Orthodox Reflections

By Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America

Americans tend to have an overly optimistic view of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protection of religious freedom. The average American truly believes the Constitution prohibits the Federal Government both from establishing a state church, and from meddling in the affairs of religious institutions. Americans generally have a hard time believing that their government would purposefully infiltrate and manipulate religions in pursuit of national security objectives.

Unfortunately, whether they want to believe it or not, Elon Musk’s DOGE endeavor has forced Americans to face a very unpleasant fact. American tax dollars have been routinely used for global social engineering projects intent on transforming entire societies, including their religious institutions. For Orthodox Christians, this is nothing new. The U.S. National Security State has already been at war with the Orthodox Church for decades.

Political scientist and former National Security Advisor of the United States Zbigniew Brzeziński, in his 1997 book The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, wrote:

“After the victory over communism, we need a split of Orthodoxy and the breakdown of Russia, and Ukraine, where betrayal is the norm of public morality, will help us in this.”

Notice when Brzeziński wrote that? He wrote it three years before Vladimir Putin became president of Russia. Bumbling drunk Boris Yeltsin was in office at the time, and Russia was practically lying prostrate on the world stage. The Orthodox Church herself was only just beginning to recover from decades of official atheism. Even under such conditions, however, Russia and the Russian Church were already seen as threats to be dealt with through disunity and isolation.

With his record in academia and government service, Brzeziński is the ultimate insider. He even co-founded the infamous Trilateral Commission in July 1973 with David Rockefeller. Brzeziński’s recommendation of splitting the Orthodox Church was obviously adopted by the U.S. National Security State (a.k.a. the Deep State). We can see that clearly enough in Ukraine, but there are examples all over the world. Even inside America, Orthodoxy is subject to government intrusion. First Amendment protections be damned.

As Brzeziński’s book makes clear, splitting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Russian Orthodox Church was a longstanding U.S. foreign policy objective. An objective pursued even though the Ukrainian Church’s ties to the Russian Church were purely symbolic. The Moscow Patriarchate had no involvement in the government of the UOC whatsoever. Even so, in an effort to bolster his presidential campaign, Petro Poroshenko worked with the U.S. to form the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in 2019. The OCU was formed as a merger of two sects which had broken away from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). These sects were the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, which broke away in 1992, and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which separated itself most recently in 1989. Poroshenko had risen to power in 2014 as a result of the CIA-backed “Maiden Uprising” in Ukraine, which saw the ousting of Ukraine’s democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovych.

The involvement of the U.S. in founding OCU, and the subsequent persecution of the UOC, is well known at this point. The quote below is from an article on The American Conservative website entitled Zelensky vs. the Ukrainian Orthodox Church:

The State Department and politicians of both parties carried out work to promote the new church. Two months before the creation of the OCU in 2018, Filaret and Epifaniy met in the United States with Joe Biden, who declared his gratitude for their work. State Department Ambassador for Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and special representative for Ukraine Ambassador Kurt Volker declared their support for this project.

 

Immediately after its creation, the OCU received its first official congratulations from the State Department and the U.S. Embassy. At the same time, Ambassador Brownback and the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt—who was also ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016—visited church leaders and Mount Athos to urge them to recognize the OCU. Both Ambassador Volker and Secretary Pompeo met with Epifaniy many times. All facts indicate that the promotion of the OCU was part of U.S. policy in Ukraine.

In the years leading up to the 2019 unification council in Ukraine, both Joseph Biden and John McCain—among other Washington elites—were on the record as supporting an ‘independent’ Orthodox Church in the Republic of Ukraine. The OCU’s formation was greeted with jubilation by the U.S. intelligence community. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo issued the following statement:

The January 6th announcement of autocephaly for an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine marks a historic achievement as Ukraine seeks to chart its own future. On this momentous occasion, the United States reiterates its unwavering support for a sovereign, independent Ukraine.

2019 is the same year that Zelensky came to power. Just months after his election, a group called the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, funded by USAID, warned Zelensky that any failure to promote the OCU and to combat the UOC “will inevitably lead to political instability.” The message to Zelensky was crystal clear – support the schismatic church and suppress the canonical church or face possible regime change, just like Yanukovych.

