If the title of this article caught your eye and you’re thinking … Hmmm, why does this title seem familiar … it may be because part of it is identical to the title of the 2007 occult fantasy film (targeted at children) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.[i] And for some of you, that should get your Orthodox Christian spidey senses tingling.
The following – which is the very last line of Archbishop Sotirios’ (“AB Sot”) online BIO (with my underlining added) – certainly got my senses prickling:
“His Eminence has also been named Grand Commander of the Order of Phoenix of Greece.”
As unbelievable as this may sound, I didn’t just make it up. It’s a real thing and its unacceptable, in my view, that this high-ranking Orthodox Christian hierarch holds this title, proudly, so it seems. But, don’t take my word about this; instead, verify this for yourself here: https://goarchdiocese.ca/archbishop-biography/. (In fact, remember the following rule as you delve deeper into our faith, regardless of what or who your source is: trust but verify and do not just repeat rumors or sayings from others.)
Before you read further (if you choose to do so), I would like you to know that my goal in writing this expose is not to disparage “his eminence” but rather, to give him the opportunity to address three simple questions:
Q1: Were you aware that the Order of Phoenix of Greece is connected to Freemasonry?
Q2: If “No” to Q1 (and you confirm the connection), will you publicly renounce your Grand Commander title?
Q3: Will you issue an official statement declaring, as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Canada, that the religion of Freemasonry is not compatible with Christianity and unequivocally renounce it?
If AB Sot decides that he is above having to address these questions – which I believe he should address as the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada – then, his silence will raise the following question: Why would he remain silent when he could easily quash all doubt about being a Freemason by humbling himself to his parishioners in Canada and answering these question directly, unambiguously and unequivocally.[ii]
In short, if AB Sot “pleads the fifth”[iii] on these questions, then how do we – Greek Orthodox Christians in Canada – remain obedient to him in terms of funding him through our Churches’ membership dues and, more importantly, taking spiritual guidance from him. On my part, let me more blunt about how I will feel about him if he continues to dodge these questions: I will give him the same respect that I give to the prosperity tele-evangelists of our time.
Who is Archbishop Sotirios?
For non-Canadian readers who may not be familiar with AB Sot, he is the top dog of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada since 2019. Before then, he was Metropolitan Sotirios … since 1996 … and before then, he was Bishop Sotirios of Toronto beginning in 1979. Yes, AB Sot has been around a long time and has had a steady (and some might say ruthless) climb to the top.
My first memories of him go back to the late 1990s when I saw him in full regalia in various churches in my hometown. And, as a fun fact in the six degrees of separation department, AB Sot co-signed my birth and baptismal certificate as the junior priest to the senior one (name purposely withheld) who baptized me. However, AB Sot really caught my attention during the COVID-19 experiment when he was content to go along to get along instead of being our most senior – Orthodox Christian – voice of protest in Canada.
If AB Sot remains silent in the face of the questions I have posed, then, I would urge caution to my fellow Greek Orthodox Christians in Canada in the event that this hierarch asks you to go along to get along (again) with respect to future governmental action that limits, restricts or denies your right to practice our faith and worship the Lord, Jesus Christ, in the same way that we have done for the last 2000 years or so. For example, if new laws prohibit the proclamation or discussion of certain parts of the Gospels and Epistles about the passion of the Lord – during the Divine Liturgy in Church and in Bible Study – because they are characterized as “antisemitic”, and AB Sot remains silent to the Government, but asks us to go along with this, will you obey his directive?
Sidebar on Signs of the Times: If your reaction to the above is “this writer is being an alarmist…” or “this is never gonna happen in my lifetime …”, I offer three retorts below in the forms of a rhetorical question, a reference to two literary sources that are modern-day Cassandra-calls about governmental surveillance and “soft-totalitarianism” and an actual and imminent legislative threat in Canada.
First, let me take you back about 10 years ago. What would you say to someone who told you that a time is coming that there will be more than two gender choices on a Canadian Passport Application?
Second, I urge you to read Rod Dreher’s book Live Not by Lies to understand what soft totalitarianism means and The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (courtesy of Shoshana Zuboff) to understand how extensively governments monitor our movements, our purchases and generally, our behaviours, 24/7.[iv] And then, just think about how governments everywhere are slowly chipping away at fundamental freedoms, especially speech and religion, through tyrannical laws promoted and passed by secular leaders, who are boldly and openly hostile to Christianity, using technologies that have never before existed. (If this does not resonate with you, you are being willfully blind.)
Third, read Bill C-367, (first reading in our House of Commons completed in late November 2023; see https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-367). (For American readers, our House of Commons is the equivalent of your House of Representatives.) If this Bill (as it now stands) becomes law, Christian pastors (including Orthodox Priests) can (and, in my view) will be charged and convicted for proclaiming and preaching the Gospels. And one more point on this threat: Don’t expect relief from our Supreme Court of Canada if this Bill become law and is challenged as a violation of our fundamental freedoms. Why do I say this? Well, because of what our courts said about “public health” versus “freedom of religion” just a few years ago, in the context of a recent, worldwide experiment in human behavioural compliance.[v]
The Placement of the “Grand Commander” Reference in AB Sot’s BIO
Is anyone else wondering why the reference to AB Sot’s curious honorific – Grand Commander of the Order of Phoenix of Greece – is buried at the end of his BIO?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Doesn’t this last line seem to be hiding in plain sight?[vi]
In my view, his Grand Commander title is exactly where it is – buried in the last line – for a reason: to demonstrate, outwardly and boldly, his allegiance to a certain fraternal organization without attracting any attention from the casual onlooker or admirer, the occasional church-goers who see AB Sot at their church every once in awhile or even the groupies that follow him from church to church, across Canada.
