It has been reported that a prominent bishop at Constantinople has been removed from his Metropolitan see. Metropolitan Athanasios of Calcedon has been removed on the orders of Patriarch Bartholomew. It is still entirely unclear why his Eminence was removed from his position.

News reports have implied there have been disagreements between the Bishop of Calcedon and the Ecumenical Patriarch. The question remains why there is no specific information as to the alleged offenses of the Bishop of Calcedon? Dissension has always been a part of Orthodox ecclesiastical tradition unless dissenting views constituted heresy.

In the past, dissension in the Church came from bishops and priests who were solidly Orthodox and stood in opposition to hierarchs that espoused heresy as their official position. Greek Orthodox faithful have the right to know why Metropolitan Athanasios was removed. One wonders whether it had anything to do with dissenting views on the Ukrainian schism?

Considering that no bishops under Constantinople have expressed any dissenting views on the Ukrainian crisis in over two and a half years, it would be a welcome development if even one hierarch were to express opposition to Constantinople. Assuming the problem here had nothing to do with Ukraine, dissent in the ranks at Constantinople is still welcome considering that the Phanar has adopted an authoritarian streak over the past several years. Since the pseudo-council of Crete the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been crushing opposing views.

During the pseudo-council of Crete in 2016, Bishops of the Patriarchate attempted to bully the highly esteemed Metropolitan of Nafpaktos (Church of Greece) into signing documents that were considered unorthodox. Such pressure tactics have become more common in recent years as the Ecumenical Patriarchate has put forward claims that the Patriarch is “first without equals” in Eastern Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church is conciliar and this necessitates that bishops, priests, theologians, and laypeople have a right to express their views and challenge their hierarchs. Hierarchs have been wrong frequently throughout Church history as can be seen by the example of the iconoclast Patriarchs and bishops.

Whatever the dissension at the Ecumenical Patriarchate was about, it would be a good sign if it were to emerge that a member of the Patriarchal synod actually challenged the Ecumenical Patriarch. If even one dissenting bishop were to challenge Patriarch Bartholomew on his highly authoritarian reign, then perhaps other bishops might speak and the process of resolving the crisis in Orthodoxy (however slowly) could begin.

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!

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has sent a letter to the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of the Czeck Lands and Slovakia protesting that Church’s celebration of the seventy year Tomos of autocephaly it received from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1951. In 1998, the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued its own Tomos of autocephaly to the Church of the Czeck Lands and Slovakia. At the time, this Church sought to ease tensions with Constantinople and apparently agreed to receive a Tomos from Constantinople. A Tomos is bestowed by the Mother Church upon a daughter Church when the latter receives the status of autocephaly.

The dispute in this particular case emanates from Constantinople’s claims that only it can bestow autocephaly to a Church. The issue of autocephaly is actually quite complex and there is no agreement as to who can and cannot bestow autocephaly on a particular Church. In 1970, the Russian Church bestowed autocephaly to one of its Churches in America that is now called “Orthodox Church in America” (OCA). Some Churches recognize the autocephaly of the OCA while others do not.

Even those who do not recognize the autocephaly of the OCA recognize it as being canonical and so is a part of the Orthodox Church. Constantinople does not recognize the OCA’s autocephaly but recognizes it as an autonomous part of the Russian Church. The question of how autocephaly is bestowed and who can bestow autocephaly was complicated enough before the events in Ukraine were undertaken in 2018.

The issue of autocephaly is one in which the Churches can disagree in good faith until an agreement is reached some time in the future. Despite disagreements on the matter of the OCA, Constantinople and Moscow maintained communion and friendly relations. Constantinople’s attempt to bestow autocephaly on schismatics in Ukraine has created much damage within Orthodoxy. It has also complicated the issue of autocephaly which will make it impossible in the near future for all the Churches to agree on how autocephaly should be bestowed.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is opening up old wounds on top of new wounds. The Church of the Czeck Lands and Slovakia has been defacto autocephalous since 1951. Constantinople refrained from recognizing that autocephaly (as was its right) until 1998. Constantinople is within its rights to withhold recognition from a particular Church but does not have the right to bully that Church as it is now doing to the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.

The best way to resolve the issue of autocephaly is to return to the conciliar tradition of the early Church. The Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Cyprus were all bestowed autocephaly by one of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Some Churches such as that of Georgia did not receive autocephaly in this manner but was granted it by the Patriarchate of Antioch.

In order to avoid these never ending disputes, it would be best to convene an Ecumenical Council to resolve the problem of autocephaly. A Council needs to be convened to rule on the Ukrainian crisis anyway! The best solution would be to agree that autocephaly should only be granted by the unanimous agreement of all existing autocephalous Churches.

Patriarch Bartholomew continues to be a destabilizing source in Orthodoxy. His criticism of the Church of the Czeck Lands and Slovakia for commemorating an anniversary on their own territory is petty. The Church of the Czeck Lands and Slovakia is an autocephalous Church which means it does not answer either to Constantinople or Moscow.

Patriarch Bartholomew’s clumsy attempt to bestow autocephaly on schismatics on the territory of another canonical Church remains the real problem in Orthodoxy. The behavior of the Ecumenical Patriarch continues to damage both Orthodox unity and the prestige of the Church of Constantinople.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias raised the issue of Hagia Sophia at a human rights council at the United Nations. Credit should be given to the Greek government for raising awareness of the Turkish government’s deplorable conversion of Saint Justinian’s Church. Except, Minister Dendias referred to Hagia Sophia in the context of culture.

