Categories
political

Henry Kissinger

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died. Kissinger supported the military dictators of Greece and encouraged the anti Makarios coup in Cyprus and the subsequent Turkish invasions. Greeks will forever associate him with the loss of Cyprus. A thoroughly immoral and unscrupulous individual, Kissinger is the perfect example of how statesmen are mafia figures at a much higher and more sophisticated level.

Kissinger was born Jewish in the Weimar Republic and was ten years old when Hitler came to power. His family fled Germany just before the pogroms of Kristaalnacht in November 1938. Kissinger experienced the brutality of living as an oppressed minority in a totalitarian state and despite this lacked any empathy for the victims of dictatorships. Aside from supporting the dictatorship in Greece, Kissinger supported Augusto Pinochet’s fascist regime in Chile and was a backer of the Shah’s dictatorship in Iran.

The best indictment of Kissinger came from the late Christopher Hitchens in his book, “The Trial of Henry Kissinger”. Hitchens got tired of seeing journalists like Ted Koppel treating Kissinger as a statesman rather than as a thug and wrote an article that became the aforementioned book calling for Kissinger to be tried as a war criminal. The Hitchens book has a list of Kissinger’s crimes which include his offenses against Greece and Cyprus.

Hitchens of course wrote a previous book, “Hostage to History” about Cyprus which documented Kissinger’s crimes against Cyprus. More recently, the late Eugene Rossides wrote a book, “Kissinger and Cyprus a study in lawlessness”. We will not be forgetting Kissinger’s criminal legacy in Cyprus.

Ironically, Kissinger came to be disliked by the neoconservatives. Kissinger was a thug, but he was an intelligent thug and not a fanatic unlike the neoconservatives. Kissinger opposed the wars against Serbia in the Balkans and more recently opposed NATO actions against Russia.

Kissinger understood the realities of the world and had he been Secretary of State in 2003, there might have been no Iraq war. He was more intelligent than his successors such as Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, or Condoleeza Rice. Kissinger knew he was a thug and despite his lack of ethics and morality, his form of diplomacy would have made the wars in Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Ukraine unlikely.

Greece and Cyprus continue the struggle to undo Kissinger’s legacy. The Kurds will also remember him. Kissinger sold out the Iraqi Kurds in the 1970’s who were massacred by the Baathist regime.


Categories
Letters

Letter To UNESCO


To Miss/Msrs. Liouliou 

I am writing to you once again to bring to the attention of UNESCO the ongoing desecration and defilement of the great Hagia Sophia Church-Museum of Constantinople.
Latest news reports refer to the latest problems that Hagia Sophia suffers as a result of official government policies aimed at the Ottomanization of this Greek Orthodox 
shrine. The latest news about Hagia Sophia include dire warnings that the dome may very well collapse in the event of an earthquake. Pieces of the ceiling above are 
reportedly falling to the ground. 

The floor of Hagia Sophia has previously been reported as having been damaged. The Imperial gates through which Greek Orthodox Emperors of Constantinople once entered the Church to worship Christ have been damaged. Also, it was previously reported that the walls are being damaged because too many people are being 
permitted to enter the Church-Museum on a daily basis.

On 1 December 2021, you kindly responded to a previous letter that I had sent and referred me to a published report that UNESCO had done in the aftermath of the 
Ottomanization of Hagia Sophia. I thank you for your letter and for referring me to that report. I further request an update regarding UNESCO’s activities aimed at monitoring activities within Hagia Sophia and would like to ask what is being done for the preservation of Hagia Sophia?

If the present destruction of Hagia Sophia continues, the entire Church-Museum could be permanently lost. For the secular world, this would mean the loss of a world heritage site. Admittedly, a very serious loss. For those of us of Orthodox Christian faith and Greek ancestry, the destruction of Hagia Sophia would be even more catastrophic as this Church is the center of our spiritual heritage. 

All scholars and experts on Hagia Sophia are aware that the Great Church is named for Christ himself and for this alone Christians are horrified and appalled by the callous and insensitive attitude of the Turkish government which insisted on the deChristianization of Hagia Sophia. I respectfully ask that UNESCO continue not only to monitor the desecration of Hagia Sophia, but that the organization actively work to protest and condemn all actions in Hagia Sophia that have taken place over the past three years, and which continue to take place.