In other words, AB Sot seems to be hiding this title in plain sight.
Think about it: after 45 years of AB Sot’s bishopric in Canada (see above), I am betting that 99% of the Canadian-Greek Orthodox Christians don’t even know about his Order of the Phoenix title.
And perhaps I would have never noticed it either if I did not become curious about the lacuna in his leadership that was revealed during the worldwide governmental experiment of COVID-19.
When Trudeau and provincial premieres (which means state governors, for my American friends) mandated the closure of churches – for the greater good of public health – while keeping “essential services” like liquor and big box stores open, I waited and waited for a statement by AB Sot condemning these closures and for him to fight against these closures but he didn’t do either – and that’s when I became suspicious of his ethos.[vii]
As I watched Orthodox Christian Priests and commentators (and even Roman Catholics and Protestants) speak out against these mandated closures and defy them, at great risk to their priesthoods (i.e. their livelihoods) and, in some cases, their freedom, all I could hear from AB Sot’s HQ in Toronto was crickets and, even worse, bromides and platitudes.
I know that AB Sot was approached by Canadian-Greek Orthodox lawyers to challenge the law, on a pro bono basis – not for immediate relief because litigation (especially constitutional litigation) takes time to make its way to the Supreme Court of Canada – but, rather, to establish a few key precedents as possible “shields” against future governmental action that would seek to deny the free exercise of religion (which is a so-called fundamental freedom in Canada).[viii]
See PDF here for evidence of offer of pro bono legal assistance in protecting religious freedom in Canada.
There was Protestant opposition to church closings in Canada, but where was Archbishop Sotirios in the fight?
And what did AB Sot do with this offer from the Greek Orthodox legal bar in Canada?
Nothing. Nada. He remained silent about it from his papal-like “See” in Toronto.
He ignored it because it would violate his apparent ethos of – we need to go along to get along – a phrase which sickened me in the context of the state’s suppression of our right to worship God in the way that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, showed His Apostles and, in turn, they have showed us, by their successors – our Bishops – in an unbroken succession since Pentecost. In my view, AB abdicated his responsibility during COVID-19 as a Bishop to his Greek-Orthodox constituencies across Canada by not being a loud voice of protest against the Trudeau and provincial governments.
Circling back to the last line of AB Sot’s BIO, to me, it is saying the following:
“I am telling you who I am and what I believe in and yet, I have attained the highest level of ecclesiastical authority in Canada over you … and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it”.
I hope I am totally wrong about what this Grand Commander title means about AB Sot … and I suppose time will tell … if we come to the point, in his lifetime, where the state puts Christians to the ultimate choice: deny Christ or I will put you to death, directly, or indirectly, by making you a criminal and then depriving you of your ability to buy and sell.[ix]
Unfortunately, what I have observed and experienced personally in AB Sot and heard, from first-person testimony, from those who have sat with him, while he conducted the “business” of running Greek Orthodox churches in Canada, have confirmed certain things about him that I did not want to believe.
Now, for anyone that may use this revelation about AB Sot as an excuse to abandon your membership in the body of Christ (i.e. the Church) or become cynical about Greek Orthodox Christianity in Canada, there is a lesson about this in the Gospel of John 11:49-52, which the Orthodox Study Bible (the “OSB”) explains as follows:
“The failings and even wickedness of the officeholder do not diminish the grace of the office itself.”
Well said, OSB commentators.
However, what that Gospel does not say is to defer to our hierarchs no matter what they say or omit to say. That would not be in line with the Orthodox Christian ethos that our Saints showed us. Before they were Saints, these beautiful and bold souls were the elect, the laity – like we – Greek-Canadian Orthodox Christians – are. And, as the latter, we are full members of the Church and one of the four orders of the Church (with the other three being Bishops, Priests and Deacons) who have the right – and I would say duty – to question, respectfully, the bona fides of an officeholder (even the highest hierarch) and ask him, respectfully, to answer basic questions or explain himself about his actions (or inactions) or titles if they appear to be contrary to the tenets of our faith.[x]
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Who Am I to Question this Grand Commander?
Let me be clear: I am a struggling sinner but, that doesn’t mean that you should use this an excuse to disregard my message in this article. As I stated at the outset, verify the things you read for yourself and draw your own conclusions. It took me years to decide to write this article and submit it for publication. If you have any concerns or questions about AB Sot – that have arisen over the years because of his actions or omissions – then you may wish to keep reading.
For most of my life, I was an Orthodox Christian in name only and a fair-weather one (literally) at best. However, for the last several years, I have re-discovered the beauty and richness of our faith and I wanted to know why I should stick with it as opposed to resolving myself to statements, such as this one:
“… all religions are myriads of paths leading to one God.”
This is a very dangerous statement designed to plant a seed of doubt about our Orthodox Christian faith from another top Greek Orthodox hierarch in North America.[xi]
Why do I say dangerous?
Because it is one of those statements that seems innocuous and admirable (to the casual Christian) and consensus-building (to the liberal in all of us) until you read it carefully and try to reconcile it with one of the clearest pronouncements about the Christian faith, directly from Christ Himself in John 14:6 (OSB):
“Jesus said to him [i.e. to the Apostle Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
How then, do we, Christians, reconcile the statement above about “all religions… leading to one God” with Christ’s own words to us?
Do Buddhism, Islam, or Judaism – given their stance on Christ – lead to the same God that Orthodox Christians seek to unite with via the process of theosis?
The answer is, unequivocally, “No.”
Furthermore, we, Orthodox Christians, do not have to try to reconcile this heretical statement by Archbishop Elpidophoros (“AB Elpi”) because we know that any religion that rejects the role of the second person of the Trinity – Jesus Christ, the God-man – as the way, the truth and the life and the path to the Kingdom of Heaven is not reconcilable with our Orthodox Christian faith.
