Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated that he is not intimidated by false accusations that he is “possessed by a demon and insane”, referring to attacks by the Russian intelligence services. On the contrary, he assured that he “will wait with love and patience for the return of his ‘children from the North’ who have risen against him”.

The Patriarch said this in his address on February 6 while commemorating Saint Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople and co-founder of the Holy Trinity Monastery on Halki, where the historic Theological School is located, Orthodox Times reports.

Bartholomew noted that in an age when the clash of arms resounds in many parts of the world and humanity is increasingly overshadowed by fear and uncertainty, the Great Church of Christ remains unshaken, illumined by the light of incarnate love, just as in the time of Saint Photios. The cold winds of hostility cannot extinguish the warmth of its heart. With patience and compassion, the Ecumenical Patriarchate awaits the return of its children, extending its embrace to them in the spirit of the Crucified Lord.

“Despite the cries of ungrateful children, despite false accusations that the Patriarch is ‘possessed by a demon and insane’, the Patriarchate does not abandon the Cross. This is the timeless message of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: we are not intimidated, we remain steadfast in our struggle on the Cross, where Divine Providence has placed us, in order to defend the sacred shrines and the temples of faith,” Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized.

As LF previously reported, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service issued a press release claiming that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, described as “the devil incarnate” and “the Antichrist”, has “fixed his black eye” on the Baltic states in order, with the support of British intelligence services, to “push out Russian Orthodoxy” and impose “puppet structures”.

According to information from LF, the Synod of the Australian Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate condemned the accusations made by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service against Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, calling them false and disgraceful.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated in an interview with the newspaper Ta Nea Savvatokyriako that he is not intimidated by the filthy Russian slander directed against him and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, adding that it is the Russians who should fear Judgment Day, if they still believe in God.