Russia and recognized both the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church (originally proclaimed in 1448 after the council of Florence) and the upgrading of the status of the Metropolitan of Moscow to Patriarch. Russia emerged as the successor to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

In the centuries to come, there were plans for the liberation of Constantinople. Russian ruler Catherine the Great (1762-1796) espoused the idea of a “Greek project” in which an independent Greece would be formed with Constantinople as its capital. Although nothing came of this idea, the Russians intervened on behalf of the Christians of the Ottoman Empire. In 1774, Catherine’s armies smashed the Ottoman Empire and forced the Turks to sign the “Treaty of Kachuk Kanarji” which required equal treatment of Christians with Muslims.

In 1853, the Russian Empire declared war on the Ottoman Empire over the status of the holy places in Palestine. The Roman Catholics were challenging Greek Orthodox control of the shrines. Great Britain and France intervened on behalf of the Turks. Were if not for western treachery, Constantinople might have been liberated.

In 1919 after the victories of Greece in the Balkan Wars and the first world war, Athens was supported in her claims to Smyrna and other territories in Asia Minor. The downfall of Greek Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos and the restoration of the Danish-German monarchy in Athens complicated Greek relations with the west. The western powers armed and supported the Turks. The Turks regained Constantinople and Asia Minor.

Since that time, the Greek population in Constantinople has been the victim of ethnic cleansing. The last heirs of Constantine XI Paleologos are almost gone. After the 1955 pogroms in Constantinople and the ethnic cleansing campaign of 1964 and after the Greek Orthodox of Constantinople were reduced to a mere two thousand.

The city left behind an immense spiritual legacy. Its spiritual influence can be seen on today’s Russia which displays the double headed eagle and champions Orthodoxy.

In our own day, Hagia Sophia is under threat. The government of Turkey wishes to turn the Church (currently a museum) into a Mosque. There are those of us who have fought, and will continue to fight to ensure this does not happen.

The passing of Constantinople continues to be mourned by Greeks. While we lament the passing of the city and the heroic martyrdom of Constantine and the defenders and the people of the city, we Greeks must reflect on the lessons not yet learned. We have failed to learn from the treachery of the Fourth Crusade and the Council of Florence, and very unpleasant events are taking place as a result of recent initiatives of the Church of Constantinople whose position in his city remains as precarious as ever.

In any case, some of us have looked upon prophecies attributed to Saint Cosmas of Aetolia and Saint Paisios of Mount Athos with great interest. These two saints lived in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries respectively. They are known for their love of Christ and their enormous piety. It is said that they have predicted things that have already come to pass.

They have also predicted that Constantinople will be liberated.

Saint Cosmas of aetolia martyred in 1779 is said to have predicted many things that have come to pass. He has also predicted the liberation of Constantinople.
Saint Paisios of Mount Athos is one of the most beloved Saints in the Orthodox world. Churches have been built honoring him in Greece, Russia, and Syria. His tomb outside Thessaloniki is a place of pilgrimage. The Saint predicted the liberation of Constantinople.
Categories
political

The Double Headed Eagle vs the Rainbow flag

The Russians have been coming under attack from liberal groups for at least a decade or so going back to the Pussy riot affair in Moscow in 2012. That group consisted of several dissident women who protested against the Russian President by barging into the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow and dancing and yelling obscenities in front of the iconastasis. These “dissidents” gained the support of Madonna and other morons from around the world after they were arrested and prosecuted.

Furthermore, when Russia banned gay and lesbian propaganda from schools, liberals from around the world erupted in anger. Gays and lesbians are entitled to live anyway they please but they do not have the right to compel other peoples children to learn about their lifestyles. The Russian government passed the “gay propaganda” law prohibiting the teaching of the homosexual lifestyle to minors.

The Russian government responded in a democratic fashion by listening to the citizens of Russia, and not to the foreign funded non governmental organizations and so called “human rights” groups that sought to push their agendas on unsuspecting schoolchildren. Who elected these non governmental organizations and “human rights” groups?

Ever since Hillary Clinton was crushed in the 2016 elections, the Democratic Party and its media outlets (CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times etc) have promoted anti Russian hysteria. The Democrats have shown how irresponsible and dangerous they are by involving a foreign Government in their election loss. The Democrats and its cheerleaders in the media were more angry over the results of the 2016 elections than they are now by the coverup of the corona virus by the Chinese Communist Party and the failed response of the World Health Organization.

What we have here is a conflict between a traditional Orthodox Christian country and western societies that are in fact opposed to tolerance despite claims to the contrary. Regarding the Pussy riot affair mentioned above. When these women were arrested they were treated by western media as victims of an authoritarian government intent on eradicating criticism of the government.

Facts were never brought into play by western critics. First, their behavior inside the Cathedral interfered with Russian Christians who were there to pray and to light candles. Secondly, a Church is not the place for secular activists to exercise free speech. If they had exercised this right elsewhere they would not have been arrested. Orthodox Christians do not have the right to pray in someone else’s home uninvited.

In addition. the present Cathedral of Moscow is a successor to the previous one. In 1931, the original Christ the Savior Cathedral was demolished on the orders of Joseph Stalin. This was the period in history when the Russian Church was being fiercely persecuted. Bishops, priests, monks, and faithful were being murdered for maintaining fidelity to Jesus Christ. Houses of worship were being destroyed.

The Cathedral that stands today has great meaning for Russian Christians that was not appreciated by either the women of Pussy riot or western media. Much of the western media is dominated by personalities who are both ignorant and narcissistic. They cannot conceive of the idea that there are people called Christians who view life from an entirely different perspective. So much for tolerance.

As a result of Russian refusal to accept the pagan lifestyles now being promoted by the Democratic Party and other social progressives in Europe, international tensions have escalated to dangerous levels. Democrats have blamed the Russians for Donald Trump’s election victory in 2016. The anti Russian hysteria made it impossible for Washington and Moscow to cooperate together against the common threat of the Islamic State.

Here is an irony. The Islamic State made it a practice to behead people, burn others alive, and to enslave women and girls who were members of the Yazidi ethnic group. Islamic State practiced genocide against the Yazidis, as well as against Shiite Muslims and Christians. The Democrats were never outraged by genocide and slavery. Slavery here is referring to the real thing and the word is not being used as a metaphor.

Yazidi women were literally tied up and sold in slave markets in which Jihadists would “purchase” them and abuse them. The Democrats and their fellow liberals around the world were never angry over these real crimes against humanity. No, the real crime against humanity was that the electorate voted against Queen Hillary.

Donald Trump extended his hand in friendship to the Russians and sought to stop genocide in Iraq and Syria. The Democrats want to talk about “homophobia” and “transphobia”. If it were not for the fact that the Democrats might very well provoke a major confrontation with Russia this might very well be amusing.

In 2016, I purchased an issue of Time Magazine to read about President Putin’s visit to Mount Athos. The article was typical anti Russian drivel. After that article I noticed a picture of a bearded woman breast feeding an infant! When I read the article all was explained. My mistake, it was not a bearded woman, it was a pregnant man!