Sidebar on Grace and Orthodoxy: I would like to be clear that Orthodox Christians do not discount the Grace of Christ, who will judge all of us (even non-Christians) when our life on earth ends. I do not want my non-Orthodox Christian friends to think that we, Orthodox Christians, have any say in how or on whom the Lord decides to bestow His Grace, despite any individual members of our faith (including hierarchs) saying anything to the contrary. The latter is not for us to say. However, we, Orthodox Christians, can say – and justify beyond a reasonable doubt, (the standard which man uses to judge one another, even for death sentences) using historical evidence – that we practice Christianity in the way that Christ taught his original disciples. Those practices were then captured in written words and in demonstrable traditions explained to us by the divinely-inspired “Fathers” of the Church and passed down to us since Pentecost. These two elements – the Word and Holy Tradition – are what we mean by “Orthodox” and “Orthodoxy”. Our bottom line is this: Christ established one church – His Church, the Church – which has been attacked since the day it became manifest on earth, has suffered schisms (including within the Church itself) and will continue to be attacked from the outside and from within but which can never be broken or divided. For my protestant friends, I recommend the book Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin to understand the differences between the various (thousands) of Protestant denominations and Orthodoxy. In my view, the following quote from this book captures what Orthodoxy is, succinctly and eloquently, at pages 179-180 of the softcover edition: “The misconception is this: Christianity is essentially a faith that one can individually interpret and apply as one pleases … Thus, true Christianity has no room for personal interpretations, preferences, qualifications, exemptions, or adjustments. Anyone … who wants to enter into a real relationship with Jesus Christ must accept the fact that the Faith of the Apostles preserved in Holy Orthodoxy is an historical reality, not just a theological school”. For my Catholic friends, I recommend that you research pre-1054 Catholicism and the slippery-slope changes that your various Popes have introduced since then – and make your way back onto an Orthodox Christian path.
For a more in-depth review of why AB Elpi’s statement is dangerous and heretical – and about some other irreconcilable words and actions spoken and done by him – you should read this article: The Lie of Ecumenism at https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-lie-of-ecumenism/.
But, I digressed slightly – but, purposely – so that you, the Orthodox Christian reader, can begin to question the words and actions of our hierarchs with the eyes and ears that God gave you after doing these things: reading the lives of Saints and various writings from the Fathers of the Church; seeking the advice of a spiritual father or father confessor about the basic tenets and “hard sayings” of Orthodoxy; and finding a good Bible Study group and listening intently and then taking the leader(s) and the presiding priest aside and asking questions – even tough ones.[xii] Doing these things is important for your growth as an Orthodox Christian and an excellent “check and balance” when hubris gets the best of you (and it will) and you start interpreting the Gospels yourself (as Protestants do) to justify your custom practice of our faith or for the purposes of adapting it (as the RC Popes have done) to the secular world.
And – to finally get to the crux of this article – one of the warnings that I came across during my journey back to Orthodoxy was about the infiltration of Freemasons in our Orthodox Christian Churches[xiii] – especially in the “overseeing” bodies (notice I did not say “governing” bodies) – such as our Archdioceses and, most troubling, in our Patriarchate, called the Phanar, which is currently occupied by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (“EP Bart”).
At first, I thought, so what? Who are Freemasons and why should I be concerned with them being members, deacons or priests or hierarchs in various levels of our Orthodox churches?
Until recently, I didn’t really know much about Freemasonry.
I knew it was some sort of organization or club with a strange symbol on its “temples” but, I never realized that it was a religion until I started reading about Freemasonry’s “god”, its rituals, and and how its members hide in plain sight.[xiv]
And make no mistake about Freemasonry: it is very much a religion that worships a “supreme being” – which is not our trinitarian God – but rather, the “light bearer” (i.e. Lucifer) and celebrates and promotes teachings that are diametrically opposed to the tenets of the Church.
Albert Pike, American Civil War general, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction, author of a book called Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry
To date, the best written source that I have come across about Freemasonry is Michael Witcoff’s excellent exposé: On The Masons And Their Lies: What Every Christian Needs To Know.
Witcoff is a former Freemason (now an Orthodox Christian) and his book provides objectively verifiable proof of his contentions. All Christians would do well to read it so that you understand that Freemasonry is not just an altruistic social club or network of people (mostly men) who will help you climb the corporate ladder. It is a religion that will cost you your soul, if you do not renounce it and repent before you die.
In On The Masons, Witcoff cites two “… prominent and influential Masonic occultists” who are clear that Freemasonry is a religion.
“[Albert] Pike later asserts that Masonry is ‘the universal, eternal, immutable religion, such as God planted it in the heart of universal humanity … The ministers of this religion are all Masons who comprehend it and are devoted to it; it sacrifices to God are good works, the sacrifices of the base and disorderly passions, the offering up of self-interest on the altar of humanity, and perpetual efforts to attain to all the moral perfection of which man is capable.’”
“Manly P. Hall echoes Pike’s religious indifference, stating that ‘The true Mason is not creed-bound. He realizes with the divine illumination of his lodge that as a Mason his religion must be universal: Christ, Buddha or Mohammed, the name means little, for he recognizes only the light and not the bearer. He worships at every shrine, bows before every altar, whether in temple, mosque or cathedral, realizing with his truer understanding the oneness of all spiritual truth … No Mason can be narrow, for his Lodge is the divine expression of broadness.’”
Having just read these two quotes from these occultists, think back to AB Elpi’s statement that “… all religions are myriads of paths leading to one God…” and compare it to Pike’s view that Masonry is the “… the universal, eternal, immutable religion…” and Hall’s point that the Masonic religion is “universal.”
