Letter to My Senator

Dear Senator,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Theodore G. Karakostas