That was when I learned the transgender era had begun. So now we can see the difference between Orthodox Russia and the pagan west. The Russians are building Churches and Monasteries, giving glory to God, and western societies are discussing the large number of genders that exist.

The Russians have brought back the two headed eagle that the old Russian Empire inherited from the Emperors of Constantinople. Western societies increasingly display the “rainbow” flag. The new flag of paganism.

A warning to the Democrats. Seventy nine years ago there was a country that embraced a form of paganism that was far more lethal and insidious and attempted to conquer Russia. That country and its leader ended very badly.

Categories
cinema

The absence of the Cinematic experience

One of the crucial freedoms lost during the coronavirus epidemic has been going to the movies. Like bookstores (which I will write about in another post), cinemas are a crucial and important part of a healthy democracy and society. Films are not only great art but can be very enlightening, educational, and inspirational. Sitting in a theatre and watching a film on the big screen in the dark is a great experience.

The cinematic experience varies depending on the type of theater one attends. Most common these days are the megaplexes which have huge screens and great sound. On occasion one can pay an extra $10 to have dinner in a special section of the theater and be served by a waiter or waitress. Best experience I have had while eating dinner at a theatre was seeing Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”.

Three other great cinematic experiences. In 1980, I saw “The Empire Strikes Back” on the third day of its release. What a line that was at the height of Star Wars mania! Waited for a long time to get in. It was so hot that some fat guy actually fainted and fell on some people.

In 2015, I went to see “Jaws” on the fortieth anniversary of its release at the local community theatre. I got the last ticket that was available in what was a packed house. The film works after forty years. There was a woman sitting next to me with her son who left because the kid apparently got scared. Still effective after forty years.

Not long after seeing “Jaws” I went back to the same community theatre on halloween night to see a classic double feature. Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”(1960) followed by Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974). Both are fictional stories based on the same real life serial killer. In between films there was an expert on serial killers who gave a lecture. When “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was on, several women got up and walked out of the theatre.

The film is not as sleazy as it sounds. There is no blood in the film but it is a psychologically disturbing film about a family of cannibals.

Best film of all time is in my opinion the original Star Wars (1977). This is the film that made me love movies. An entertaining film that incorporates elements of history, Christianity, and politics. It is a classic story of good vs evil. “Jaws” (1975) is another classic and is the first film I remember seeing at a theatre. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) is a great film that is a mixture of both “Star Wars” and “Jaws” as it was made by Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas.

I am a big fan of horror cinema and so the greatest film in that genre is “The Exorcist” (1973). I originally watched the cut version on television in the 1980s, then the theatrical version on VHS, DVD, and Blu Ray. I have seen the director’s cut of “the Exorcist” on the big screen once when it was rereleased in 2000. Aside from being a horror masterpiece, it is a great theological film.

One can see a film dozens of times on television, satellite, VHS, DVD, and blu ray but never quite get the theatrical experience. In recent years, the megaplexes have brought old films back to the big screen to celebrate the anniversaries of classics. I saw “Goodfellas” (1990) and “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) on the big screen for the first time in the local community theatre. Having watched these films numerous times at home on VHS, DVD, and blu ray it was great to see them on the big screen.

Seeing “Goodfellas” in a packed theatre was tremendously fun as everybody knows the classic lines. “Goodfellas” was nominated for best picture of 1990 but lost to “Dances with Wolves”. The only thing that “Dances with Wolves” will ever be remembered for is that it beat “Goodfellas”.

“Goodfellas” is the greatest mob movie ever made without question. Other classic films I have been fortunate enough to see on the big screen after having seen them on VHS and DVD include “Casablanca” and “The Godfather”. Always good seeing the classics with an audience.

Two classic films I saw on the big screen for the first time were “The Sound of Music” and “Gone with the Wind”. I generally hate musicals but “Sound of Music” was a pro Christian and anti Nazi film which was really excellent. I saw this in 2015 at a special screening on the fiftieth anniversary of its release. In 2014, I saw “Gone With The Wind” for the first time on the big screen on the seventy fifth anniversary of its initial release.

I may write film reviews on this blog in the future but for now I will simply list the best films of all time in their categories. As I am a Greek American, I will start by listing the best Greek themed movie of all time.

Best Film with a Greek theme of all time,

Elia Kazan’s America America (1963). Nominated for several Oscars including best picture and best director. The film is a semi biographical account of the directors uncle who left Ottoman Anatolia for America. The director himself is a Greek who was born in Constantinople in 1910.

Forget garbage like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (I may have something to say about that piece of shit later). This is the best English language film ever made about the Greek experience. It shows the lives of Greek and Armenian Christians in Anatolia in 1896. And it shows the importance of faith. One of the best scenes in the film is the Greek father demanding silence as his family gathers to pray together in their home. Full review will be coming soon.

Best Horror Film of all time,

As mentioned above, William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”. Runner up in this category is George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” (1968).

Best political film of all time,

Gillo Pontecorvo’s “The Battle of Algiers”(1966). Classic work on the Algerian war of independence. Takes a look at the brutality of French colonialism.

Best Mob film of all time,

As mentioned above, Martin Scorcese’s “Goodfellas” (1990). Scorcese is also the greatest Director of all time. Runner up in this category is Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” (1972).

Best historical fiction film of all time,

Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” (2009). With everything we know about Auschwitz, who would not have wanted Nazis to be dealt with in the manner as the “Basterds” deal with them? Runner up is Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” (2012).

Best Film of all time,

Star Wars (1977) (To be reviewed later).

I have never written about movies before but decided to write about movies and the movie experience on the grounds that under the present circumstances going to the movies is no longer possible. You never miss something until its gone.

Going to the movies is not essential but it is something that I found enjoyable. As much as I like blu ray and widescreen televisions the experience is simply not the same. It will be a tremendous loss if movie theaters do not come back.

The coronavirus is a horrible disease. Without the arrogance and apathy of a certain totalitarian government, it is quite possible that the disease could have been contained. Therefore, there is definitely a political connotation to what has happened.

A few years ago, there was an excellent book “The collaboration” by Ben Urwand who wrote about failed attempts in Hollywood to make a film exposing Hitler. Hollywood depended on the German market to show its films to such an extent that it suppressed efforts to make serious films about Hitler. It was not until after war in Europe broke out that Hollywood started making anti Nazi films.

In 1933, efforts were made to make a film about the Armenian Genocide. Like the Germans, the Turks exerted pressure to enforce a policy of censorship and to deny oppressed people the ability to tell their stories. Oppressive governments fear Cinema much more than they do books.

As the world begins to slowly reopen, one can only hope that movie theaters will be back. Certainly, life will never be the same without them. Technically, movie theaters are not essential in the same way as pharmacies or supermarkets, but in terms of democracy and civilization they are most certainly essential.

Political, historical, and religious films make an impact and stir debate when they open in cinemas. Such an impact will be non existent if films are to be released only on DVD, blu ray, or netflix. For example, Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” stirred up a good deal of discussion on matters of faith when it was released in cinemas. Martin Scorcese’s movies often deal with spiritual themes that have to do with individuals who become corrupt and pay a heavy price for their sins.