Is the top US Greek Orthodox Hierarch (and perhaps, his Canadian counterpart, AB Sot, and their “overseer”, EP Bart) trying to gaslight us – via his (and their) silence – that Eastern Orthodox Christianity is no different than Freemasonry?[xv]
If they are not members of the religion of Freemasonry, they should speak up now!
AB Sot’s Apparent Connection to and Silence About Freemasonry
Let’s get back to AB Sot and start with this question about his Grand Commander title: What, exactly, is the Order of Phoenix of Greece?
Well, according to Wikipedia, it is this (with my underlining added):
“The Order of the Phoenix is an order of Greece, established on 13 May 1926, by the republican government of the Second Hellenic Republic to replace the defunct Royal Order of George I.
The order was retained after the restoration of the monarchy in 1935 and continues to be awarded by the current Third Republic.
The honour is bestowed by the Greek government to Greek citizens who have excelled in the arts and literature, science, public administration, shipping, commerce, and industry. It is also awarded to foreigners who have helped raise Greece’s international prestige.”
Well, that seems OK, right? Not so fast; let’s take a closer look.
Wikipedia tells us that the current “Order of Phoenix of Greece” replaced the now defunct “Royal Order of George I”, which begs this question: What are the origins of this latter Order?
Another in-depth article in this publication[xvi] has already pointed out the connection of this Royal Order to Freemasonry, so I won’t belabour the point in this article.
However, I will provide this quote from that article which explains the Masonic symbols used by the Royal Order of George I:
“… as evidenced by its symbols which are borrowed from the Knights Templar (full name: The United Religious, military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta)”.
Given the above, I think it is reasonable to ask AB Sot: Did you know about the connection between your Grand Commander title and Freemasonry?
And, assuming for a moment that AB Sot did not know, (which is doubtful), now that this article (the second one directed at him) has informed him of this connection, he cannot plead ignorance. Here then is another question to his “eminence”: Will you renounce this title and cease wearing its symbols?
It seems to me that AB Sot should – as the true Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, always did when his Disciples asked Him – explain himself to his Greek Orthodox “flock” in Canada.
AB Sot’s silence in this situation, will not be golden; on the contrary, it will convict him. (Please see PDF of letter sent by this author to AB Sot asking him to clarify his position concerning Freemasonry.)
AB Sot’s silence is extremely troubling when other Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christian churches and hierarchs have officially, and publicly, renounced Freemasonry as not being compatible with our Christian faith. Renunciations Witcoff has compiled in On The Masons … in Chapter 10 Masonry and the Churches and which I have excerpted below, with my underlining added:
Roman Catholics: “… the 1983 Congregation For the Doctrine Of The Faith formalized a new Declaration on Masonic Associations. … Under the new rule, any Roman Catholic who participates in Freemasonry is considered to be ‘in a grave state of sin and may not receive Holy Communion … the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association(s) remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden.’”
Protestantism: “For this section, I will speak only of two major Protestant groups which, despite being heterodox themselves, nevertheless confess an orthodox view of the Holy Trinity. … The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod declared that ‘… Freemasonry serves as a primary example of such an organization that espouses and promotes teachings and practices that conflict with the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith. … One of the Landmarks of Freemasonry is the belief in the existence of a Supreme Being. However, the supreme being of Freemasonry is officially a generic god designed by intent to be universally acceptable to all who would seek admittance to the Masonic Lodge. This god is a unitarian, not trinitarian Supreme Being. … The Scriptures teach that Christians with integrity are to confess Christ and His Gospel boldly and without compromise … In the view of this evaluation, it is a compromise of the Christian confession to take part in ritual, religious acts, in the name of a generic deity, that intentionally delete the name of the true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent to be the only savior of the world.’”
“The Orthodox Presbyterian Church came to precisely the same conclusions in 1942. In their Report Of The Committee on Secret Societies, their Ninth General Assembly wrote that ‘The committee finds that the evidence presented concerning the religion of Masonry permits but one conclusion. … that Masonry is a religious institution and as such is definitely anti-Christian. … [and] that membership in the Masonic fraternity is inconsistent with Christianity.’ …”
Eastern Orthodox Churches and Hierarchs: “On its official website, the Orthodox Church of America unambiguously declares that ‘It is forbidden for an Orthodox Christian to be a member of the Masonic Fraternity because many of its teachings stand in direct conflict with those of Orthodox Christianity.’
“The Archbishop of Cyprus in 1815, Cyprianus, made the same point – but far more graphically. In The Aphorism Against Freemasonry, he wrote that [they] ‘… that pursue after such a diabolic and lawless employment of Freemasonry, and all they that follow unto their infatuation and unto their error, let them be excommunicated and cursed by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. After death, they shall be unpardoned, indissoluble, and bloated. Groaning and trembling, as Cain, shall they be upon the earth. … The wrath of God shall be upon their heads, and their portion together with Judas the betrayer. As angel of the Lord will prosecute them with a flaming sword and, unto their life’ termination, they will not know of progress. …’
The bishops of the Church of Greece also convened in 1933 to study the Lodge as group. After careful examination, they concluded that ‘Freemasonry is not simply a philanthropic union or a philosophical school, but constitutes a mystagogical system which reminds us of the ancient heathen mystery-religions and cults from which it descends, and is their continuation and regeneration … Such a link between Freemasonry and the ancient idolatrous mysteries is also manifested by all that is enacted and performed at the initiations … Thus Freemasonry is, as granted, a mystery-religion, quite different, separate, and alien to the Christian faith.’