Thank you 

Theodore Karakostas 
Author and Greek Orthodox theologian 
Boston, MA

Categories
faith

Hagia Sophia Diaries 31

Greek City Times reports on the risk that the dome of Hagia Sophia could collapse in the event of an earthquake. It is asserted that pieces from the ceiling are falling because of the humidity caused by too many visitors. This is an indictment of the appalling mistreatment of the Great Church by the Erdogan government.

It will be a loss for the world if Hagia Sophia is destroyed. It will be a bigger loss to Orthodox Christians and Greeks specifically if the damage to Hagia Sophia continues unabated. There is still time for UNESCO and the academic community to raise their voices.

The fight for Hagia Sophia did not end when the conversion took place during the summer of 2020. While there has been serious damage to the Church-Museum, Hagia Sophia still exists and remains worth fighting for. The academic community remained silent in the run up to the conversion of Hagia Sophia. The historians and scholars of Byzantium can speak up now.

Categories
political

Britain Snubs Mitsotakis

British Prime Minister Rushi Sunak cancelled a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Greek Prime Minister is rightfully offended, but he should not be surprised. The British are not now and have never been friends of Greece.

There are many Englishmen who have been philhellenes ranging from Lord Byron to Christopher Hitchens. There are many academics who have love Hellenism and Byzantium. However, the British government is no friend of Greece or Hellenism.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis gave an interview in which he asserted Greece’s justifiable claims to the Parthenon marbles. The British Prime Minister not being content with asserting British claims arrogantly cancelled a scheduled meeting with Mitsotakis who is visiting London. Greece should find a diplomatic way of retaliating by expelling one or two British diplomats from Greece.

The British snub should not be permitted to go unanswered. Greek leaders with an inferiority complex in awe of Europe and all things western have forgotten the role of the British (and other western powers) in Greece’s defeat in Asia Minor in 1922.

The British role in Cyprus is especially evil. The British invited Turkey to have a say in Cyprus during the 1950’s in order to stop EOKA’s heroic campaign to achieve union between Cyprus and Greece. Many Greek Cypriots ended up at the end of a British rope at that time.

Sherrie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair was a lawyer for British citizens who have “purchased” the homes of Greek Cypriots in occupied Cyprus. The British up to the present time are playing a destructive role in Cyprus.

Mitsotakis has harmed relations with Russia and Iran in order to curry favor with the west. This snub by the British should be a lesson as to how poorly Greece is looked upon not only by the British, but by the west as a whole. At a minimum, Athens needs to call in the British ambassador to lodge a protest and needs to consider expelling British diplomats in retaliation for the snub.


Categories
political

Another Great Candidate


Vivek Ramaswamy has emerged as a great Presidential candidate for the Republican nomination. First, his recent article in the American Conservative about the genocide perpetrated by Azerbaijan against the Armenians was fantastic. Ramaswamy has also been vocal in debates and in interviews about the Armenians.

Greek Americans should take notice. Pro Armenian candidates will translate to Pro Greek candidates. Furthermore, like Trump Ramaswamy is an America firster who rejects empire and an aggressive warmongering foreign policy. Advocates of foreign wars and empire will by necessity embrace Turkey. The best way to cut off Turkey is to vote for anti interventionist candidates against foreign wars. That there is a candidate espousing the Armenian cause is even better.

In addition, Ramaswamy has condemned the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the regime in Kiev. Ramaswamy specifically mentioned the Church persecution in a debate. Ramaswamy has pointed out the Nazi ties of Ukrainian President Zelensky.

This is a man very well informed about history and foreign affairs. He is a superior candidate to neoconservative stooges such as Nikki Haley and Ron Desantis. Desantis is a good man and has governed Florida well. His heroic fight against LGTB ideology deserves praise. His foreign policy credentials however are lacking.

So Trump and Ramaswamy represent the two strongest candidates for President. A ticket of Trump and Ramaswamy for Vice President would be a dream ticket. Ramaswamy’s candidacy means that Trump’s ideas are catching on. Of course, the anti war and anti empire stance in recent history was espoused by the now retired Patrick Buchanan.