Oliver Stone has produced a number of controversial but necessary films of a social and political nature. This is art. Art is best shown on the big screen.

There is no adequate substitution for the cinematic experience.

Categories
faith political

The crisis within Greek Orthodoxy

Twenty years ago the charismatic Archbishop Christodoulos of blessed memory called out the faithful in dramatic fashion in two separate and well attended rallies that took place in Athens and Thessaloniki. The purpose for these rallies was to protest the plans of Prime Minister Costas Simitis which intended to remove religion from identity cards. The issue of religion on identity cards reflected the battle between faith and secularism, conservatism vs liberalism, and nationalism vs internationalism.

Within the Eastern Orthodox Church which consists of fourteen local autocephalous and self governing Churches are several Greek speaking Churches. The largest of these is the Orthodox Church of Greece which has around ten million faithful. Other Greek speaking Churches include the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus.

Twenty years after Archbishop Christodoulos fought against secular encroachment on the rights of the Church, the Church of Greece is now under the influence not of the secular government of Greece but the secular government of the United States. American officials ranging from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to American Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt shamefully interfere with the functioning of the Greek Church.

In 1999, Archbishop Christodoulos was unrelenting in his condemnation of the Clinton administrations bombing of Serbia, an Orthodox country and historic ally of Greece. In 2004, Archbishop Christodoulos condemned the anti Serb pogroms that took place in Kosovo. The Archbishop condemned the European Union for adopting a constitution that made no mention of Christianity.

Furthermore, the Church of Greece during the tenure of the late Archbishop found itself being encroached upon by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 2003, two Metropolitans in northern Greece passed away. The Ecumenical Patriarchate in turn citing a 1928 agreement between the two Churches announced plans to elect new Bishops to those vacant bishoprics. This led to an angry response on the part of Archbishop Christodoulos and the Church of Greece. A settlement was reached which restored the status quo in which Metropolitans in Northern Greece were elected by the synod in Athens.

If the Church of Greece were still led by Archbishop Christodoulos or an Archbishop like him there would very likely be no canonical crisis within the Church of Greece today. The present Archbishop Ieronymos II has proven to be a moral failure as can be seen by the surrender on the part of both himself and the Holy Synod to western secular interests. In October 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Athens to ask Archbishop Ieronymos to recognize a schismatic “church” in Ukraine on the strictly political grounds that this entity is anti Russian. American Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt last fall gave a speech at the Athens branch of Foreign Affairs magazine and defended the Archbishops subsequent recognition of the Ukrainian “church”.

The American Ambassador had no business involving himself or commenting on Church matters, and the Secretary of State had no business asking the Archbishop or any member of the Church hierarchy to recognize the Ukrainian schismatics. The Holy Synod by establishing communion with a group of delusional lay people betrayed Christ, the persecuted hierarchy, clergy, and faithful of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and their very own faithful within the Church of Greece.

Adding to the spiritual tragedy that has engulfed the Greeks are the actions of some Monasteries on the Holy Mountain of Athos. Some of the Monasteries have received the imposter “bishops” of Ukraine and have concelebrated the liturgy with them. Other Athonites adhering to Orthodoxy have refused to receive the fake “bishops”. That any monastics on the Holy Mountain even received these evil people is a moral outrage.

American diplomatic officials have interfered on Mount Athos and have reportedly used their influence to block at least one Russian Bishop and some priests from visiting Mount Athos. The contempt of western officials for freedom of religion is openly demonstrated. Greek Orthodoxy is perceived by them as an instrument in their war on Russia. There is no freedom of religion when the Orthodox Church is being used as a political prop.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria likewise extended recognition to the Ukrainian lunatics masquerading as “bishops”. This only one year after his beautitude Patriarch Theodore II travelled to Odessa to concelebrate the liturgy with the canonical bishops of Ukraine and to urge the faithful to remain in the canonical Church. Orthodox Greeks everywhere should be weeping at the endless betrayals!

After the Council of Florence in 1439, the people of Constantinople took to the streets to express their moral outrage at the betrayal of the Orthodox faith by the Emperor and his Bishops. When in late 1452 the Church of Hagia Sophia was desecrated by the presence of Latin clergy who arrived in Constantinople to formalize the “union”, the faithful of the city refused to enter the Great Church. More recently, in the Greek City of Patra the faithful rose up to stop the visiting fake bishops of Ukraine from serving the liturgy in the Cathedral which holds the relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle.

At the Monastery of Saint Nektarios of Aegina, the Abbess of the Monastery defied the local Bishop and refused to permit visiting “bishops” and “faithful” of the fake “Church” to even set foot onto the Monastery grounds. Twelve Bishops of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece opposed the disastrous decision to enter into communion with a fake “Church”.

There are also priests, monastics, theologians, and lay people in Greece who expressed opposition to any recognition of the schismatic Ukrainian entity through a signed petition that was sent to the Holy Synod many weeks before their cowardly surrender to the dictates of the State Department. The Church of Cyprus has not recognized the schismatic entity but there have been signs the Archbishop of Nicosia has been wavering.

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem has refused to recognize the schismatic entity and cancelled a meeting with the former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko who instigated this blasphemous politicization of the Orthodox Church. Patriarch Theophilos has formally banned all schismatic clergy from the liturgy at the Holy Sepulchre and enforced identity checks of all visiting clergy from Ukraine to ensure only canonical Bishops and Priests may serve at the most sacred site in Orthodoxy.

Furthermore, Patriarch Theophilos III hosted a minor gathering of Churches in Jordan last February. Although only a few Churches attended and no decisions were made hopes were raised that a future council will be held to formally pass judgement on the desecration of the canons of the Orthodox Church. Several Orthodox Churches have spoken of Jerusalem as the “Mother Church” of Orthodoxy.

It was Archbishop Germanos of Patras that raised the standard of revolt against the Ottoman Turks in 1821. Patriarch (Saint) Gregory V was executed (for refusing to inform the Sultan of Greek revolutionary activities) and Archbishop Kyprianos of Cyprus was hanged for supporting Greek independence. In 1922, Saint Chrysostom of Smyrna refused appeals to leave his Church and his flock and was butchered together with his flock after the Turkish entry into the city.

During the Nazi occupation of Greece, Archbishop Chrysanthos was deposed by the Germans for refusing to cooperate with them, and Archbishop Damaskinos was threatened with death for giving protection to the Jews of Athens. In 1955, Archbishop Spyridon of Athens defied the Greek Government and spoke on Greek radio to condemn the Turkish instigated pogroms against the Greek Orthodox faithful in Turkey and the refusal of America and Great Britain to criticize Turkey.

After the hijacking of the Greek War of Independence in 1833, a Roman Catholic King was imposed on Greece. An “autocephalous” Church was established that was in fact under the authority of the Papist King and his advisors. The use of the septuagaint version of the Old Testament was banned in favor of the Protestant one, Byzantine iconography was replaced by western religious art, Churches were built in a Protestant style, and seventy two Churches from the Byzantine era in Athens were destroyed in order to build the Cathedral of Athens!