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia insists on excommunication for Masonic affiliation. In 1932, the ROCOR Council of Bishops wrote to the Faithful that ‘Freemasonry is a secret international organisation to struggle with God, Christianity, and all National Governments, and especially Christian Governments. In the international organization the first place of influence and importance belongs to the Jewish membership. Because of this, and other important reasons, it is forbidden for all Orthodox Christians to become Freemasons.’
Noticeably absent are statements similar to the above from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople lorded over by, you guessed it, AB Sot, AB Elpi and EP Bart, respectively.[xvii]
In light of the above, I think it behooves AB Sot – if he is not a Mason – to declare, on his television program that the religion of Freemasonry is not compatible with Orthodox Christianity, and to circulate an encyclical to this effect, to be read by parish priests in Canada, for the first seven weeks of the new Orthodox year that begins on September 1, 2024. (And, I would urge my American Orthodox Brothers and Sisters to ask AB Elpi to do the same.)
If AB Sot remains silent, well, then, I would urge him to re-read the book The Soul After Death – and not just the 296-pager for laypeople but, rather the 1200+ page ‘desk reference’ manual that he should have read at some point during his careers – which may lead him to renounce Freemasonry and repent, sincerely, before he dies.
If AB Sot “Takes the 5th” on Freemasonry, What Can Canadian-Greek Orthodox Christians Do About it?
As members of the body of Christ, we, the elect, are the fourth pillar of the Church (in addition to deacons, priests and bishops) and as such have a moral obligation to be conscientious objectors if any of the latter are behaving – by their acts or omissions – in ways that are contrary to the tenets our faith.
Obviously, one must have evidence of acts or omissions before one should demand answers, and in the case of AB Sot, we have his act of accepting a Masonic title (unknowingly or not) and his omission (his silence to date) regarding the religion of Freemasonry.
In my view, it’s very simple what needs to done to get AB Sot to explain his Grand Commander title and renounce Freemasonry: demand answers, respectfully, and if he ignores our demands, cut off his funding!
Here’s a Three-Step Plan to request and obtain answers to the questions noted-above:
- Step 1 – Petition AB Sot: Your local parish council or board of your local Greek-Orthodox church in Canada should resolve to send AB Sot a formal petition requesting answers to the questions I posed in the introduction.[xviii]
- Step 2 – If AB Sot Ignores You, Stop Paying Your Dues: If AB Sot chooses to ignore your petition, your parish council or board should resolve to suspend the payment of AB Sot’s monthly vig until he breaks his silence on the above-noted questions.
- Step 3 – If Your Parish or Board Ignores You, Withhold Your Funds: If your parish council or board ignores you, the parishioners of your local church – then you have a moral obligation to withhold your membership dues and donations – pending action by your parish council and board and answers from his “eminence”. Instead of your donations in church, copy and print out the following and put it in the collection basket, until your parish council or board takes action to issue the petition to AB Sot and AB Sot answers the questions noted-above:
“UNTIL YOU SEND A PETITON TO AB SOT TO EXPLAIN HIS GRAND COMMANDER TITLE AND RENOUNCE FREEMASONRY AND HIS EMINENCE ADDRESSES BOTH, I AM WITHHOLDING MY MEMBERSHIP DUES AND MY DONATIONS.”
Now, before implementing the above-noted plan – especially Step 3 – you should pray about it. (As Orthodox Christians, we know that we must pray before any task, decision, or action; we may not always do so but, we should do so in this case and for those who have one, seek the advice of your spiritual father.)
And here are three other things to do in connection with above-noted Three-Step Plan:
- First, make sure that your Church has enough money to pay its overhead and obligations to civil authorities;
- Second, put aside the membership dues you withhold in a bank account or in a safe place at home until your parish takes action and AB Sot addresses the three questions above – or resigns; and
- Third, consider redirecting your withheld weekly church donations to the poor or to monasteries for prayers for the living and the dead (in addition, of course, to your own daily prayers for both).
These three things will assure that you do not use the petition to AB Sot as an excuse to not give the alms that you were going to give, which is an important and edifying duty of every Orthodox Christian.
I know that the above plan may seem a bit harsh – and that your local priest will try to convince you that you should not withhold your financial help to your church – but, as I said above, make sure that your church has enough money to pays its bills … and then be firm on withholding the monthly dues that AB Sot collects. (If AB Sot takes legal action against you – get together with other parishes and retain one lawyer to defend all of you. If this extremely unlikely and scandalous scenario materializes – he will have revealed who he is.)
Look, we are living in very strange, clearly apostatic times, where we are not sure that we can trust our governments or our spiritual leaders in Canada (given what happened during the COVID-19 era). These times require that we, Orthodox Christians, in local parishes, make sure that we are being led by hierarchs that are faithful leaders of Orthodoxy and not wolves in sheep’s clothing or false teachers.
Remember, the questions that we are asking his “eminence” to answer are “no brainers” – that any deacon, priest or hierarch who has no affiliation or allegiance to Freemasonry can and should address humbly and unambiguously.
As of the date I finished this article (early September 2024), I could not find any record of anyone ever asking AB Sot, directly, to address his Grand Commander Title and renounce Freemasonry … so I am asking now, via this article.
Maybe his “eminence” will answer these questions when someone in his close circle notifies him of this article (and make no mistake, the PR industrial complex that surrounds him keeps tabs on anything and everything relating to his image.)
Maybe he will surprise us and humble himself to his parishioners and provide us with answers to the questions above, which will inspire confidence that he is the Orthodox Christian leader that we want and need in Canada, given the imminent and further Canadian government encroachments into our freedom of religion.
This is his “eminence’s” chance to address these questions once and for all and put an end to the cloud of controversy that surrounds this hierarch and Freemasonry.