In any case, the fight against the neocons and warmongers (friends of Turkey) is alive. Trump’s ideas are catching on and it will be a great legacy if the Republican Party maintains an anti war and anti empire posture in the post Trump era.



Categories
Letters

Letter To Deputy Secretary Of State





Dear Deputy Secretary of State,

My name is Theodore Karakostas and I am an American of Greek Orthodox faith. I wish to protest the brutal and vicious crackdown against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (not to be confused with the artificially created Orthodox Church of Ukraine) by the Ukrainian authorities. This letter is not political but is intended as a public declaration of my Orthodox Christian faith. There are at least four bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who are being prosecuted by the Ukrainian government.

In addition to this, there are dozens of Churches that have been seized by the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” and its followers from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church through violent and brutal means and clergy and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have been assaulted. I am aware of the horrific crisis emanating as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. I am opposed to the war in Ukraine and believe war can never be justified through faith as Orthodoxy does not endorse either jihads or Crusades.

The persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been under way since long before February 2022. Several years before the Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities began persecuting the Ukrainian Church. Much of what has transpired results from the decision of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to grant “autocephaly” to the Church in Ukraine. Firstly, as a matter of Canon Law and Orthodox ecclesiology Patriarch Bartholomew had and has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of autocephalous Orthodox Churches.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been a part of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1686 and no sinister connotations can or should be inferred by the Moscow Patriarchate’s jurisdiction over Ukraine. If we are going to link ecclesiastical jurisdiction and borders with politics, American and other western officials should be reminded that the Vatican was once under the rule of Mussolini and later the Nazi occupation of Rome. American and other western governments never attempted to take away any parts of the Catholic Church from the Papacy.

Under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the State Department violated the religious freedom not just of members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but of all Orthodox Christians everywhere. In addition to Mr. Pompeo, former Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt overstepped his bounds when he interfered
blatantly in the internal affairs of the Orthodox Church of Greece. At one point, Ambassador Pyatt gave a speech at the Greek office of Foreign Affairs in which he commented on the Greek Church’s position on Ukrainian Church matters. Such comments on internal Church matters are profoundly insulting to Orthodox Christians as American officials are treating the true Church of Christ like some political party of non governmental organization.

Orthodox Christians believe the Orthodox Church is the true Church founded by Christ in the Gospel. The purpose of the Church is to serve as a hospital for sinners and not to serve political interests (especially that of an administration that is now scandalously promoting the abuse of children through the
neo pagan LGBT agenda). Some of us have become uneasy about remaining members in the dioceses under the Ecumenical Patriarchate as a result of the Patriarch’s violation of Orthodox canon law in Ukraine and the State Department’s involvement in the matter.

Within the United States itself, it is unconstitutional for the government to make a declaration about any particular faith. Yet, the State Department’s support for the defacto partition of the Russian Orthodox Church and the establishment of the illegitimate “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” is an intrusion into Church affairs as the Department has effectively declared what constitutes a “Church”. The State Department has effectively determined that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not only invalid but deserves to be actively persecuted and outlawed as the government of Kiev is attempting to outlaw the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

There is a great deal of misery and grief that has resulted from this entire Church issue in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church is hampered from serving its spiritual mission as long as secular interests interfere with it. The Ukrainian Church as mentioned above has been part of the Russian Church since 1686 and its status is not something that came about recently. The idea that the Russian Church is serving some sort of sinister political plot is blatantly false. The Orthodox Church might have very well come together to actively oppose the war in Ukraine had Patriarch Bartholomew not recklessly invaded the ecclesiastical territory of Ukraine that does not belong to Constantinople.

The canonical territory of all local Orthodox Churches are determined by canon law and the conciliar traditions of the Orthodox Church. These matters are outside the scope and interests of the foreign policy establishment. Patriarch Bartholomew has created the worst schism in the Orthodox Church since the eleventh century. Orthodox Christians (including myself) are bitterly criticizing him over his policies which are motivated by his hunger for power.