Certainly, it would make sense to mention the cultural significance of Hagia Sophia. But the Minister should have also mentioned it as a source of religion and Christianity as well. Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch until the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453.

The Minister should also have mentioned Hagia Sophia as an important national shrine of the Greek nation as well. Can any Greek forget the men, women, and children who were butchered or taken away into slavery on the day that the Ottoman Turks entered Hagia Sophia? Greek officials must not only raise the issue of Hagia Sophia, they must stress why the Erdogan governments actions are so offensive and provocative not only against the world, but against Orthodox Greeks specifically.

The Ministry of Education in Athens has introduced a sex education program that will be taught to children from kindergarden to high school. The program reportedly will endorse transgender ideology and will portray abortion as perfectly moral. According to news reports, the nuclear family will be heavily criticized and children will be taught to challenge the teaching of their parents.

This is Greece two hundred years after the declaration of the War of Independence against the Turks. This is what is being taught to Greek children at a time when Greek populations on the islands near the coast of Turkey face possible genocide in the event of a Turkish invasion. Why are Greek children being kept ignorant of the heroic struggles of their ancestors who shed their blood in order to ensure the existence of future generations of Orthodox Greeks?

Why are Greek children not learning about the genocide of the Greek populations in Asia Minor by the Turks? Because the Greek government like most of what constitutes the western world is dominated by left wing neo-Marxist ideologues who set the agenda. This is a moral outrage.

The Greek nation suffered horrendously during the centuries of Ottoman Turkish captivity. Generations of Greek boys were abducted by the Ottomans and trained as fighters in the elite fighting force known as the Janissaries. They were forcibly taken from their families, converted to Islam, and turned into fighting machines often to be used against fellow Christians.

Hellenic populations in regions that came to be part of independent Greece survived. There were numerous other regions where large numbers of Greeks managed to survive until they were wiped out in the final wave of genocide that occurred in 1922 and 1923. The parts of the Greek world that managed to survive up to the present day did so because of their Orthodox faith and the institution of the family. Devotion to the Church and the protection of Christ ensured that Greeks would survive the Turkish horrors.

The institution of the family which has come under attack throughout the western world saved the Greek nation along with faith in Christianity. The home was a place of refuge from the Ottoman persecution and discrimination. There is a 1963 film made by Greek American Director Elia Kazan called “America America”. That film features a great scene where the father who is often humiliated by the Turks leads his family in prayer. Without the institution of the family, Greeks could not have survived the long centuries of Ottoman rule.

Greek culture and language could not have survived without the Orthodox Church which reminded the Greek people of a lost history that preceded the coming of the Turks. The divine liturgy and worship was crucial in maintaining the Greek language. The Ottomans themselves as Muslims considered all Christians to be “people of the book”, recipients of an earlier revelation.

For all their brutality and for all the horrors of Ottoman rule, the laws of the Sultan’s Empire made it possible for Christianity to survive even in the midst of persecution. Without the Christian faith, the Greek language and the memories of the pre Turkish past would have faded away. These historical facts are not appreciated by the lunatics at the Greek Ministry of education who want to do away with Christ and to impose the new twenty first century pagan agenda that has ravaged most of the western world.

Around fifteen years ago, the secular and internationalist ideologues in Greece began striking at the history of Greece under the guise of “tolerance” and political correctness. Greek textbooks for schools were to include nice comments about the Janissaries. Educated Greeks who know history are aware that the Greek and Armenian populations in Smyrna were indiscriminately hunted down, raped, tortured , and murdered without mercy by Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers. The Greek textbooks of fifteen years ago attempted to omit the mass slaughter and merely said that the Greeks left Smyrna.

At the time, Archbishop Christodoulos led a mass opposition to the falsification of history in school text books. This was the same charismatic Archbishop who in 2000 led mass demonstrations in opposition to the anti Christian policies of the Socialist Party then in power in Athens. Today, Greek Orthodoxy is led by Patriarch Bartholomew who instigates schisms in Orthodoxy in furtherance of accumulating power, and Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens who has demonstrated he has no back bone to protest anything.

In fairness, it should be recalled that Greece has been under threat by the extreme right as well as the extreme left. For many years, the Neo Nazi Golden Dawn came to dominate neighborhoods in Athens where it proceeded to beat and torture migrants, and to disseminate anti semetic and racist material. Greece has been under a spiritual crisis for some time now.

Golden Dawn however has disappeared from the political scene following its failure to return to Parliament during the last elections. This leaves the extreme left as the sole threat to Christian Greece. Reasonable people can agree that adults should have the right to live as they choose and to undergo any surgery that they like. It is unconscionable however to indoctrinate children into these pagan and anti Christian lifestyles.

Orthodox Christian Greeks are obligated to stand against the Greek Ministry of education as the late Archbishop Christodoulos did. The rainbow flag is the flag of modern paganism. It is incompatible with the blue and and white flag of Greece which displays the Christian cross. Aside from being pagan, the rainbow flag has emerged as the flag of internationalism.

Internationalism is not compatible with the concept and ideals of the nation-state. Every nation is entitled to the preservation of its language, history, culture, borders, and faith. The Greek War of Independence began on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. The destiny of Greece has been bound with the faith of Christ since the arrival of Saints Paul, Andrew, and John the theologian on Greek territory during the first century.

The imposition of LGBTQ ideology in Greek education will attempt to erase the sacred ties that exist between the Greek nation and Christ our God! This cannot be permitted. The men and women who rose up in 1821 did so in order to establish an independent Greece that would preserve Hellenism and the truth of Orthodox Christianity!