Month: July 2023

Categories
faith

The Latest From The Schism

Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria has written a letter of protest to Patriarch Porphyrios of Serbia. The Serbian Patriarch has publicly condemned the ongoing persecution of Metropolitan Pavel, Abot of the Kiev Caves Lavra. The Patriarch of Alexandria says that the Serbian Patriarch should condemn the Russian Church’s entry into Africa.

Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria is a hypocrite and he symbolizes the genuine hypocrisy of all those who recognized the fake Church in Ukraine. This Patriarch originally supported the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church when the schism began in 2018. One year later, without explanation Alexandria entered into communion with the fake “church” in Ukraine.

One hundred and two African priests protested the Patriarch’s decision and they were pretty much told to shut up. As a result, these priests asked to be received into the Russian Church in order to remain fully canonical. The Russian Church originally said no while hoping Alexandria would reverse its decision.

After a year when Alexandria failed to change course, the Russians received the African priests and entered Africa. For this, Patriarch Theodore has himself and Patriarch Bartholomew to blame. The Serbian Patriarch has condemned the violent persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Theodore claims his Patriarchate is suffering from the Russian presence in Africa. This is a self serving and hypocritical Patriarch. The Ukrainian Church is enduring violent persecution and legal prosecutions.

Nobody is interfering with the Patriarchate of Alexandria and there is no persecution against this Patriarchate. Patriarch Theodore needs to be deposed as he is responsible for the ecclesiastical chaos in Africa. The Russian Church had severed communion with Alexandria which is why they entered Africa.

If the Churches of Alexandria and Moscow were in full communion, the Russian Church would never have set foot in Africa. Patriarch Theodore caused the cessation of communion between the Churches when he entered into communion with the fake entity in Ukraine.

Alexandria is paying the price for this fateful decision and for becoming an accessory to the violent persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Categories
Published commentaries

Greece And Armenia

GUEST VIEWPOINTS

Greece Must Support Armenia

July 13, 2023

By Theodore Karakostas

National Herald

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During the Genocide’s death marches, an Armenian woman kneeling beside dead child in a field near Aleppo, Syria, as witnessed by the American Committee for Relief in the Near East. Photo: Public domain

During the Genocide’s death marches, an Armenian woman kneeling beside dead child in a field near Aleppo, Syria, as witnessed by the American Committee for Relief in the Near East. (Photo: Public domain)

Greece and Cyprus have very few friends in the world. The Hellenic world’s closest friends are unquestionably the Armenians. Greeks and Armenians died together in the Turkish orchestrated genocide of 1914 to 1923. Greek and Armenian Christians were hunted down by the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal in Smyrna to be murdered. Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia are out of favor with the powerful of the world.

Armenia faces an existential threat. For thirty years, Armenia ruled the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. In 2020, the government in Baku backed by Ankara launched a bloody war of aggression and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against Armenian civilians. The so called ‘free’ world stood aside and did nothing, just as the Russians did nothing. America and Europe espouse democracy and Russia espouses Christianity but here is an Islamic dictatorship attempting to eradicate a Christian democracy and no one lifts a finger.

The horrors of 9/11 have been forgotten. Azerbaijan and Turkey have assisted and been assisted by Syrian elements that were part of Al Qaida. Does anyone remember those bloodthirsty terrorists? One hundred years after the culmination of the mass exterminations of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks by the Turks, the prospect of renewed genocide remains a horrific reality.

The threat that Armenia faces is shared by Greece and Cyprus. The Turkish elections brought to the forefront two evil and deranged psychopaths who were competing for the Turkish Presidency. President Erdogan’s extreme threats to shoot missiles into Athens and to seize the Greek islands are well known. His challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu accused Erdogan of tolerating Greek ‘occupation’ of the islands. Turkish leaders vary in their ideology but not on eternal hatred of Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, and Kurds.

Greece is a member of the European Union and NATO. For the most part, this has not done Greece any good as the west supports Turkey uncritically. The Greek government has attempted to follow the western line on Ukraine in a failed attempt to curry favor with the west. Greece should be paying more attention to the Armenians. What happens to Greece and Cyprus will depend heavily on what happens to Armenia. If Armenia falls to the combined evil of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Greece and Cyprus will be next.

Athens must champion the Armenian cause in Europe and NATO and must use any leverage it can muster to back all Armenian rights. The Armenian cause is the Greek cause. It is a morally righteous cause in a fight for survival. Greece has placed way too much confidence in the western world. At this late date, not much can be done about that, but Greece must work to support the Armenians who need as much diplomatic support as possible.

International pressure is being imposed on Armenia to make concessions to the regime in Baku. This is similar to the pressure that was exerted on Greece in 1922 to give up its rights on Constantinople and Asia Minor. It is similar to the pressure the west tries time and again to pressure Greece to make concessions on Cyprus.

Greece’s relationship with Armenia is not artificial like those with its ‘allies’ in NATO. This is a real friendship that was solidified in blood.

Greece must stand firmly with the Armenians.

Theodore G. Karakostas is the author of the books ‘In the Shadow of Hagia Sophia’, and ‘With This Sign Conquer’.

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Categories
Published Letters

Ukrainian Church Persecution

The following letter was published in the magazine First Things

chicago, illinois

I am a reader of First Things of Greek Orthodox faith under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. I found certain parts of George Weigel’s “What Ukraine Means” objectionable. Mr. Weigel refers to the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate.” That is like referring to the Ecumenical Patriarchate as being affiliated with Turkey, or to the Roman Catholic Church being affiliated with Italy. The implication that a church whose spiritual authority resides in a particular country is somehow to be ­associated with that country’s politics is highly questionable.