None of what the U.S. did in Ukraine would have been possible without the active assistance of the Patriarch of Constantinople. It was Bartholomew that issued the tomos (grant) of autocephaly that gave a veneer of legitimacy to the formation of OCU, and the subsequent persecution of the canonical UOC. This was not a beneficial move for the Patriarch. Not only was it an embarrassing reversal of a previously long-held policy of supporting the UOC, but the move was also unpopular among Orthodox Christians globally. Among Orthodox Churches, opposition to the schismatic OCU is widespread and very damaging to Constantinople’s reputation. Even some bishops under Constantinople, such as Metropolitan Kallistos Ware (one of the most celebrated Orthodox theologians of modern times), heavily criticized the Patriarch and repeatedly expressed support for the UOC.

So why would the Patriarch of Constantinople grant the tomos if it weren’t really the best thing for either Ukraine or himself? Most observers had long assumed that the Patriarch had been pressured into complying with U.S. demands because of his dependence on U.S. support against the Turkish government. The Patriarchate and U.S. intelligence have a long-standing and quite public cooperative relationship. Athenagoras Spyrou, as Archbishop of America, is known to have first established ties with Washington. According to declassified documents, in 1942 Athenagoras told an OSS agent: “I have three Bishops, three hundred priests and a large and far flung organization. Every one under my order is under yours. You may command them for any service you require. There will be no questions asked and your directions will be executed faithfully.” The U.S. later installed Athenagoras as the Patriarch of Constantinople in the 1950s. He was also a Masonic brother of President Truman. From then on, Constantinople was looked on by Washington as a reliable ally.

The ‘special’ relationship between Constantinople and the U.S. was fully on display during Archbishop Elpiophoros’ recent stomach-churningly obsequious display of fealty to President Trump. Archbishop Elpidophoros was practically a Democratic partisan in 2016 and 2020. In 2024, Elpidophoros strove to be more balanced, but no one closely observing him thought his heart was really in the effort. However, Elpidophoros in March of 2025 bestowed a gold cross on Trump, effusively comparing him to the Emperor Constantine, and crediting Trump with all kinds of achievements which are not real. To hear Elpidophoros talk at the White House, Trump is practically the Orthodox enlightener of America bringing peace and salvation to the world.

Mr. President, we especially thank you for your commitment to Christianity and especially the Christians of the Middle East, who keep Christianity alive and thriving in the lands of its origin.

 

As sons and daughters of the Mother Church of Constantinople, whose longest serving leader in history is His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, we thank you for your unwavering support of the spiritual mission of our Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

 

Mr. President, you lead the world in championing freedom and peace between all People. We are very grateful to you for your support of Greece and your support for the cause of justice in Cyprus.
Through your leadership, you embody the values of our Christian faith and a love for the Gospel. You remind me of the great Roman Emperor Constantine, who founded and built the magnificent city of Constantinople – my birthplace, known today as Istanbul.

 

It is my great honor to present you with this Holy Cross, the very symbol that led Emperor Constanine to victory. As Christ revealed to him in a vision, “Ἐν τούτῳ νίκα”—“Go with this and be victorious” This Cross is an everlasting symbol of peace and an invincible trophy, a sign of divine strength and guidance.

 

With this Cross, I pray you bring peace to the world, and make America invincible!

Why would a bishop that marched with BLM, and has endorsed every single Woke narrative since 2016, suddenly kiss Trump’s ass to an extent way more than would be required for mere politeness? Simple. Elpidophoros wants to be Patriarch of Constantinople, a job likely to become available in the next three years. The key to getting that job is American support. That is how the game is played. Never mind that Trump is actually waging war, not bringing peace, or that his administration’s actions threaten to completely destroy the dwindling Christian populations left in the Middle East. No matter the truth, Elpidophoros will bend the knee to Trump. Constantinople does not belong to Democrats or Republicans, but to the American National Security State as a whole.

So we all clearly understood in 2018/19 that Constantinople was doing Washington’s bidding as a long-standing security asset. We figured that getting recognition for the schismatic OCU probably involved some combination of U.S. threats, promises (Constantinople is always eager for more power), and perhaps even blackmail. There were serious reports at the time of financial improprieties that would be ‘forgiven’ should the Patriarch play ball in Ukraine.