All that was done to keep Greece away from the Russians. Russophobia has a long history. But even in those dark days there was resistance in Greek Orthodoxy. Voices such as that of the monk Christophoros Papoulakos preached the Gospel throughout Greece and spoke about the desecration of the Church by the western powers and the liberation of Greece. Once again in our day, the Greek Churches are being profaned by western secular interests.

Where are the Bishops of Greece to follow in the footsteps of Archbishop Germanos, the monk Christophoros Papoulakos, and Archbishop Christodoulos? Let us pray for the freedom of the Greek Churches and the restoration of the unity of Orthodoxy!

ORTHODOXIA I THANATOS!!!!!!!!

CHRISTOS ANESTI! CHRIST IS RISEN!

Categories
books

The Emperor of Byzantium

Book Review and response

The Byzantine Republic by Anthony Kaldellis

Harvard University Press. 2015

“The Byzantine Republic” is an excellent work on Byzantine political theory and the relationship of the Emperor to the people in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. The thesis of the book is that that the Empire was in fact a Republic, and not a monarchy. Many examples are provided that make it clear that the Emperor needed the support of the people in order to rule, and even when plots were under way for a seizure of power in Constantinople, the scheme would end in failure if the people did not turn out to give their support to the attempted transfer of power.

The author dismisses the traditional understanding of the role of the Emperor that we have from historians of Byzantium. It has been accepted by historians of Byzantium that the people of the Empire accepted that the Emperor’s rule emanated from God. I respectfully disagree with the author’s dismissal of what we understand to have been the theological basis for the Byzantine Emperors while admiring this book for breaking new ground and successfully demonstrating that Byzantium was indeed a Republic.

In the introduction to his book, the author asks why the Byzantines criticized their Emperors and why they rebelled and revolted against them, killed them, and blinded them. In the same introduction, the author answers his own question when he writes that, “it was not the person that mattered as much as the office”. Indeed, it was in fact the office that mattered much as in the Church it is the office of the clerics that is important and not necessarily the specific person when administering the mysteries.

For example, a footnote in the Rudder under Canon X of the twenty canons of the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (D. Cummings published in 1957 page 179) asserts that “God is wont to operate also through unworthy persons, and the grace of baptism is in no respect injuriously affected by the life of the priest.” In other words, the priesthood of a man who was wrongly ordained or is not worthy of being a priest is still valid and functions until he has been officially laicized. The history of Byzantium shows that there have been many unworthy Patriarchs, Bishops, and Priests who were deposed for heresy or moral transgressions but that did not take away from the sacredness of the holy orders and priesthood they once possessed.

Therefore, it was entirely possible for an evil Emperor to be deposed (Justinian II comes to mind) and for each of his successors to serve as the vice regent of God. One is reminded of the Roman Catholic teaching that the Pope of Rome is infallible. In Byzantium, neither the Emperor nor the Patriarch were ever infallible. The concept of the Emperor as “vice regent of God” did not mean that the Emperor could do no wrong or was completely infallible.

Nor did it mean that the people of Constantinople who revolted against Emperors who were heretics and tyrants were revolting against God. If anything, the revolts against certain Emperors cleansed the office of an unworthy person. The concept of a ruler who could or should reign without limits to his authority is a totalitarian concept that did not exist in Byzantium.The Emperor’s power was necessarily constrained by Christianity itself otherwise a cult of personality could have emerged that would have resulted in idolatry.

In chapter two, the author writes that the Emperors “generally did behave in accordance with an ideology of custodianship: they were the stewards of a polity that did not belong to them. They had opportunity to abuse their power, but this had consequences”. The belief by the Emperors that they were custodians is consistent with Christian humility. In my opinion, this strengthens the view that the Emperors in Byzantium were perceived as instruments of God.

One of the most serious causes of the schism between the Latins and the Greek Church was due to the claims of the Papal primacy which claimed authority outside its own sphere and onto the universal Church. Beginning from the time of Saint Photius the Great in the ninth century, the Church of Constantinople gradually challenged the Papacy until the schism was manifested in 1054. Since the Byzantines refused to countenance absolute authority to the Pope who was a Churchman, it should not be surprised that there were in fact limits to the Emperor’s power notwithstanding the honors and responsibilities that were bestowed on his office.

Iconography within the narthex of Hagia Sophia shows the Theotokos with Christ in her lap. On the right side, Constantine is giving his City to Christ as a gift. Justinian on the left is giving the Great Church to Christ as his gift. Both Emperors are prostrating themselves before the incarnate logos.

In Byzantine art, Emperors are frequently seen with Christ who is the center of attention. For example, an image of Emperor Alexios Comnenos shows him being blessed by Christ at his enthronement. The Christian Emperors of Constantinople were indeed conscious of a kingdom greater than theirs, and there was a King far greater than they.

It is to the credit of Byzantium and the office of Emperor that the people would erupt in anger to overthrow a tyrannical or a heretical ruler. Consider the willingness of the faithful in Constantinople to resist the iconoclastic Emperor Leo III and Emperor John Paleologos who signed the Union of Florence. Both of these men were opposed because they betrayed God by embracing heresies and therefore could no longer be considered to be the vice regent of God.

There really is no conflict between the traditional view of historians that the Emperor was an instrument of God with the books thesis that Byzantium was a Republic. Among the Byzantines, Christ was God and came first. The Emperor came after and theological justifications for his reign were valid inso far as he was Orthodox in faith and dogma.

In the sixth chapter, the author cites the traditional historical view. “They (people of Byzantium) believed that the Emperor was appointed to rule by God and that they themselves had the right to depose him without impiety”. This is not a contradiction as is being implied. The implication being that God places the Emperor in power and the people remove him therefore the people inevitably oppose the will of God.

In Christianity we have the teaching on free will. God gave Adam and Eve free will and they chose to sin. An Emperor ascended to the office but he abused his power and/or taught heresy. At this point the Emperor would no longer be favored by God. In addition, consider the enthronement of an Orthodox Bishop. At the enthronement, the laos, or people of God give their approval by shouting AXIOS! If the Bishop is a teacher of heresy or engages in immoral conduct the laos will no longer respect or support him.

So it was with the Emperor. When Leo III began his campaign of burning and destroying icons and in fact became the persecutor of the Church, it was no longer possible for the people to accept him as being appointed by God. The Emperor maintained his standing as long as he was solidly Orthodox and ruled in a just manner.

At the beginning of chapter six, the author writes that “the alleged divine right of the Byzantine emperors is given such weight that some scholars separate the “Roman” and the “Byzantine” periods based on it alone”. Theoretically, it can be said that Byzantium up until 1453 was the Roman Empire but there are a number of important factors that divide Old Rome from “New Rome” and cannot be easily dismissed.