Being of Greek ancestry, I have absolutely no sympathy for the Turkish government, despite the fact that the See of Constantinople is located in Turkey. It is most regrettable that political interests have been exerting influence over the Orthodox Church. This began in 2018, when Patriarch ­Bartholomew of Constantinople, in a blatant power grab, seized the territory of Ukraine from the Russian ­Orthodox Church with the support of the American government. Since then, a schism in the Orthodox Church has been gradually widening. This schism has led to a division that has made it impossible for the Orthodox Church to take a common position against the invasion of Ukraine.

To be clear, the position of ­Patriarch Kirill on the war in Ukraine conflicts with the traditional Orthodox understanding of war. In the Orthodox Church, there is no tradition of holy war, crusades, or just wars. On the other hand, much of the criticism of the Russian Church is without merit. The Ukrainian Orthodox Synod of Metropolitan Onufriy (which has condemned the Russian invasion) is the one legitimate church according to Orthodox ecclesiology and canon law. It is now proven beyond doubt that the Zelensky government and politicians in Ukraine have been supporting the repression of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church through the forcible seizure of churches, arrests of bishops, and persecution of ordinary faithful.

In a democratic society, individuals are free to attend whatever churches they like. In Greece for example, there are various Old Calendar traditionalist churches. An individual is free to attend one of those churches or the official Greek Orthodox Church. Attempts by the Ukrainian government to outlaw the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are immoral and reprehensible, and promote sectarianism and hatred. To his credit, Mr. Weigel in the article states that the Ukrainian Church should not be banned.

His reasoning that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would become a martyr-church is disturbing. How about the morality of subjecting an entire community to repression and brutality on the basis of collective guilt? Should an entire community consisting of millions of Ukrainian citizens be outlawed? Is this moral? Is this consistent with modern democratic norms?

Theodore Karakostas
boston, massachusetts

Categories
political

Send A Message To The Democrats And The Media See This Movie

There is a new movie out called “Sound of Freedom”. It is very good. The film is about a true story of a member of the Department of Homeland Security who worked to rescue children from sexual predators.

The film is disturbing as it shows children being kidnapped for the purpose of being sold into sexual slavery. A well made and informative film like this should be non political and should cause everyone to agree that stopping the trafficking of children should be a priority. Not quite, the left has politicized this film as they politicize everything in furtherance of their ideology.

Left wing critics argue this film promotes conspiratorial Q anon theories. This viewer did not see anything like that. What this filmgoer saw was the horrific ways children are being used by monstrous human traffickers.

So, we have reached the point where the left refuses to criticize the sexual exploitation of children. On the other hand, this is not entirely surprising. The left had been sexualizing children for several years with the imposition of LGBT ideology in schools and legislation by Democrats legalizing sex changes for minors.

Child abuse is at the forefront of the Democratic Party’s platform. See the recent law in California which would strip parents of custody of their children if they refuse to “affirm” that child as a member of the opposite sex. A great thing about this film is that it clearly draws a line between the religious and the anti religious and Republicans and Democrats.

“Sound of Freedom” had taken off at the box office. Here is a great opportunity for Americans to give the Biden administration, the media, and the left a message. Support this movie.

Categories
Letters

Letter To Congressman

Congressman Lynch,

I am an angry Greek American constituent that condemns the administration of President Biden and the NATO alliance. The Biden administration and NATO have deleted the name of Cyprus from a map of the Republic of Cyprus in order to appease the anti American and jihadist government of Recep Erdogan in Turkey. Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974 and ethnically cleansed the north of over 200,000 Greek Cypriots. The Biden administration and NATO are the hypocrites of the world presuming to lecture everyone about human rights and international law while bending over backwards to accommodate the country that supports Al Quada and previously supported ISIS. 

Cyprus has a population that is eighty percent Greek and its population has been driven out by Turkish ethnic cleansing. Those of us of Greek descent are tired of hearing American officials 
talking about every other conflict that comes while doing nothing about the criminal and murderous bloodthirsty government of Turkey and its partner Azerbaijan. As you are aware, Azerbaijan is committing crimes against humanity against the peaceful Armenians of Artsakh with the backing of Turkey.

Throughout the twentieth century, Greece stood with America and the west against the Kaiser’s Germany. the Nazi-fascist Axis, the Soviet Union, and the Communist aggressors in Korea. In return, Greece has gotten nothing from an ungrateful Washington which has looked the other way at the ethnic cleansing of the native Greek populations of Constantinople since 1955. American officials such as the despicable Admiral Mark Bristol covered up news reports of the Turkish genocide of Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians in Smyrna and Asia Minor during and after the first World War. 

The Biden administration is actively pursuing this vile and evil policy of the likes of Admiral Bristol by trying to curry favor with the jihadist dictator in Turkey. Turkey is a murderous and aggressive state and the Biden administration is an appeaser of evil. The Biden administration is selling war planes to Turkey which will be used against Greece. Erdogan and all opposition politicians in Turkey openly call for an invasion of Greece and for the seizure of Greek islands. 

I respectfully ask that your office actively condemn and oppose this new policy of NATO. The Republic of Cyprus is name of the internationally recognized State that was granted independence in 1960 by the Treaties of London, Zurich, and Guarantee. Any attempt to remove the name of the Republic of Cyprus from a map is a hideous and monstrous act that sacrifices a functioning democracy for a murderous Islamic regime that supports Al Quada in Syria and Azerbaijan. This attempt to delegitimize Cyprus can only be perceived by Greeks everywhere as a spit in the face and an attack on all Greeks who died fighting with the democracies against Naziism and Communism during the twentieth century. 

Theodore Karakostas