On the other hand, if AB Sot remains silent, becomes indignant and states, or implies, in an encyclical or on his television program that he does not have to address the three questions above, then, in my view, he will be revealing who he really is and you – and I – can govern ourselves accordingly with respect to this man now and for the times to come.
To be clear, I am truly hoping that I have gotten AB Sot completely wrong about what spirit seems to be animating and sustaining him in the high office he holds (for now).
—Stratis Georgiou: A concerned Orthodox Christian who will call out pandering by Church leaders wherever he finds it.
[i] It is beyond the scope of this article to examine the likely spirit of the author of the Harry Potter series of books, J.K. Rowling but, I would like to point out one thing about her now that may be an indicator of where she stands on Christians and Christianity. In 2019, even though she had been against tattoos for most of her life, she got one that says: Solve et Coagula. For Ortho-Christians who have done their research into Freemasonry, this should be enough to distance yourself from her and her writings. Why? Because the Freemasons worship, among other satanic images, the Baphomet. Here is a good, succinct description of what the Baphomet image is, from a BBC website (but with my underlining added): “The best-known modern image of Baphomet was drawn in 1856 by the French occultist Eliphas Levi, in his book Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual. He envisaged a winged hermaphrodite with a torch between his horns and a pentagram on his forehead. Its arms bore the Latin words SOLVE (separate) and COAGULA (join together) – the powers of “binding and loosing” usurped from God. Levi’s drawing was the inspiration for the Satanic Temple’s new monument. “It contains all these binary opposites – above and below, part animal, part human. Male and female,” says Greaves. “It embodies opposites and celebrates contrasts.” (https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33682878#:~:text=Levi’s%20Baphomet&text=Its%20arms%20bore%20the%20Latin,the%20Satanic%20Temple’s%20new%20monument.) I purposely chose not to reproduce this image because I will not do their (i.e. Satanists’) bidding. However, I urge you, as a serious Ortho-Christian to do your research about Freemasonry so that you can recognize its spirit in the people around you, in well-known (falsely altruistic) institutions (domestic and global), the political age in which we live, the secular leaders of the West, and, sadly, in some of our Eastern Orthodox hierarchs. May they come to repentance and may God have mercy on all of them, especially the last group who are false teachers and the modern-day “brood of vipers” of which St. John the Baptist and Christ spoke.
[ii] For those who may be thinking … this writer is being disrespectful and disobedient to His Eminence … I would like to offer this perspective: I don’t think its disrespectful to ask tough questions of the leaders of the Orthodox Church. However, to be clear, when we interact with our priests, spiritual fathers, father confessors, and any hierarchs, we must honour the office – as the lesson behind John 11:49-52 tells us. But – and please edify me if I am stating something heretical – any and every Christian is permitted to ask respectful questions and express legitimate concerns to any one of the foregoing persons and receive an answer. Their answers may not satisfy us but, unlike Christ, who was the perfect, sinless, God-Man who did not have to answer Pontius Pilate or the Pharisees who tried to trap him using His Word, silence from our hierarchs about acts and omissions that appear to be irreconcilable with the tenets of our faith is not acceptable.
[iii] I used this well-known American phrase – because it just rolls off the tongue when one reads it – even though “pleading the 5th” is not a thing in Canada. Rather, in Canada, the right to remain silent (to prevent oneself from self-incrimination), is in Section 7 of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”), which is embedded in our Constitution and which is, theoretically, the highest law of the Canadian land. In practice, however, our Charter is much weaker in wording than the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. Why? Because our Prime Minister of the time – Pierre Elliot Trudeau … yes, Justin Trudeau’s father – who got our provinces to repatriate our Canadian Constitution (in 1981 …which is not that long ago compared to 1774) from Britain had to make compromises. The net result is that our Constitution’s weaker wording and the inclusion of a major loophole in it (the now infamous “Notwithstanding Clause”, which allows our provinces to override our so-called fundamental freedoms by simply invoking this clause), makes it laughable in terms of protecting individual and supposedly inalienable rights. And, as if these two giant holes in our Constitution were not enough, when you combine the latter with a lefty-trendy-touchy-feely Supreme Court of Canada that is openly anti-Christian, you get a precarious situation for Christians in Canada as it descends deeper into the abyss of secularism in every facet of its society. Again, apologies for the digression but, for some of the readers of this article, it will be important to understand why Canada is not a great place to live anymore if you’re straight, Christian and believe in meritocracy. But again, don’t take my word for it; take a look at what Jordan Petersen thinks of Canada now versus the Canada of 20 or even 10 years ago in this National Post article from August 9, 2024: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/i-will-see-this-contemptible-re-education-process-through-to-its-absurd-end.
[iv] I would be remiss to not mention two earlier “Cassandras”, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley for their brilliant, dystopian novels, 1984 and Brave New World, respectively. I absolutely love the phrase “Christianity without tears” in the latter work. This three-word phrase captures what people expect of Christianity today and why many abandon their faith when they face trials in their life and ask this demonically-inspired question, which atheists love to promote: “Where was God when X happened?” … where X is any problem in life, from an unjustifiable (by worldly standards) death, a devastating illness, a serious financial loss to absurdly secular problems like not being able to get the latest Birkin bag because you don’t have a connection at Hermes! One of the things I love about our Eastern Orthodox faith is that is tells us, in no uncertain terms, that Christians will suffer on this earth just because they are Christians. It also warns us that betrayals will come from everywhere (from within, from your own family and from without, in various forms) but, that those who endure will end up in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, for non-Christians and for fair-weather Christians, who are completely enamoured with life in this world and are scared about or don’t really believe in life after death, this hard Christian teaching must be absolutely terrifying to them … so terrifying that they call us fools for believing it. For me, as I read more and more about the lives of Saints and I use my eyes and ears to see and hear what is happening in this world, I am terrified about remaining in it for long enough to experience Revelation. I pray for the strength and guidance (and especially grace) from our trinitarian God to stick to the Orthodox path that I began not long ago. I still have many passions to kill so I hope that God gives me the time I need to kill all of them; however, for me, my biggest fear is dying before that happens … not leaving this world behind. Make no mistake, I am not trying to sound like a hero. I still worry too much but, I trust Christ more and more because I have lived long enough to experience answers to my prayers. For reasons only He knows, God has been very merciful to me. I have had my share of tribulations but, not like others; I have not truly suffered in life and sometimes, I wonder why. And for the pop-psychologists who will use this line to suggest that I have lost my mind, I wonder about why God has been so merciful to me in a healthy way and I thank God every day for my good fortune. At this point in my life, I pray for one main thing: to have the strength to lay down my life before denying Christ in any way.