However, even the most jaded among us failed to suspect that there could be an additional reason for the Patriarch betraying the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. His ‘All Holiness’ Patriarch Bartholomew was also apparently bribed.

On March 25th, Former CIA officer John Kiriakou claimed in an interview with American blogger Julian Dorey that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople had received money for establishing the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). According to him, Hillary Clinton, while serving as U.S. Secretary of State, asked Patriarch Bartholomew to declare the Ukrainian Church autocephalous so that it “would no longer be subject to the whims of the Russian Patriarch.”

Kiriakou stated that the Patriarch initially did not consider it a good idea, since the status of the Ukrainian Church was the prerogative of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to Kiriakou:

“And Hillary supposedly said, ‘Would $20 million help make a decision? Well, the Greek Orthodox Church is under the thumb of neo-Ottoman Turks.’ So he said, ‘Yes, we could use the $20 million.’ She then said, ‘We have to give it to you through Ukrainian banks.’ ‘That’s fine,’” Kiriakou recounted, referring to an alleged conversation between Clinton and Patriarch Bartholomew.

 

According to Kiriakou, “The State Department wires $20 million, probably through USAID, to some Ukrainian bank. The Ukrainians do whatever it is they usually do behind closed doors in Ukrainian banks, and they send $15 million to the Patriarch.”

 

“He then says, ‘Wait a minute, where’s the other five? It was supposed to be $20 million, where’s the five?’ And the State Department replies, ‘Oh, we don’t know anything about that. All we know is that we paid. So now you must declare the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,’” Kiriakou continued, stressing that this “immediately caused a near-war situation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

Kirakou was an intelligence analyst and operations officer in the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, as well as a senior investigator for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Clinton was the Secretary of State in 2013 under Obama. Whereas the foundation of OCU actually occurred in January of 2019 under President Trump. Officials come and go, as do presidencies, but the underlying policies never seem to change. The U.S. National Security State labored long and hard to give birth to the schismatic OCU, a project that we now know lasted across three different presidential administrations and continues to this day into a fourth.

Brzeziński must be so proud.

In the years since 2019, the U.S. has applied massive pressure on Orthodox Churches (most notably Greece and Alexandria) to recognize OCU as the canonical church. These efforts have been met with limited success, as the recent election of a pro-UOC Patriarch of Bulgaria clearly illustrates. However, the Patriarch of Constantinople, along with his minions and allies, continues to steadfastly defend his actions in Ukraine. In a March 15, 2025 interview with Le Point, Metropolitan Emmanuel (head of the major see of Chalcedon since 2021 and who works directly, in Istanbul, with the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I) dismissed claims that the granting of autocephaly to Ukraine caused division in the Orthodox Church. According to him, the Patriarchate’s decision on Ukraine was necessary to keep Orthodoxy free from political influence. Division is Moscow’s fault, he alleges, because the Russian Church is subordinated to the Russian State. This is a charge one hears often, that the Russian Church is a ‘pseudo-church’ because it is infested with KGB (which no longer exists) and serves as an arm of the Russian government.

Whether or not all that is true about the Russian Church, we now know for a fact that the Patriarch of Constantinople is a paid asset of the U.S. National Security State. The Patriarch literally takes his orders straight from Washington. Witnesses present at inter-church talks in 2018, aimed at heading off the Ukrainian schism, have reported that Patriarch Bartholomew repeatedly paused meetings to call the U.S. State Department for consultations before proceeding.

Judas sold Christ for 30 pieces of Silver. The Patriarch of Constantinople sold his own soul for $15 million dollars. Inflation even affects bargains with the Devil. The formation of OCU had nothing to do with lessening Russian influence in Ukraine, the threat of Vladimir Putin, or the spiritual needs of the Ukrainian people. It was the continuation of a policy objective that had first been publicly articulated in the 1990’s. A policy objective which is actively being pursued all over the world.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will not be the last victim of the corrupt U.S.-Constantinople global partnership. The Estonian Orthodox Church is also under threat. The Estonian Orthodox Church (EOC) is an autonomous body within the Moscow Patriarchate. As was the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it is independent “in economic, administrative, educational, and social matters concerning the Church.” Despite the EOC’s administrative independence and the fact that it has repeatedly voiced its disagreement with the Ukrainian War, the Estonian government has called the EOC an “aggressor” as a pretext for forcing it to submit to Constantinople or be banned altogether.

