Reports have indicated for quite some time that Patriarch Bartholomew will be visiting Ukraine sometime in 2021. Latest developments regarding the Patriarchal visit to Ukraine suggest that the Patriarch of Alexandria and the Archbishops of Cyprus and Greece will accompany the Patriarch to Kiev where they will most likely concelebrate the divine liturgy with the unordained lay person known as Sergei Dimenko. There are several disturbing aspects about these reports if they are true.
If the primates of four Greek speaking Churches meet with and concelebrate with the impostor “bishop” of Ukraine it can only be construed as a serious insult directed at the Russian Orthodox Church. There will be nothing religious or spiritual about such activities. This will simply be a politically motivated attack against Russia.
Patriarch Bartholomew has exploited Greek Orthodox faithful from around the world. I love the Church and city of Constantinople but I love Christ and the holy gospel more. Patriarch Bartholomew has proceeded to drag the the Greek speaking Churches into his war on Russia and to make them accomplices in the plan to dismember the Russian Church. It is a tragedy beyond comprehension that the primates of the Churches of Alexandria, Greece, and Cyprus have joined Constantinople in trampling upon the sacred canons of the Church by recognizing laymen posing as Orthodox bishops.
Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens is a moral coward. An unworthy successor of his two predecessors Archbishops Serapheim and Christodoulos. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and Archbishop Chrysostom of Cyprus once supported the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the synod of Metropolitan Onuphry. Their defections are tragic and disturbing. Considering the dramatic reversal of their previous stances there can be no question that something has been happening behind closed doors.
The Greek Orthodox world is in a very sorry state. Never before in my lifetime have the Greek Churches been in such a state of crisis. Then there is the state of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America which has been mired in scandal after scandal over the past several years.
Patriarch Bartholomew has done everything he can to provoke conflict between the Greek Churches and the Russian Church. Greek Orthodox Christians should not support any of these policies. The Russians and Ukrainians are our brothers and sisters in the faith. Patriarch Bartholomew does not represent me and he does have the right to conduct these nefarious activities under the Greek flag.
As a Greek, I also look forward to the celebrations of the two hundredth anniversary of the Greek War of Independence. It is unfortunate that the Phanariots in New York are playing a leading role in the celebrations. We should all keep in mind that while we celebrate the heroism and bravery of the Greeks who fought against the Ottoman Turks in a long and bloody struggle, that Greek independence remains seriously compromised.
That former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and “Ambassador” Geoffrey Pyatt can influence both Church and State in Greece proves the realities in Greece today are less than ideal. At a time when Greece and Cyprus face existential threats from Turkish aggression and expansionism the last thing the Greeks needed was an inter Orthodox war with the Russians.
Patriarch Bartholomew and some of his supporters have been making chauvinistic and outright racist comments about non Greeks. Such statements deserve condemnation by Christian Greeks as they contradict the spirit of the gospel and the historic experience of the Greek nation. It should be remembered that the Greek Orthodox Church has always condemned racism and the greatest example of this comes from the defiant letter of Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens to the General of the Nazi SS when he expressed support for the Jews of Greece while denouncing Nazi racial theories.
For twenty seven years, Patriarch Bartholomew has never uttered a word about the Turkish occupation of Cyprus nor against the acts of Turkish aggression against Greece. When Patriarch Bartholomew started his ecclesiastical war against the Russian Church in Ukraine, he proceeded to so under cover of the Greek flag. This is a dishonor to the Greek flag.
The Churches of Greece, Cyprus, and Alexandria have been compromised enough and should not participate in any activities in Ukraine. If their primates wish to visit Ukraine they should do so in a spirit of repentance and should seek forgiveness from the bishops of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. If the Greek speaking world loves the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the spiritual heritage of Constantinople (as I do) then it is time to hold Patriarch Bartholomew accountable for his actions in Ukraine.
Back in 1973, there was a synod of the Eastern Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem that presided over a dispute within the Church of Cyprus. A similar synod took place in Australia in 1993 over actions undertaken by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and was attended by representatives of the Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, and Greece. Perhaps such a synod of the Greek Churches need to meet to sort out the problems that Patriarch Bartholomew has created for them by dragging them into his vendetta against the Russian Church.
Whatever happens, if the primates of the Churches of Greece, Cyprus, and Alexandria join Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine, the schism that has been in effect since 2018 will get much worse. May the Lord enlighten them!
One reply on “Taunting the Russians”
Very disappointing behavior from the Patriarch. He apparently thinks he’s the Pope of the Orthodox Churches? His office only has ecclesiastical power through the respect of the Orthodox masses, when he loses that he’ll have nothing. Very unwise.