[v] For those that did not guess the (obvious) answer, I am referring to COVID-19. (And, as I write this, I see that “Dr.” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (let’s call him “Ted Ross”), the current Director-General of the World Health Organization is beginning to lay another foundation for repeating another world-wide lockdown due to a monkey-pox outbreak in Africa. Look, if you believe Ted Ross, then, you probably also believe that Ted Lasso is real too. You will recall that in the US, conservative judges stopped the tyranny of the secular-liberal majorities who attempted, under the guise of COVID-19, to close synagogues and churches in so-called red states. However, you might want to ask yourself: What happens when the composition of the US Supreme Court justices (conservative vs. liberal) changes? The conservative courts in the US are the last frontiers in the West resisting new laws that have been labeled as “anti-hate speech” laws. The major issue with these new laws is that they do not define what hate speech is. This is a very dark worldwide trend because it gives prosecutors discretion to target and charge Christian “dissidents” and hand them over to activist judges, who may then decide and declare that our Christian Gospels are hateful and must no longer be allowed to be proclaimed by anyone. If you think I am hyperbolizing, take a minute to look at this YouTube video, which is spot-on: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hZWHip3xfC8?feature=share. However, before you – my American Orthodox Christian friends – take comfort in the current conservative majority of your Supreme Court, you should know that there is a new threat to freedom of speech and religion that has emerged from within, that is, from Republican or so-called “red” states with high concentrations of Christian Zionists who have lobbied for the passing of “antisemitism” laws that will criminalize certain parts of the Gospels. This is based on Protestant Evangelicals’ staunch belief in the religious theory of Dispensationalism, which is a direct result of Sola Scriptura. (If you have ever wondered why Orthodox Christians are so against the doctrine of Sola Scriptura when it comes to understanding the Word of God, these latest laws are a case in point!) Finally, if you think that this misdirected zeal by Evangelicals will blow over because it is only at the state level, you underestimate the power of the this lobby in Washington: on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (a ironic date for this type of legislation … or maybe not), the US House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which is aimed at stopping pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. However, like its state-level counterparts, it will have unintended consequences on Christians’ free practice of our religion. And, although there are no (apparently) Evangelical justices on your Supreme Court, it remains to be seen whether any of the current judges will risk being labeled as antisemites if they strike down legislation that has resulted in the successful criminalization of the proclamation of the Gospels. Therefore, please stay watchful and vigilant of tyranny my American friends, lest it creep in while you slumber!
[vi] The italicised phrase in the latter part of this sentence is a not so subtle hint about what Freemasons do in our society, which is staying under the radar (except to other “brothers”) or hiding in plain sight. Again, don’t take my word for it: read about Freemasonry for yourself and then think back to this article and AB Sot.
[vii] I am sure that people will come out of the woodwork and focus on my criticism about keeping liquor stores and other retail stores open and closing churches during COVID-19 … just to try to lure me into a rabbit hole that would take away from the main point of this article. Please, save your words because I won’t take the bait. Look, I have heard all of the reasons why we needed to keep liquor and big box stores open and none can get around the fact that Canadian governments (at all levels) chose to suspend the fundamental freedom of religion which is (supposedly) “guaranteed” in our Charter; see Endnote iii about this fake guarantee. Our Canadian Constitution (our theoretical highest law of the land) was supposed to be a proclamation – not a grant – of rights that all human beings have (bestowed by God). Instead, it’s a sham document that was subordinated to the “privileges” of buying alcohol and going to Costco during state-imposed lockdowns in COVID-19 era. To me, it’s simple and it boils down the this: our secular governments completely devalued our spiritual hospitals – that is, our Eastern Orthodox Churches – in the name of the greater good and sought to make us, Orthodox Christians, pariahs for wanting to worship God during – and thank Him – for the mild-tribulation of COVID-19. Yes, you read that right, Thank God for COVID-19! Again, I included this as a reminder, to my fellow Orthodox Christians, about the words of St. John Chrysostom (the “Golden-Mouth”) because we tend forget to Thank God for All things! This is another topic that I would like to cover in another piece but, if you’re an Orthodox Christian and you’ve never heard this saying before and are curious about why we would thank God in bad times, please research it and also try to pick up a short (65-page) book titled, Life’s Difficulties are Blessings, Saint Nektarios Monastery, Roscoe, New York, which is a compilation of sayings about this from Saints and Monks from the Holy Mountain.