The Estonian Parliament is currently considering a bill that will ban the activities of the EOC. Of course, the Patriarch of Constantinople is neck-deep in the middle of this. Bartholomew organized his own Church in Estonia called the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC). Of course this ‘church’ has come out fully in support of legally banning the larger Estonian Orthodox Church, calling plans to ban the EOC and subsume it under Constantinople’s authority “an opportunity … to find reconciliation together and prepare for a future where, while remaining true to our Church principles and foundations, all Orthodox believers living in Estonia can coexist in peace and love.” Banning the EOC is also necessary for “national security”.

Just as in Ukraine, the Patriarchate of Constantinople is fully on-board with using force to increase its own power and authority. Maybe another multi-million dollar pay off is in the offing? Corrupt men with no moral compass will not stop at just Ukraine and Estonia. Expect the strategies they are field testing there to be rolled out globally.

There are a couple of dilemmas for the U.S. National Security State concerning the current splits in Orthodoxy. For one, the divisions are not keenly felt at the level of the common man. Take Greeks, for example. Despite being NATO members subjected to relentless propaganda, a recent survey found that more Greeks view Russia as the foreign country most aligned with Greece’s national interests. Russia beat out the U.S. 21.3% to 19%.

Orthodox Christians, by and large, aren’t interested in Western geopolitical machinations. We have our souls to see to, after all. For the current division in Orthodox unity to really stick for the long term, the common faithful have to be brought on board. Hence, the relentless propaganda against the Russian Church, Russian society, and even Orthodox jurisdictions in the West with Slavic heritage.

The need to harden divisions between Orthodox Christians has, therefore, given rise to a phenomenon of nominally ‘Orthodox’ influencers whose job is to sow chaos and dissension. DOGE revealed USAID was prepared to spend $268.4 million in 2025 ‘supporting’ over 6,000 journalists and hundreds of media outlets in 30 countries. That money was frozen, but it really is only the tip of the iceberg. The U.S. National Security State, through all kinds of hidden funding pipelines, has been spending money for decades to buy the coverage it wants. Journalists are cheap. Orthodox influencers are undoubtedly an even better bargain than the average hack.

One of the pioneers of paid Orthodox subversion is Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, a ‘scholar’ of Orthodoxy in the U.S. and published author. She has made a nicely funded career attacking Orthodox converts (particularly those in ROCOR) and the Russian Orthodox Church as being ‘right-wing’ extremists in the thrall of Vladimir Putin:

“Because Orthodoxy is small (in the U.S.), they think that these Orthodox figures online are helpful because we’re getting more converts in,” she said. “They think we are building American Orthodoxy. No, we’re not. We’re creating an American Orthodoxy that’s not in line with the gospel but rather with right-wing extremism.”

 

These tensions — over gender, nationalism and the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war — reflect the identity battles fragmenting Orthodoxy around the world.

Riccardi-Swartz spent a year infiltrating an Appalachian parish of ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) under false pretenses to write her book Between Heaven and Russia: Religious Conversion and Political Apostasy in Appalachia. Understandably, the members of this parish felt exploited and betrayed by her less than positive portrayal of them as crazy extremists. Since the book’s publication in April 2022, Riccardi-Swartz has become increasingly hostile to all but the most progressive elements inside Orthodoxy. This seems especially true regarding members of ROCOR, since she has repeatedly said she sees them as extremists with Russian nationalist sympathies.

Another nominally Orthodox influencer is Meagan Clark Saliashvili. Here is how Orthodox priest Fr. John Whiteford, a good man whose parish was the subject of a Saliashvili hit piece, described his experience with her:

“As it turned out, the article was not about the growth of Orthodoxy in Texas at all but was an extremely biased attempt to paint me, my parish, and other Orthodox Christians as racists, conspiracy theorists, and authoritarians. However, the fact that I did talk to her, and allowed her to visit my parish resulted in her putting in many details that contradicted much of what she was trying to accomplish. I am not sure if these things were included in the original version of the story or not, but I was contacted by a fact checker from Texas Monthly (a first from any news outlet I have ever interacted with) and pointed out to him several relevant facts that did appear in the article as published. On the other hand, I did not anticipate how this would negatively impact some people in the parish, and that is my biggest regret about agreeing to this.”