The Roman Empire underwent radical revolutionary upheavals in the fourth century. The legalization of Christianity and Constantine’s conversion changed Rome forever and not in insignificant ways. The abandonment of the city of Rome in the Latin west in favor of the Greek speaking town of Byzantium on the bosporus (renamed Constantinople) was another radical break from the past.

Constantine’s interest in theology and his call for the convening of Bishops at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 AD was the ultimate repudiation of Rome’s pagan past as the Emperor now took full responsibility for settling disputes within the Church and clarifying the truths of Christian faith and dogma. One must ask what would Roman persecutors of the Church such as Nero and Diocletian have thought of Constantine and Justinian? What would those Romans have thought of Nikephoras Phokas, Basil II, and the Comnenos Dynasty?

Finally, the title of this book is not the “Roman” Republic, but the “Byzantine” Republic. The term Byzantium was bestowed on the Empire in the sixteenth century by western Europeans who wanted to make a distinction between old Rome and new Rome. The term came from the name of the old town on the bosporus named for the Greek trader Byzas. Surely there is a reason why historians use the term Byzantine for the Christian Roman Empire.

On the question as to whether Byzantium is the Roman Empire my opinion is both yes and no. Yes in the sense that the Emperors of Byzantium were the successors of the Roman Emperors and Roman traditions. Yes also, in the sense that Mr. Kaldellis has made an excellent case that Byzantium was in fact a Republic in the tradition of the Roman Empire.

No in the sense that the Empire evolved over the course of many centuries. Professor Apostolos Vacolopoulos writing in his “Origins of the Greek Nation” has argued that in the fourteenth century during the occupation of Constantinople and other parts of the Greek world, Greek nationalism was born. This was only one of many changes that occurred by the time the Empire was eradicated in 1453.

Categories
faith

Saint Justinian

 As Greek Orthodox Christians at this time we draw strength from our faith in Jesus Christ and his most glorious resurrection  and victory over death. Throughout the course of our history, we Greek Orthodox have been deprived of our formerly Orthodox lands and Churches, including that of the most holy Hagia Sophia built by Emperor-Saint Justinian in 537 AD. Now we are  deprived of liturgy as a result of the virus. For myself, I accepted this grudgingly and with profound concern over the future  of religious freedom. With regard to the virus itself, we appeal to God himself to help us through this time of crisis, and also  appeal with our prayers to the Angels and the Saints to assist us in this time of distress. 

I have been looking to Saint Justinian the Great in particular at this time. The Great Justinian is on the Church calendar as  a Saint. Justinian the Great has his low moments in history (brutal force was ordered by the Emperor against rioters and  anarchists following the chariot races which resulted in the burning of the previous building of Hagia Sophia).

Regardless,  Justinian was a man of enormous piety who presided over the Hagia Sophia that we have all come to know and love. He  also presided over the construction of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery on Sinai (later renamed for Saint Catherine the  Martyr when her relics were discovered there). Justinian was the defender of Orthodoxy and presided over the Fifth  Ecumenical Council which occurred at Constantinople in 553 AD and which affirmed the decisions of the Fourth  Ecumenical Council which declared that Jesus Christ had two natures, human and divine and was both God and  Man. 

Justinian was faced with an enormous crisis during the sixth century when a plague hit the Byzantine Empire. Using the resources of the Christian government, Saint Justinian whose reign consisted of philanthropy in general provided much support for the afflicted. Justinian developed the theory of “symphony” (harmony) which defined Church-State relations at the time. It is this model that is the basis for Church-State relations in contemporary Orthodox Countries. For example,Russia today exercises the concept of “symphony” as can be seen by the warm relationship between President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The concept of “Symphony” inspired Justinian and many of his successors to built hospitals and charities as well as Churches throughout the Christian empire.  “Symphony” is in my opinion a wonderful concept that remains in effect in many ways in Greece (although the secular parties have been gradually chipping away at it in the name of modernism and internationalism). “Symphony” is also  something that is politically incorrect in our times. This is probably why Russia is so generally loathed by the anti Christian leftists of modern Europe and America. Justinian the Great is representative of one of the great periods of Church history when Emperors with great humility recognized that Jesus Christ was the one true King.

Within  the narthex of Hagia Sophia the iconography depicts the Most Holy Theotokos holding Jesus on her lap.  On the right is Saint Constantine bowing in reverence and giving his City to the Lord, while on the left Saint  Justinian bowing holds the Church of Hagia Sophia in his hands which is his gift to Jesus Christ.

What a remarkable difference in history. Emperors and heads of State glorified God and built Cathedrals and  Monasteries for his Glory. Today, perhaps only in Russia and Hungary do the leaders of Government proudly  defend Christianity and refuse to bow to the dictates of secularism. Russia went to war in Syria to stop the  extermination of Christians and Hungary has publicly and vocally championed the cause of Middle Eastern  Christians. 

In the West today, we have a society becoming not only secularized but undergoing a process of paganization. Take for  instance, the Democratic Party in America. One former Presidential Candidate bragged that he would strip Churches of  their tax exempt status if they refused to serve homosexual weddings, and another Candidate talked about the need for  abortions for “men” (i.e. women who have changed their gender). One Governor openly supported infanticide in 2019  by suggesting that infants who SURVIVED abortion could be permitted to die pending the decision of Mother and Doctor.  And of course there are now people who believe there are many different genders and in fact one can raise children to be “gender neutral”. 

The pagans have returned. One must wonder when they will come for our Churches. At this time of the year I remember  the Fall of Constantinople which occurred on 29 May 1453. Emperor Constantine XI Paleologos declined all pleas to  go into exile and fell against the Turkish infidels on that dreadful black Tuesday. We lost many many lives, we lost  many Churches and Monasteries. We lost Hagia Sophia, Saint Justinian’s Church. We must always appreciate our  freedom, especially religious freedom. 

 Five years ago when I was in Paris I visited UNESCO headquarters and met with the UNESCO “Chief of Europe and 
 North America’. My purpose was to raise the issue of Hagia Sophia which the Erdogan Government in Turkey and  his supporters were planning to turn into a Mosque. One of the points I made was Hagia Sophia was the vision of  Saint Justinian who I emphasized was a Saint in the Greek Orthodox Church. 

 Saint Justinian’s Church, not Erdogan’s. May this wonderful Saint, Theologian, and Statesman and devoted servant of God hear our prayers during this crisis.


  CHRISTOS ANESTI!!!!!!!!!!!!!   May the power of our Risen Lord grant healing to suffering humanity 

Categories
faith

The Betrayal of the spiritual heritage of Constantinople

Like any Greek, I consider Constantinople the center of Hellenism and the Orthodox world. I know the Greek folk songs that celebrate the establishment of the City by Constantine and the songs and myths that lament the passing of the City to the infidel Ottomans on 29 May 1453. The spiritual and cultural heritage of Constantinople is tremendous. At a time when the western world was in the dark ages, the Queen of the Cities ruled the world and was the envy of all.

