Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has said that he is not intimidated by dirty Russian slander directed against him and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
He made the remarks in an interview with the newspaper Ta Nea Savvatokyriako, noting that it is the Russians who should fear Judgment Day, if they still believe in God, Orthodox Times reports.
Asked whether he feels concern or fear because of Russian attacks, Patriarch Bartholomew replied that Moscow’s propaganda does not intimidate him.
“Russian propaganda does not frighten me. I am not afraid of false and fabricated information that they spread, nor of the dirty attacks organized by various agencies, nor of the slander directed against the Patriarchate and against me, nor of Russian internet trolls, nor of their mouthpieces.
Whatever they do to conceal the truth, they will not be able to hide it. They will also not be able to deceive everyone forever. I am not afraid of them. Rather, it is they who should fear Judgment Day, if they truly believe in God,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said.
According to him, the Moscow Patriarchate will still have to answer for the war in Ukraine, for having called it “holy,” and for its attempts to fracture Orthodox unity by using Stalinist propaganda tactics.
“They seek to create a Russia controlled hybrid, a construct that has no genuine relationship to Orthodoxy. That is why they accuse Constantinople of exactly what they themselves are doing, judging others by their own actions,” Bartholomew is quoted as saying.
The Patriarch also notes that a recent statement by Russian intelligence services not only showed how far propaganda is prepared to go, but also exposed urbi et orbi who truly controls the Church in Russia.
Commenting on the issue of peace negotiations on Ukraine, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew emphasizes that he constantly prays for an end to wars and conflicts. At the same time, he stresses that this war is by no means “holy,” but expansionist and demonic.
“What is deeply troubling is that the architects and supporters of the so called ‘Russian world’ do not hesitate to instrumentalize religious feelings and to distort Orthodox theology and tradition by calling this war holy. The victims of this war to date number in the tens of thousands, including young soldiers on both sides, civilians, and, tragically, many small children.
As I have stated before, I am equally saddened that church figures have accepted and repeated this impious and heretical narrative, clearly under the diktat of political power, possibly in exchange for multifaceted support provided by various propaganda mechanisms and services. No, this war is not holy, it is expansionist. It is absolutely demonic, the product of vainglorious people addicted to the opium of power,” the Patriarch notes.
He is confident that peace can and must return to Ukraine, but that it must be based on respect for its national independence and supported by a comprehensive reconstruction plan.
“Only then can a bright future be ensured for all Ukrainians and, undoubtedly, for our Orthodox brothers and sisters, who, united, must act together to achieve this common goal.
The First Throne Church of Constantinople, from which many peoples received the gift of baptism, including modern Ukrainians and Russians, fervently and with all its strength prays to Christ, the Prince of Peace, to put an end to this bloodshed and to restore peace once again,” the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized.
As previously reported by LF, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service issued a press release claiming that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, described as “the devil in the flesh” and an “antichrist,” had “fixed his black eye” on the Baltic states in order, with the support of British intelligence services, to “oust Russian Orthodoxy” and impose “puppet structures.”
According to LF, the Synod of the Australian Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate condemned the accusations by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service against Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, calling them false and disgraceful.