Besides Riccardi-Swartz and Saliashvili, other notable nominally Orthodox subversive influencers include ‘Sister’ Vassa, Carrie Frost, Aristotle Papanikolaou, and George Demacopoulos. Papanikolaou and Demacopoulos are academics at Fordham University, which is closely linked to the Greek Archdiocese. Their publication is called Public Orthodoxy. Carrie Frost is the chair of St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess. The center is active primarily in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOARCH), where it agitates for female ordination under the guise of restoring the extinct office of Deaconess. All of these influence peddling operations are funded by fat cat donors (such as the Archons of the Patriarchate of Constantinople), myriad foundations, and (no doubt at this point) money laundered from various government agencies through the aforementioned foundations.

‘Sister’ Vassa seems to always have money to travel around the country promoting her special brand of Russophobia combined with heresies such as female ordination

New influencers complaining about “angry,” “far-right”, “nationalistic”, “antisemitic” and “pro-Russian” converts keep popping up on social media. Many of the accounts trace back to foreign owners who only pretend to be Orthodox Christians of various ethnicities. For example, Ridvan Aydemir just became an Orthodox catechumen after having a background in Islam and atheism. Online, he immediately began espousing rabid Zionist, pro-Ukrainian, and anti-Russian sentiments. He has even questioned Orthodox dogmas, and has criticized some of our most beloved saints. His posts on X could have easily been written by the U.S. State Department or academics at Fordham University.

This guy is not even Orthodox. He is barely into his catechumenate. His opinions on practically everything are far outside the Orthodox mainstream. Yet, somehow, he was able to magically raise over 100K online and amass over 153K followers on X.

As someone who has raised money for Orthodox causes for years, I can personally testify that this level of success is completely unbelievable. Especially for a catechumen who spends most of his time online quarreling with, and insulting, actual Orthodox Christians. As long as you are sowing chaos and disunity within Orthodoxy, money just seems to appear out of thin air.

It is very clear that these influencers want to cultivate mistrust of converts in general, as well as animosity between converts and so-called ‘cradle’ or ‘ethnic’ Orthodox. For these influencers, Orthodoxy in the U.S. needs to remain a contributing factor to American ‘diversity’, rather than growing into a potential source of national unity. Some even go to the point of discouraging worship in English, a primary requirement if one is to gain new members while retaining Orthodox young people who were born in the U.S.:

This new reality must become part of the linguistic debate in the Orthodox jurisdictions in America. It is incumbent upon us to challenge the ways in which we have, either intentionally or accidentally, contributed to xenophobia by embracing English as a “default” language and by advancing arguments that call into question the belonging of anyone in the United States who does not use English as their sole or principal language. This begins by celebrating the liturgy in languages other than English whenever possible and unwinding decades of moving towards English as the obvious default. We must revive heritage language acquisition programs in parishes which have specific ethnic diaspora populations.

The overall goal could be summarized as keep American Orthodoxy: ethnically foreign, numerically small, fragmented, politically quiescent, and obsessed with happenings back in the so-called ‘mother countries’. Shockingly, such an Orthodoxy benefits the Global American Empire and its ruling elite.

There is a second major problem with the current divisions within Orthodoxy, from the standpoint of the U.S. National Security State, besides the fact that regular Orthodox just aren’t feeling the hate yet. The current schism between Russia and Constantinople is over questions of geographical jurisdiction, not over dogmatic / Theological differences. Disputes over territory between Orthodox Churches have been solved many times in the past. This one is likely to get resolved as well, given enough time. Russia is in danger of winning the war in Ukraine, after which OCU could be expected to disappear. Even short of being erased by the victorious Russians, the OCU schismatics are demonstrably failing as a church. The schismatics steal temples from the UOC, only to then have them sit empty because no one wants to attend their fraudulent worship services. One way or another, OCU is very likely to cease being a divisive factor.

