Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. The purpose of the visit was to discuss religious freedom. Basically, the Patriarchate finds itself in the same position it has been in for decades. It still faces an existential crisis.
Without the theological school of Halki reopening, the Patriarchate will not have future priests and bishops. The prospects of the reopening of Halki are just as dire as they have ever been. The collaboration of the Patriarchate with the American government on the Church issue in Ukraine has in fact left the Patriarchate in a far more catastrophic position than before.
Notwithstanding nice words from the State Department the theological school of Halki remains closed. In addition, Hagia Sophia has become a Mosque as has the Church of the Saviour of Chora. These are disastrous setbacks for the Patriarchate.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate would have been much better off establishing closer ties with the Russian government and should have stayed out of Ukraine. All Orthodox agree that Patriarch Bartholomew is “First Among Equals”. This however may not be for too much longer considering the disaster that has spread throughout the Orthodox Church.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Patriarch Bartholomew is the leader of the Orthodox. Such a vague statement does not describe in any way, shape, or form the role of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Going by the book, the Ecumenical Patriarch is “First Among Equals” with a “Primacy of Honor”. The Patriarch is not a Pope like figure and this misconception has contributed to the chaos in the Orthodox world.
In 1439, Emperor John Palaeologos of Constantinople and many Bishops travelled to Florence where they signed the notorious union with the Papacy. However desperate the Greeks were to avoid falling to the Turks, that Union did not save them in the end. Nor could it have saved them considering that Christians do not improve their status in the here and now by sacrificing their souls and their salvation.
There are still many things unclear about what transpired in 2018 that led to Constantinople’s invasion of the Russian Church’s territory in Ukraine. Theories abound that promises were made or that threats were made. Although it is clear the United States foreign policy apparatus was behind this the specifics are still unclear.
What is inherently clear and what the Greek speaking world continues to ignore is that the theological school of Halki remains closed and the Patriarchate’s position in Turkey is just as precarious as it has ever been. The losses of Hagia Sophia and the Savior Church of Chora could be construed as a sign from heaven that the Patriarchate is on the wrong track.
The United States has provided nothing for the Ecumenical Patriarchate in terms of its future. Even if the US had provided substantive results for the Patriarchate’s standing in Turkey , its intervention in Ukraine would still be wrong. In any case, Patriarch Bartholomew has gained nothing and lost virtually everything.
He has gained nothing from the Turks but he has lost Hagia Sophia and the Church of Chora. He has destroyed whatever standing the Patriarchate had among the Orthodox Churches. It is becoming increasingly unthinkable to suggest that the Patriarch could be “first among equals” with the right of initiatives to convene Pan Orthodox gatherings in the future after the destruction that has been caused by his Ukrainian intervention.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate runs on blindness and fails to see that in addition to damaging Orthodox unity it has badly damaged itself in the eyes of the Orthodox world. Having placed the Ecumenical Patriarchate in American hands, Patriarch Bartholomew may have set the stage for its final demise.
2 replies on “Mike Pompeo and the Patriarch”
My opinion is Bartholomew is an old man who should have resigned years ago. He clearly got played by the US State Department and, as you noted, he received nothing in return. The Patriarch has no flock to speak of and resides on a small, inconsequential piece of property in Istanbul. But, beyond the physicalities he has tremendous spiritual and historical significance, he banks on that. And this is exactly what has been diminished by his actions with respect to the Ukraine. His image has not only suffered in Russia, but in Greece and-especially-among the Monasteries of Mt. Athos. Bartholomew couldn’t have done a better job of destroying his reputation if he’d planned it that way. What a tragedy.
When I read of Pompeo visiting him, I wondered what it was all about? The Ukraine card had already been played, the Patriarch was of no more use to the State Department. And, since the Trump Administration seems destined to leave office in January, the visit of their State Department Secretary is almost meaningless to the Turks-who are already playing up to the Biden Administration. Maybe Pompeo showed up to smirk at the Patriarch for his naivte or to throw salt in his wounds. But, I can’t complain too much of he did, this wound is self inflicted. And those always do the most damage.