I respectfully and humbly request from your office two things. First, to condemn the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on moral and legal grounds. The State Department has supported the creation of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” under the pretext of religious freedom. Religious freedom means that all individuals should be free to worship where and how they wish to. This means Ukrainians should be free to attend either the Ukrainian Orthodox Church or the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. Let individuals worship where they please.

The second request is to ask that your office take the initiative to disavow any interference in the internal affairs of the Orthodox Church. This means no further commentaries or actions in terms of what constitutes an Orthodox Church. The State Department should be neutral and not side with any faction within Orthodoxy. This means disavowing support for Patriarch Bartholomew’s claims of authority over the Orthodox Church which are rejected by many Orthodox bishops, priests, theologians, monastics, and laypeople.

The United States can not claim to support religious freedom when it in effect presumes to declare what is or is not a legitimate Church as it has done in Ukraine. These actions in Ukraine have reverberated throughout the whole of Orthodoxy and in my particular case has seriously disrupted my spiritual life as the threat of a great Church schism remains.

I respectfully ask that the State Department return to its role as a neutral observer and respect the religious traditions and boundaries of the Orthodox Church as they have stood for many centuries.

Thank you

Theodore Karakostas


I

Categories
faith

Greece And The Archbishop Of America

The Greek government reportedly is concerned about Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and divisions in the Greek American community. There are several factors to consider. The major interest of Greece was the participation of Archbishop Elpidophoros at the Turkish cultural center two years ago when the guests included the leader of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus.

Archbishop Elpidophoros should be removed for a variety of offenses. These include his participation in the aforementioned Turkish event but mostly for ecclesiastical and theological offenses. The Archbishop gained notoriety ten years ago when he suggested the Ecumenical Patriarch was “first without equals” in Orthodoxy with universal jurisdiction. This became more problematic after Patriarch Bartholomew claimed Ukraine as his own territory with the right to create an autocephalous Church.

In addition, the Archbishop held a liturgy at an Episcopal Cathedral which would be problematic even without that denominations embrace of Neo pagan LGBT ideology. The removal of the Archbishop would be a good start but Greece and Greeks cannot ignore the problem of Patriarch Bartholomew.

It was Patriarch Bartholomew who selected the present Archbishop. Patriarch Bartholomew divided Orthodoxy through his actions in Ukraine and specifically created divisions on Mount Athos and within the Greek speaking Churches of Greece and Cyprus.

Athens should be concerned about American involvement in the affairs of the Churches of Constantinople and Greece. Athens should intercede to drive out State Department involvement in Greek Church and diplomatic affairs. In any case, changing the Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of America is a good place to begin cleaning up Greek Church affairs.

Categories
cinema

The New Exorcist

Exorcist Believer

Directed by

David Gordon Green

Warning Spoilers

On the bright side, “Exorcist Believer” is nowhere near as bad “Exorcist 2 the Heretic” which was the first sequel to “The Exorcist” released in 1977. On the negative side, this is a terrible movie. The original film based on the novel by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin remains a masterpiece.

The creators of this most recent sequel missed the whole point of the original film and the novel it was adapted from. The original film was the most sophisticated horror film ever made that understood the power of faith and the conflict of good and evil. The original film’s greatness emanates from the fact that the film dealing with the supernatural was dealt with as a real drama.

Friedkin himself said he did not consider “The Exorcist” a horror film. A horror film it most definitely was considering the subject matter based on a demonically possessed child. It was also a serious drama that dealt with themes that theologians must inevitably address. The question of human suffering both spiritually and physically, and the struggle to maintain one’s faith in an increasingly secular and dark world. The question of guilt and grief humanized the characters of the original film.

This film has none of that. The first half of the film is watchable and compelling. I was interested enough to wonder where the story would lead. In short, two girls get lost in the woods and disappear for three days.

One of these lost her mother at the time of her birth and wanted to communicate with her. The mother before her death was blessed by some sort of occult priestess. The references to the occult were a good touch but this never played out.

There is an implication in the first film that twelve year old Regan McNeill might have raised a demon after playing with Ouija board. This is never affirmed but viewers of the film can speculate. The implication in the new film suggests (or I misinterpreted) something similar was at work.

The first sign of trouble is the decision to have two girls possessed. As if the makers of the film thought they could make it twice as scary. The original film avoided such tactics.

