Month: January 2025

Archbishop Anastasios of Albania passed away this morning at the age of ninety five. His eminence of Greek ancestry was well known for reviving the Albanian Orthodox Church following the collapse of communism. Previous to this he was a missionary in Africa.

He was known for his piety, education, and bringing many Albanians to Christ and his Church during his forty year tenure as Archbishop of that autocephalous Church. More recently, the Archbishop demonstrated his status as a defender of Orthodoxy by opposing Patriarch Bartholomew’s recognition of the pseudo church in Ukraine.

The Archbishop condemned the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church while at times protesting harassment of his own Albanian Church by the secular authorities.

His Memory be eternal!

The Greek government is reportedly going to fund the salaries of African priests serving under the Patriarchate of Alexandria. Before the schism of 2018, this could have been perceived as Greece supporting Orthodoxy. The schism that resulted from Patriarch Bartholomew’s intervention in Ukraine and the Greek government’s legalization of same sex marriage calls into question Greece’s actions.

There have been suggestions that African priests are moving to the Russian Church from Alexandria over resources and money. African priests left Alexandria for the Russians for spiritual reasons. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria entered into communion with the artificial institution known as “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” a cabal of defrocked and unordained laypeople mocking the Orthodox Church.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis should not be trusted by Orthodox Greeks. His legalization of same sex marriage demonstrated his indifference to Orthodoxy. I doubt that he cares to find out the truth of what happened in Africa. The Greek foreign Ministry errs in backing Patriarch Bartholomew’s destructive intervention in Ukraine.

Backing hierarchs such as Patriarchs Bartholomew and Patriarch Theodore only serves to further estrange Greece from the greater Orthodox world. Greece would do better to use its influence to pressure these Patriarchs to reverse their uncanonical actions in Ukraine. That is what an Orthodox government would do.

Patriarch Bartholomew met with President Erdogan of Turkey and reportedly thanked him for agreeing to the reopening of the Halki seminary. It is strange that there has been no official announcement if such a development is true. This writer has been involved in previous efforts to open Halki.

Even if Halki is about to reopen, there is no justification for celebrating. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, an oppressed Church in Turkey is complicit in the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch and the Archbishop of America have transgressed by triggering the worst schism in Orthodoxy in close to 1,000 years.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate must cease doing the bidding of the anti Russian foreign policy establishment and cease being a source of division in Orthodoxy. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church must be freed from persecution. When the Ukrainian Church is free from persecution, and the schism with Moscow comes to an end then those of us who are among the faithful under Constantinople can rejoice over Halki.

This is assuming the rumors are true. Also, we must wait and see if Turkey sets conditions that are unreasonable for the reopening of Halki.

Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon has attracted attention for wearing a shirt that says “Free Constantinople”. British politician Paul Golding went on X to show an image of the Greek Army outside Hagia Sophia. What to make of these pro Constantinople sentiments.

Everything should be kept in context. There is no possibility that Constantinople is going to be part of any country other than Turkey. This is actually quite funny more than anything else. Neither Greece, nor Russia, nor the west are going to take Constantinople. The Turks need to calm down.

Perhaps the Turks can now understand how Greeks feel when their President openly threatens to invade Greece and seize the islands that belong historically and by international treaties to the Hellenic Republic. Annoying isn’t it when others claim territory that is part of your country? The “Free Constantinople” calls are motivated by sentimentality and humor. The Turkish threats to invade Greece are very real.

There has been some questionable behavior on the part of some Greeks visiting Constantinople. Some Greeks displayed the Greek flag outside Hagia Sophia and others from Crete did a dance outside Hagia Sophia. This behavior is very questionable. If one wants to honor Hagia Sophia when visiting, how about opening up a prayer book and saying some prayers.

UNESCO will soon release a report on Hagia Sophia. If we wish to honor the great spiritual and cultural heritage of Constantinople, we should concentrate on ensuring the Great Church is restored as a museum and preserving existing Greek Churches and shrines which require caution and diplomacy.