Which means, to make sure divisions within Orthodoxy never heal, changes to the Orthodox Faith are required. Constantinople, and its allies, have to be made to cross a bridge from which there is no return. This is an ongoing, multi-front operation which I hinted at previously when talking about nominally Orthodox subversive influencers. To finish out our discussion, let us examine some of the changes in Orthodox teaching the U.S. National Security State is pursuing to permanently shatter Orthodox unity.

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LGBTQ+ Acceptance

There is a well-funded lobby group within Orthodoxy (academia and clergy) to normalize homosexuality and various other types of “queerness” such as transgenderism. This lobby group is most often associated with institutions of the Greek Archdiocese (under Constantinople) such as the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. Below is just an example of one of their upcoming programs aimed at building a new, gay affirming Orthodox Church which, if actually brought to reality, would be excommunicated by most of the Orthodox world.

Aristotle Papanikolaou is the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture at Fordham and the Co-founding Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center. The exchange below was with a ROCOR parish priest. Papanikolaou exemplifies the kind of ‘mainstream Leftism’ that the U.S. National Security State likes to fund and promote. Papanikolaou is openly pro-homosexuality in a Church that considers such behavior to be a very serious sin. He never suffers any blowback as a result, often jetting around the world to appear with powerful hierarchs and secular leaders at a variety of prestigious events.

This isn’t just all about academics, of course. Archbishop Elpidophoros has been at the forefront of efforts to legitimize acceptance of same-sex relations within Orthodoxy. Defending his baptism of the adopted children of a homosexual couple in Greece, the Archbishop chalked up opposition to homosexuality as “imported Western puritanism”:

This novel argument and truly unbelievable criterion that some people put forward, namely, that we must discriminate against people based on whom they love, is not Orthodoxy; it can’t even be considered a humane stance. We cannot make anyone’s sexual behavior and whom they love the sole criterion for their acceptance or rejection. These are unprecedented occurrences, and I would say that in Greece they are the result of an imported Western puritanism.

Don’t get the wrong idea. Pro-homosexual efforts are not limited to institutions linked to Constantinople. Sister Vassa of ROCOR also spreads the message. So does former OCA chancellor John Jillions. Just to name a couple more. If you want a more extensive list, then we recommend this article for further study.

Any nominally Orthodox local Church that publicly embraces homosexuality will trigger a schism that will be nearly impossible to resolve. In the face of what is already happening, we are only barely able to maintain unity by comforting ourselves that it is only a few bad apples in any given jurisdiction, not the whole barrel. However, we are only one pro-LGBTQ pronouncement from an ‘Orthodox’ synod of bishops for that cope becoming entirely non-viable.

Female Ordination

Women cannot be ordained to the priesthood in the Orthodox Church. There was once a local office of “deaconess” which died out early in Church history. The role of that office was quite limited and in no way comparable to that of an ordained Deacon. Deaconesses did not have a liturgical role during services. However, just as with homosexuality, there is a lobby group within Orthodoxy for female ordination. Academics and clergy are pushing for female altar servers to normalize the appearance of women around the altar. You might remember the X post earlier from Sister Vassa extolling the beauty of female altar serves, a serious innovation in the Church. Below is an example of Archbishop Elpidophoros proudly posing with male and female altar servers. For some members of the Greek Archdiocese, this stunt was actually the last straw.

There is also a push for women to give the homily at liturgy, often wearing a black robe, to get everyone used to females as spiritual teachers.

Multiple academics are making the case that women can be just as good at the priesthood as men. Below you can see Fordham’s Papanikolaou endorse Sister Vassa’s efforts to use Orthodoxy to discredit the concept of “family values”. He asks, “why can’t women preach? Be ordained?”

Some nominally Orthodox academics take things in an even more radical direction, calling for female ordination as part of an effort to “break down” the gender binary. You can read one such effort here.

Horrifyingly, these efforts to ordain women have already met with one major success. In May 2024, with the approval and support of the Alexandrian Synod and Patriarch Theodoros, Metropolitan Serafim of Zimbabwe ordained a female Deacon. She was officially referred to as a “deaconess”, but the rite used was the same as that for a Deacon. She wore male dress, performed a male role at liturgy, and even distributed communion. This had never happened before in the history of the Orthodox Church. Carrie Frost, Chair of St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess, was both an eyewitness to the ‘ordination’ and the person whose work most resulted in its occurrence. Of course, the pro-female ordination crowd trumpeted this as a great triumph.