Tragically, the Ecumenical Patriarchate and much of the Greek world has in the past year and a half betrayed the spiritual legacy of Constantinople. The Ecumenical Patriarchate reversed after twenty six years a principled policy of respecting the canon laws of the Church and bestowed recognition on a group of narcissistic lunatics as “Bishops” while withdrawing recognition from the legitimate Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the synod of the immensely pious and well loved Metropolitan Onuphry.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church which enjoys an autonomous or self governing status under the Russian Orthodox Church (the Mother Church of Ukraine) is recognized by the overwhelming majority of local Orthodox Churches as the canonical Orthodox Church. This recognition was unanimous and without exception until his all holiness Patriarch Bartholomew without explanation in September 2018 began the process of waging war against the Russian Church.

In December 2018, a pseudo council (a fake gathering that is a mockery of the conciliar tradition of Orthodoxy) was gathered which created the so called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” led by a layman named Dimenko who claims the ecclesiastical name of “Epiphanios”. Mr. Dimenko and his associates who claim to be Bishops and priests are no such thing. In January 2019, a fictitious “tomos” of “autocephaly” was granted to these schismatics by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

In the early period of the 1990’s, two schisms took place in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. A megalomaniac who was once the canonical and legitimate Metropolitan of Kiev (Philaret Denisenko) was removed and later anathematized owing to his schismatic activities as a result of his failed candidacy to become Patriarch of Moscow in 1990. Furthermore, there was another schism involving yet another faction from the legitimate Church led by a deacon who was laicized as a result of moral and criminal transgressions.

This particular “Deacon” apparently ordained himself to the priesthood and also apparently consecrated himself a Bishop completely mocking the Holy Canons of the Orthodox Church. This was the situation regarding ecclesiastical affairs of Ukraine on the eve of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s unwanted interference.

The situation is even more complicated by the presence and the activities of the Uniates, so called “Eastern Catholics”. This particular group has its origins in the Council of Florence of 1439 and the Union of Brest of 1595. When Ukrainian lands were conquered by the Catholic powers at the time, the long discredited and condemned Council of Florence that the Greeks had repudiated was brought back. The Orthodox populations in the conquered lands were permitted to maintain the Byzantine liturgical service but were forced to accept the authority of the Roman Catholic Pope and the dogmas of Catholicism such as the teaching on the filioque.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was under the omophorion of Constantinople from 988 AD until 1686 when the Ecumenical Patriarch Dyonisius V agreed to transfer the Ukrainian Church to the Russian Church. There are documents that attest to the legitimacy of this transfer.

After over three centuries Constantinople suddenly announced that Ukraine is part of its own omophorion. This was a blatant violation of canon law and an attack on Orthodox ecclesiology. One hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate had previously promoted a never before heard of theory that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is “First Without Equals”, a claim that provoked concerns and widespread opposition throughout Orthodoxy.

The truth is that the Ecumenical Patriarch holds a position as “First Among Equals”. He is the first ranking Orthodox primate in the dyptychs of the Church and is (or was) commemorated first by all his fellow primates and given the seat of honor at all Pan Orthodox convocations. Likewise, when concelebrating the liturgy with other primates either individually or collectively he was always given precedence in honor.

The Ukrainian Church situation was problematic not only because of the schisms and the activities of the Uniates (an organization existing to destroy Russian Orthodoxy) but because the Ukrainian government under President Poroshenko permitted, if not outright promoted the fierce persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This persecution continues to the present day. Efforts have been made by Ukrainian officials to force the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (the canonical one) into changing its name to “Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine”.

There have been violent activities by militias (with Neo Nazi sympathies) directed at the Ukrainian Church including the forcible seizure of Churches and violent assaults on clergy and laity alike. It is in this backdrop that the Ecumenical Patriarchate sent two exarchs to Ukraine in September 2018 with the intention of bestowing “autocephaly” on the schismatics who have shown no tendency toward repenting and reconciling with the canonical Church.

Despite holding a “primacy of honor”, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has absolutely no right or authority to bestow “autocephaly” on a Church that is not directly under its own omophorion. It is forbidden under canon law for one Church to intervene without permission or invitation into the affairs of another autocephalous or self governing Church. The December 2018 pseudo-council was intended supposedly to “reunite” Orthodoxy in Ukraine. The canonical Church did not take part because being in the line of apostolic succession, it could not sit down with laymen who masquerade as Bishops.

Furthermore, the aforementioned and notorious Philaret Denisenko who led his faction into schism after failing to be elected Patriarch of Moscow in 1990 created a schism from this “united” group after being sidelined in favor of the younger layperson Mr. Dimenko. The schismatic groups are nothing more than power hungry narcissists dressing as Bishops. Involving himself with such people is going to have devastating repercussions for Patriarch Barholomew and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The Russian Church and its hierarchy, together with its priests, theologians, and canonists responded calmly citing the holy canons, dogmas, and teachings of the Church on this situation. They have properly exposed Constantinople’s blatant violations of canon law and the destabilization of universal Orthodoxy. It is indicative that Constantinople has generally refrained from responding point by point to the to case put forward by the Russian Church which has armed itself with historical documents as well as ecclesiastical texts.

Some of Constantinople’s supporters have responded in irrational ways and seem to have no idea that the Orthodox Church functions in a conciliar manner and not under the ecclesiastical dictatorship of one Bishop. Conciliarity means all Churches are equal (except in honor) and all decisions are made under the auspices of the Holy Spirit by consensus of all.

The Russian Church responded (rightly) by severing communion with Constantinople. It should be remembered that Patriarch Kyril of Moscow originally suggested that committees should be established by both sides to study the history of the Church of Ukraine. The consciousness of wrongdoing by Constantinople can be proven by its outright refusal to engage in any discussions. Only as a last resort did Moscow sever communion with Constantinople, and then only in phases.

The damage to Orthodox unity was not contained in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church of Greece was dragged into the matter by the Phanariots of Constantinople. After nearly a year of postponement by the Holy Synod in discussing the matter, the Athens synod finally capitulated in a shocking and heartbreaking decision as a result of western pressure.

It is known that the secular powers have intervened blatantly in the affairs of the Orthodox Church. American officials have undertaken a public attack on Russia internationally. This rabid Russophobia has extended into the Orthodox Church proving that the godless elite of the secular west has no respect of any kind for the sacred. The Church is for them nothing more than an institution to be infiltrated and influenced for their own purposes.

It is known that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Athens and personally asked Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens to recognize the schismatic entity in Ukraine. Previous to this visit in August 2019, the Synod of the Church of Greece had announced that they would not discuss the Ukrainian issue at their scheduled meeting in October. Following Pompeo’s arrival, an emergency session was held by the Holy Synod and recognition of the schismatics ensued.

The capitulation of the Church of Greece to the dictates of American policymakers is a moral outrage and a betrayal of Christ and the Holy Canons of the Church. Some Bishops including Metropolitans Serapheim of Kythira, Serapheim of Piraeus, Nektarios of Corfu, and Simeon of New Smyrna, and now retired Ambrosios of Kalavryta refused to go along.

AXIOS to each of them!