The most interesting idea was to bring back Ellen Burstyn to resume her role as Chris McNeill. Unfortunately, they trashed the character. In the original, Burstyn was great as the distressed mother, a secular woman frustrated by doctors and psychiatrists to the point where she seeks out a priest to conduct an exorcism on her daughter.

In this film, Chris McNeill says she was not permitted to be present at Regan’s exorcism because of “the patriarchy”. This line more than any other mistakes indicate that Director Green and others had no business making a sequel to the original classic. This line demonstrated a failure to understand the theological and spiritual basis of the novel and original film.

Further on, attempts are made to turn the film into a slasher film which makes it even stupider. Fathers Karras and Merrin in the original gave their lives to save Regan spiritually and physically. Chris McNeill would never dismiss them as she does with that line about the “patriarchy”.

There is an exorcism of both girls at the same time and this is the worst exorcism ever to be shown in an exorcism movie. It is also a ridiculous interfaith exorcism as Chris McNeill suggests a form of people power and not faith in God can drive the demon out. What transpired with the parents of one girl is vile and totally pointless. The parents express willingness to let the other girl die!

Chris McNeill is mutilated in a totally stupid scene and the pathetic priest that shows up gets murdered. In the original film, a murder takes place that heightens the tension and the drama. It takes place offscreen as it is not necessary to show it as the progression of Regan’s possession is enough to show us the true horror and evil of the devil/demon.

The exorcism scene could have had everyone sing “we are the world” and it would not have been any more stupid. There is even a pagan priestess participating in the exorcism. This is a terrible film. The second worst film in the series.

Any director who has made a film with Seth Rogan should not be hired to make movies in “The Exorcist” series. This film fares badly not only in comparison to Friedkin’s masterpiece. There are other films such as “The Last Exorcism”, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, “Requiem”, and this years “The Pope’s Exorcist” which were much better than this mess.



Categories
political

Zelensky’s Nazi Connections

Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been criticized for calling Ukrainian President Zelensky a Nazi. The evidence shows that Zelensky has remarkably high tolerance for supporters of Nazi ideology First, Zelensky has honored the memory of Nazi collaborator and war criminal Stephan Banderas.

This enraged the government of Poland whose territory was occupied by the pro Nazi Banderites who murdered 100,000 Poles. When Zelensky addressed the Greek Parliament through Zoom or FaceTime he declared he was going to permit an ethnic Greek from Ukraine to address the Greek Parliament. Instead, a Neo Nazi addressed the Greeks which enraged former Prime Ministers Samaras and Tsipras.

Long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were reports of Neo Nazis in the Ukrainian Army. Last September, the Canadian Parliament honored a Ukrainian Nazi collaborator and war criminal. When the scandal broke, the Speaker of Parliament was compelled to resign. Zelensky was not only present when the Nazi was honored, he was applauding the war criminal.

Politicians and the media refused to suggest Zelensky was partially responsible for the debacle. In Greece, Samaras and Tsipras also failed to blame Zelensky for bringing a Neo Nazi to address the Greek Parliament.

Zelensky’s Nazi associations are indisputable and so Ramaswamy should not only not be criticized for calling Zelensky a Nazi, he should be praised.



Categories
political

Gaza

Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel has every right to strike at Hamas. Hamas indiscriminately murdered 1,400 Israeli citizens and took two hundred hostages. There is no question Israel is right on Hamas.

The problem however is that Israel is striking civilians in Gaza. The bombing of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius and a cultural center were not Hamas havens. There is a humanitarian crisis involving Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Most of those expressing concerns about civilians in Gaza are not supporters of Hamas. On the other hand, there are extreme leftists who do support Hamas. Black Lives Matter leaders have stated that they support the eradication of Israel.

But not everyone expressing concern for Gaza supports the deranged views of Black Lives Matter. Many Palestinians are Christians and are suffering in Gaza as are Muslims. Civilians are not responsible for the actions of Hamas.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios of Gaza has stated he will not leave Gaza and will stay and provide relief for residents of all faiths. There is a larger picture here than that which the neocons are depicting at National Review and elsewhere.