This ‘ordination’ was roundly condemned all over the world, even by Orthodox media outlets that are normally considered fairly ‘progressive’. However, the impact of this event has been significantly lessened since it occurred in remote Africa, and the Russian Church is already in schism with Alexandria (and is, in fact, running a competing Orthodox Church on the African continent). Most Orthodox Synods have chosen to simply ignore this abomination, even as individual Orthodox hierarchs have not been shy about expressing their own personal outrage.

Rest assured, however, that the pro-priestess crowd is just getting started. Should these ‘ordinations’ continue, especially in higher profile areas, turning a blind eye simply won’t work. Authentically Orthodox Churches cannot be in communion with heretical bodies that ordain women, no matter how carefully the U.S. National Security State tries to propagandize everyone in advance. The resulting schism will affect every single Orthodox Christian, and will no doubt make the U.S. governing elite quite pleased with itself.

Zionism and Philosemitism

Orthodox Christianity is incompatible with Zionism. The Orthodox Church considers herself to be the true Israel, not the colonial state founded by European Rabbinic Jews. Given the attachment the U.S. National Security State has for Israel, that by itself makes Orthodoxy a potential problem. But for the U.S. governing elite, Zionist to the core, it gets worse. Orthodoxy is growing, and many of the new converts are coming in from Protestant denominations that are Christian Dispensationalist. While Dispensationalists make up only between 20-25% of Americans, they have a disproportionate influence on American politics because their fanatical devotion to Israel drives their voting behavior. Christian Dispensationalism is practically the official religion of the Trump Administration.

Below is a good summary of Christian Dispensationalism, and why it is impossible to liberate America from Zionist control without first dealing with it as a religious influence:   

You will never de-Zionize the United States without confronting the religious ideology that underpins it. This country was not only founded on Protestantism, it was shaped by an evolving belief system that merged American exceptionalism with Biblical prophecy, culminating in dispensationalism, a theology that made support for Israel a sacred duty. Protestants make up about 40% of the U.S. population, and within that, Evangelicals are the largest and most politically active bloc. The most zealous form of Zionism in America isn’t Jewish—it’s Evangelical Protestant. Their worldview is dominated by a homegrown American theological export called dispensationalism, which originated in the 19th century with theologians like John Nelson Darby and was popularized in the U.S. through figures like Cyrus Scofield and later Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye (author of Left Behind series).

Dispensationalists believe:

•The return of Jews to the Holy Land is a divine prerequisite for the Second Coming of Christ.

•The modern state of Israel is God’s chosen nation, and its survival and expansion are necessary to fulfill Biblical prophecy.

•Any attack on Israel is literally a battle between good and evil.

This belief system is embedded in American foreign policy through decades of lobbying, political donations, and mass voting blocs. It transcends political parties, with both Republicans and many Democrats subscribing to or fearing the wrath of the Evangelical base. Every election cycle, candidates from both parties tout their pro-Israel credentials, not just to appease AIPAC, but to win over millions of Evangelical voters who see Israel as a divine project. Media, megachurches, Christian TV, and even homeschooling curricula in the U.S. indoctrinate children from a young age with pro-Israel prophecy.

The U.S. National Security State relies on Dispensationalism as a key support structure. Orthodoxy treats the teachings of Dispensationalism as heresy, and Orthodox Christians do not hesitate to say so. Therefore, a united, growing Orthodox Church is a direct threat to unwavering U.S. support of Israel. Clearly that cannot be tolerated.

Further, Orthodoxy does not consider Rabbinic Judaism, a religion founded by Pharisees after the fall of the 2nd Temple, to be its spiritual “older brother”. Rather we view Rabbinic Judaism as what it truly is – the rejection of Christ. Orthodox Christians were murdered and ethnically cleansed during the Nakhba in Israel in 1948-49, and continue to suffer today under Israeli genocidal oppression. Orthodox hierarchs in the Middle East are very outspoken in their opposition to Zionism.