There are individual priests and theologians such as Fr. Anastasios Gotsopoulos, Fr.Theodore Zisis, and Professor Demetrios Tselengidis who have opposed recognition of the schismatics with well thought out and detailed arguments based on historical facts and canonical precepts. Before the final and fateful decision of the Holy Synod, a petition in Greece signed by several hundred priests, monastics, and laypeople fervently appealed to the synod NOT to recognize the schismatics.

The so called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” is not and cannot be legitimate as it lacks apostolicity, canonicity, and catholicity. The Orthodox Bishops can trace their lineage back to the Apostles. The schismatics in Ukraine only go back three decades or so to the defrocked and disgraced founders of their “Church”. All subsequent ordinations (priests) and consecrations (Bishops) are completely void of any canonical legitimacy. The term Catholic meaning universal deprives them of “catholicity” as the universal Church refuses to accept them and views them as an abomination.

After the Orthodox Church of Greece, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria surrendered and recognized the schismatics. His beautitude Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria had one year previously gone to Odessa and concelebrated with the canonical clergy and faithful of Ukraine. He strongly urged the faithful of Ukraine to stay with the legitimate Church of Ukraine. One year later, he betrayed the Ukrainian Church.

The Church of Cyprus has not recognized the schismatics. Efforts have been made to pressure the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem into recognizing the schismatics. To his credit, his Beautitude Patriarch Theophilos III has absolutely refused to succumb to pressure and recognizes only the legitimate Church of Ukraine. In a show of leadership, Patriarch Theophilos convened a gathering of Orthodox Churches (only around six or seven attended) to discuss the crisis in Orthodoxy. No decisions were made and the gathering could not be considered as a real council but in the vacuum left by Constantinople, Jerusalem attempted to fill that void for which its Patriarch has been widely condemned by the Phanariots.

The capitulation of three Greek Churches is shameful not only because of the surrender of the Church to secular interests. It is a repetition of previous historical injustices against the Greeks. In 1204, the Roman Catholic Crusaders invaded and destroyed Constantinople. In 1439, the Roman Catholics blackmailed the Greeks at the Council of Florence and demanded that they accept Roman Catholic dogmas and the primacy of the Pope at the expense of the faith received from the Apostles and the Fathers.

After the completion of the Greek War of Independence the British and the Germans took defacto control of Greece. They imposed the German King Otho on Athens. Otho and his advisors immediately demanded the “autocephaly” of the Church of Greece from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Ironies abound, Constantinople is doing to Moscow today on behalf of Washington what London did to Constantinople two centuries ago.

The autocephaly Greece originally got was an artificial one in which the Church was composed of a small synod controlled by the King. The purpose of this “autocephaly” was not to keep Turkish influence out of Greece as was claimed but to keep Russian influence out of Greece as Russia was then financially and politically supporting the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In addition, seventy two Churches in Athens from the Byzantine era were destroyed in order to build the Cathedral! The septuagaint version of the Old Testament was prohibited in favor of the Protestant one, Byzantine domes were banned as Churches were built in a Protestant style, and Byzantine style iconography was replaced by western religious art.

Furthermore, General Theodore Kolokotronis the hero of the Greek War of Independence was imprisoned and initially sentenced to death for “treason”. The old General was the leader of the Russian Party in Greece and was also angered by the Monarchy’s Church policies. Only the threat of a mass uprising led to the pardon of the General.

I have long believed that a Greek-Russian rivalry was nonexistent. Admittedly, it is extremely difficult to defend this position at a time when three Greek Churches have collaborated in the dismemberment of the Russian Church in Ukraine. However, these actions are motivated by blatant western political interference and do not reflect the views of their faithful.

I as a Greek American adhere to the old Constantinople-Greek school of faith that produced Constantine, Justinian, and the other Orthodox Emperors. The Constantinople that produced Saint Gregory the theologian, John Chrysostom, Photius the Great, Michael Kerularios, George “Gennadios”Scholarios, Jeremias II, Cyril V, and Saint Gregory V and other Orthodox Patriarchs.

Constantinople’s spiritual legacy is immense and undeniable. Its legacy has been betrayed by the present leadership of the Phanar and those other Greeks collaborating with it. There is no shortage of ironies in terms of what has been done in Ukraine. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has the open backing in Ukraine not only of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but of former Vice President and Presidential Candidate Joe Biden and American Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt.

Why is the Ecumenical Patriarchate in a precarious state in Turkey today? Why has it lost most of its flock? The Greek Orthodox of Asia minor were exterminated in a campaign of genocide by the Turks between 1914 and 1923. At the Treaty of Lausanne, the Great Powers of Great Britain, France, and Italy pressured the Turks to maintain the Ecumenical Patriarchate even though they agreed to deport over one million faithful to Greece in a campaign of ethnic cleansing and took away the diplomatic protection the Phanar previously had.

In September 1955, came the anti Greek pogroms in Constantinople in which the remaining Greek Orthodox in the City fled for their lives. Neither the United States nor NATO did anything to support the Ecumenical Patriarchate or to punish the Turkish Government which sponsored the pogroms. In 1964 and after, more Greeks were ethnically cleansed from Constantinople with no opposition from the West, and in 1971 the theological school of Halki was closed.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate today having been fiercely persecuted by the Turks actively supports the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is supported here by State Department officials whose predecessors were oblivious to the ethnic cleansing of the Phanar’s own flock in 1955 and after. This is obscene on so many levels.

I happen to love Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarchate also. This is why as a Greek Orthodox I must speak and condemn what the Ecumenical Patriarchate has done in Ukraine. Because Christ is the true head of the Church, the Church is conciliar and is governed by the canons, and the great spiritual legacy of Constantinople is being reduced to total ruin.

In 1853, Russia went to war with the Ottoman Empire. Great Britain and France backed the Ottomans. What Greek would not have rejoiced had the Russians liberated Constantinople? Greece at the time wanted to join the Russians but the port of Piraeus was occupied by Great Britain and France who showed the Greeks their place much as Washington today shows the Greeks who is boss.

In 1915, the Government under Tsar Nicholas II persuaded Great Britain and France to give Constantinople to Russia in a secret agreement. What Greek would not have rejoiced in Russia liberating Constantinople? For centuries, the Russians served to restrain the Ottomans in their persecution of Greeks and other Christians.

Catherine the Great envisioned a Greek project with an independent Greece with its capital at Constantinople. Russia is the carrier of Eastern Orthodoxy and in my opinion, the Third Rome. For historic and political reasons, but most importantly for spiritual, dogmatic, and canonical reasons there is no justification whatsoever for the Church of Constantinople to be meddling in Ukraine.

Finally, it is true that Russia received baptism from Constantinople. The ties between the two Churches would be much stronger if the Ecumenical Patriarchate acknowledged the Russian Church as the largest among the local Orthodox Churches. What could be more natural than the Archbishop of New Rome showing proper appreciation for the role of Moscow as the Third Rome. In Russia, the spiritual legacy of Constantinople lives on.