Orthodoxy, in its current form, is totally unacceptable for the U.S. National Security State. Therefore, Orthodoxy has to change, or at least be significantly muted. One strategy being pursued is to get Orthodox hierarchs, clergy, influencers, and academics to embrace the U.S. government’s campaign against antisemitism. The Patriarchate of Constantinople and its various Greek Archdioceses around the globe have really gotten on board with this.

Public pronouncements, however, only go so far. The Orthodox Church considers herself to be Israel, God’s chosen people. The Church is deeply critical of Rabbinic Judaism, does not see it as the continuation of the Temple religion, and supports Palestinian (especially Christian Palestinian) rights. From the U.S. National Security State perspective, none of that can be allowed to stand.

Fortunately for Washington, there are Orthodox academics and hierarchs who are more than willing to work with/for the U.S. National Security State towards changing Orthodox teaching concerning Rabbinic Judaism and Zionism. One such academic is Eugen J. Peniuc, professor and author of The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition. Pentiuc is the Dean (under Constantinople) of Holy Cross Seminary and a modernizing influence par excellence. The information below is taken from a review of his book:

He urges both Orthodox hierarchs and the grass-roots faithful to take a stand against ‘these perilous teachings,’ beginning with a plea to revise anti-Jewish statements in hymns and liturgy, especially those on Good Friday. He refers favorably to the changes Pope John XXIII instigated in the Roman Catholic church when he interrupted the 1959 Good Friday liturgy to ask that the adjective ‘perfidious’ be removed from the prayer for the Jews (39–40). This section exemplifies two notable aspects of the many that make Pentiuc’s book so valuable: it acknowledges the unsavory treatment Jews and their scriptures have suffered at the hands of Christians, and it puts Orthodoxy into conversation with the Western church in a refreshingly sanguine fashion. At the same time, Pentiuc suggests that a mild Christian supersessionism may be unavoidable if the Orthodox church is to remain consistent with its historical hermeneutics, which it most certainly will do. Christian triumphalism, on the other hand, is ‘easily discarded,’ and the author punctuates his point with a nod to Ephrem the Syrian: ‘Humility is so powerful that even the all-conquering God did not conquer without it.’ Pentiuc argues that the strongest blow against supersessionism is in fact the complementarity of the two biblical testaments. As Origen wrote, there is one God, whose main attributes are love and justice, and both attributes are present in both testaments (59). Pentiuc gracefully allows his readers to draw the connection between Origen’s dictum and the Mount Sinai icon that introduced the book for themselves.

Needless to say, unilateral changes by a jurisdiction(s) to Orthodox hymnography and teaching concerning Rabbinic Judaism / Zionism will strain Orthodox unity to the breaking point. Such changes will create a counterfeit Orthodoxy in America, perhaps the West in general, whose witness will be horribly mutilated. The only real rationale for unwavering U.S. support of Israel is religiously-based (Dispensationalism and Jewish Zionism). Orthodoxy, by its very nature, threatens that religious rationale. Therefore, expect a lot of pressure from the U.S. National Security State for Orthodoxy to become more philosemitic.

Union with Rome

This is the big daddy point of no return. For years Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew have been deepening their ties. During Pascha 2024, multiple Roman Catholic bishops and priests visited Orthodox parishes (usually Greek) for services. There has been more and more scholarly work on Orthodox / Roman Catholic history, and on ways in which the churches could unify.

Will Orthodox / Roman Catholic unity happen? Globally? Absolutely not. But could, or would, Constantinople and Alexandria form some kind of loose union or confederation with Rome? That is possible, especially if the terms did not require complete unity on all disputed doctrines. Of course, any kind of reunion of the two churches, unless purely symbolic, would mean a schism within Orthodoxy from which recovery would be extremely difficult. The U.S. National Security State knows this quite well, but that is a feature and not a bug. Such a move is the kind grand ecumenism the U.S. National Security State is so fond of. For Orthodox Christians, especially in a year with a joint Easter / Pascha, the developing situation deserves a close watch.

Conclusion: The expansion of Orthodoxy in the U.S. is truly a miracle. Especially since the U.S. National Security State is doing everything it can to prevent Orthodox growth and unity. There could very well be deeper and more long lasting schisms ahead. We need to pray, be vigilant, and understand that none of this is happening by accident.