The Russian Church has never questioned Constantinople’s position as “First among equals” and the Russian Church has respected the initiatives that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has taken over the last several decades in convening Pan Orthodox gatherings. The “Council” of Crete was an exception owing to the fact that three local Churches (Antioch, Bulgaria, Georgia) had announced that they would not be attending. Without the presence of all Churches, there could be no Council.

The future of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has become more bleak since Patriarch Bartholomew invaded the canonical territory of Moscow. Those of us who love the Great Church are obligated to raise our voices to protest. We must consider the example of Saint Mark of Ephesus.

Saint Mark of Ephesus made it very clear that there could be no possibility or benefits if survival in the world came at the expense of the authentic teaching of the true faith of Christ. We Greeks must make clear we can not follow the Ecumenical Patriarch down the road that he is leading us.

The suffering faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are our brothers. The Ecumenical Patriarchate must repent and completely reverse all the actions and decisions that it has taken in Ukraine. After the Fall of Constantinople, in January 1454 the Patriarchate was reorganized and the new Patriarch was George Scholarios who took the name of Gennadios.

Patriarch Gennadios had been the disciple of Saint Mark of Ephesus, a champion of Orthodoxy. In those very difficult and horrible days after the Ottoman conquest, the Patriarch did all he could to help his flock survive by striking the best possible deal he could with Sultan Mehmet. The enthronement of Patriarch Gennadios constituted a much needed era of renewal in the history of the Church of Constantinople that had been badly needed after the sorry events that transpired in Florence. Such an era of renewal could occur once again if the Ecumenical Patriarchate abandoned its extraterritorial claims on Ukraine and elsewhere and respected the tradition of conciliarity.

The survival of the Ecumenical Patriarchate depends on its fidelity to Orthodoxy, to the faith of Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint John Chrysostom, and Saint Photios the Great. Its future and fate depends on its standing within the communion of Orthodox Churches and not its standing at the State Department.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s position has fallen very low within Orthodoxy as a result of its actions in Ukraine. These actions must be corrected and a policy of reconciliation and repentance must be pursued with its sister Church of Russia and the latter’s daughter Church in Ukraine.

Greeks do not forget the role that the western powers played in greatly harming the Ecumenical Patriarchate and its flock in the aftermath of the anti Greek Orthodox pogroms in Constantinople in September 1955. Support from these parties will not save the Ecumenical Patriarchate just as the effort to gain the help of Rome at Florence did not save Constantinople. Only Christ who is head of the Orthodox Church can save any and all of the local Churches of Orthodoxy in times of persecution.

Written during the time of the coronavirus an insidious disease which has killed innocent people throughout the world. Let us remember all in our prayers, especially those who died alone and those who endure funerals without family and friends because of the disease.

The Orthodox Church needs unity at this time of crisis and to give assurances to a fallen and troubled world that the light of Jesus Christ and the message of salvation burns bright.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

The Double Headed Eagle Blog

11 May 2020

Categories
political

The New Pagans

Considering what we are all living through at the present time with the horrors of the coronavirus, the economic catastrophe, and the complete eradication of our freedoms one is easily reminded of the various horror movies dealing with zombies and apocalyptic themes.

Yet one does not have to focus on the virus to be reminded of horror films that are playing out in reality. Take for example the 1973 British horror classic, “The Wicker Man” (not to be confused with the laughable 2006 remake). In that film, a Scottish Policeman is called to an island to investigate the disappearance of a girl. The film shows he is a devout Christian and Churchgoer.

The unsuspecting Churchgoer (played by the late Edward Woodward) comes to realize that the island he is on is inhabited by a mad Cult of pagans. He discovers that schoolchildren are being taught sexually explicit material and that lewd behavior in public places is quite common. Being a God believing Christian, the Officer expresses outrage at the blasphemy and immorality that he encounters.

His foe turns out to be the leader of the Pagan Cult (played by the late great Christopher Lee) who openly expresses disdain for Christianity and endorses his groups pagan worship. The film ends badly for the officer who is subsequently burned alive and sacrificed by the pagans in the belief that a human sacrificed to their fake gods will help their crops in the coming year.

One need only look at the present state of the contemporary west to be reminded of the pagan cult from the “Wicker Man”. Here we have in America a situation where a sixty year old man can share the same restroom as a ten year old girl. We are now being told that there are as many as sixty three different genders !!!! In one notorious case from Texas a mother took legal action to deprive her ex husband of joint custody of their seven year old son so she could eventually begin having him “transition” into a girl.

And of course, there are the pro abortion Governors of Virginia and New York who have openly endorsed not only abortions in the ninth month, but who endorse outright infanticide. The Governor of Virginia suggested it may be permissible to allow an infant that survived an abortion to die or to be simply murdered if the “Doctor” and the Mother so wish.

These are the policies that are now endorsed by the Democratic Party. From an Orthodox Christian standpoint, the Democrats are outright pagans. Christians of all confessions are beginning to be increasingly uncomfortable with the Democrats hostility to the Christian faith.

For example, former Democratic Party Candidate for President Beta O’Rourke openly said during a debate last October that he would strip Churches of tax exempt status if they continued to refuse to permit gay marriages. The audience of Democrats applauded (much like the crowds in ancient Rome applauded when Christians were fed to the lions). None of the other Democrats suggested that the beliefs and practices of Christians should be respected.

As it stands, the Christian world is confronted with the new paganism that has taken over the Democratic Party. In my opinion, it is impossible to take seriously the idea that the Democrats could possibly offer anything during these incredibly difficult times. How can one possibly expect a Presidential Candidate who has openly said that there are at least “three” genders and who is pondering to the political correctness of the extreme left to provide solutions for the present crisis?

Christianity has always been at war with paganism. Christians were martyred for refusing to worship the Roman Emperor. Christians have one certainty at this time. We place our trust in God, and not in men. At the present time by necessity our Churches have been closed and this is understandable.

Let us pray that this does not become a precedent for future action to be taken by the present generation of pagans.

Christos Anesti!! Christ in Risen!

Categories
introduction

The Double Headed Eagle Blog

I am an Orthodox Greek American and this is my blog. It is named for the Double Headed Eagle that was the symbol of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire that was centered on Constantinople for Eleven centuries. A most glorious City and Empire dedicated to the Worship and Glory of God. This is the basis of my worldview. A Spiritual, theological, cultural and historical worldview. I am the author of three books (In the Shadow of Hagia Sophia, With This Sign Conquer, Greece and the West) and I have written numerous commentaries and articles over the past twenty five years in a variety of news outlets on matters pertaining to Orthodoxy, Greece, the Balkans, and the Middle East. My name is Ted and this is my introduction.

I comment on the political, spiritual, and cultural issues of the day. Major issues include,

– Greek- Turkish relations and the continued Turkish occupation of Cyprus

-Western relations with Russia and the problem of Russophobia in the West

-The Schism in Eastern Orthodoxy that began in 2018

-The future of the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople

-Contemporary Politics in America and the mad rise of the new paganism

A blog emanating from a Greek Orthodox dissident

Updated December 15, 2021