[viii] The case in point is the Canadian Truckers Blockade in Ottawa, dubbed the Freedom Convoy, that resulted in arrests of protesters who were not violent or destructive of private property (unlike the professional mobs and anarchists acting under the guise of BLM in the US). As the world knows, Justin “the Hair” or “His Nibs” Trudeau not only charged the leaders but, used the power of our Federal government to acquire the names of protesters and ordinary people who contributed funds to the support the protest and freeze their bank accounts. If you’re thinking, wait … “Wouldn’t freezing people’s bank accounts cut off their ability to buy and sell?” … you would be spot on. It’s truly scary what a low threshold the Hair used to implement the Emergencies Act (a despicable piece of Canadian legislation because of its vagueness) on February 14, 2022. Trudeau’s invocation was litigated and in late January 2024, our Federal Court (Trial Level) ruled that this action was unreasonable and unconstitutional (… Ya think?). The case is called Canadian Frontline Nurses v. Canada (Attorney General) and you can click on this link if you want to read all 183 pages of it. Or, you can just flip to Paragraph [372] and read the crux of it. The decision came way too late, after the damage has been done to the protesters who were charged and jailed and to those whose bank accounts were seized but, at least the case established a precedent that can be used to, perhaps, get an injunction before His Nibs (or his successor) tries this again. By the way, His Nibs is appealing the trial decision so we’ll get some insight into how our Canadian Federal Court of Appeal sees this issue and, who knows, it may even reach our Canadian Supreme Court.
[ix] Ten years ago, I would have said “NFW” to anyone who said that anti-hate speech laws will be directed against the Christian Gospels. I would have replied as follows: “Not gonna happen in my lifetime, even if a guy named Gavin Newsom gets elected as the California Governor.” Fast-forward 10 years and just think about the executive orders that Newsom – that little French Laundry-eating, slick-willy looking, pencil-neck metrosexual – issued during COVID-19 and is now using to promote LBGTQ literature in state schools. The existence of Gavin Newsom alone strengthens my belief that I will live to see the words of the Lord Himself come to be: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.” (Matthew 10:22, OSB). Although this scenario may seem frightening to think about if you are Christian, don’t let it (and them, the demonically-inspired and powered secular globalists hiding in plain sight) put you in despair because you know how this ends for us … and them: IC XC NIKA! The best way to combat this fear is to trust the Lord when He says “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak…” and “…he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:19 and 10:22, OSB, respectively). The key is repentance, walking an Orthodox path (and gathering, without proselytizing, people within your sphere of influence to join this path) and prayer “without ceasing” (as St. Paul says) to the Lord to give you the strength to endure the things that are coming as this age comes to a close. And if you think that this will take supernatural strength, you’re right but, only the kind infused in humans by the Holy Spirit because in those times, those who have sold their souls to the little troublemaker (as St. Paisios refers to the devil) and turn to him for help will understand that he lied and is now ready to torment your soul for eternity. Finally, for those who may be wondering “Where can I read about people with the type of strength that I need?”, I direct you to read the lives of Christian Saints and to eye-witness testimony of those who endured the gulags and torture in the 20th century, which was the bloodiest century for Christians. See, for example, the 1989 interview of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand available here: https://youtu.be/4GUC5HyxTDw?si=-Jv5guqbcxbPnlM1. This humble man describes how he smiled as he was arrested and taken by the secret police to his imminent death. When these thugs asked him why he was smiling, he explained that he was reminded of what Jesus Christ promised him about this situation, which is what I quoted above. I don’t know if the average Christian knows how bad the 20th century was for Christianity – in terms of killings – far worse than the brutal first three hundred years after Christ’s reign on earth: “Estimates suggest that 45–70 million Christians were martyred in the 20th century, making up more than half of all Christian martyrs in the last two millennia. This includes Christians killed in situations of witness, as a result of human hostility, or who lost their lives prematurely. Some say the average annual rate of martyrs at the end of the 20th century was around 160,000, or 1.6 million between 1990 and 2000. This number includes many Christians killed in the Rwandan genocide and the Sudanese civil wars, as well as over 20 million in Soviet prison camps.” The source of this quote is the unholy Google search engine as at August 19, 2024, which generated this answer via AI. This is the search query I used when researching this question: “How many Christians were killed in the 20th century”. Again, please don’t take my word for it; instead, repeat my query and see what you get from Google for yourself. (I wonder how long it will take Google to direct its programmers to manipulate its current AI algorithm to disappear the answer I received.) Finally, I believe that the 21st century will be worse than the 20th century in terms of Christan killings and I hope that if faced with the same fate of Pastor Wurmbrand, I have one iota of his strength to be as fearless as he was and to proclaim – to the police who arrest me, the judge who sentences me, and to my jailors, torturers or executioners – that Jesus Christ is Lord and to feel free to kill me for His name’s sake. Like I said, this is what I pray for these days.
[x] See Endnote ii.
[xi] I chose this statement on purpose and some of you may have recognized, immediately, who said it. For those who didn’t, it was US Archbishop Elpidophoros (“AB Elpi”), on July 15, 2021, during his speech at the International Religious Freedom Summit held in New York City. When I first read the commentary about this statement, about four years ago, I did not appreciate how dangerous the statement was, coming from this hierarch, who is, by the way, very chummy-chummy with AB Sot and EP Bart.
[xii] Please do not be the gal or the guy who attends Bible Study for social reasons, to hear your own voice, to disrupt the lesson of the day, to argue, or to make gratuitous comments. You are there to learn about the lessons in the Gospels. You should prepare for each session and, by all means, note questions that arise in your mind because of the lesson and write them down and think about them and seek answers to them … before posing them to the leaders or the presiding priest. And, even when you receive answers from the leaders or presiding priest, you may want to check the answers with a spiritual father or an elder (male or female) at a Monastery. The answers you get in parish context may not always be aligned with what a spiritual father or monk or nun may advise … and eventually, you will sense (through the help of the Holy Spirit) when you are customizing our faith rather than struggling to follow it.
[xiii] We have had at least one Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (Meletius IV) who was a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason (and if you are familiar with Albert Pike’s book, you will understand how astonishing and disgusting this is). I really hope that this man, Meletius, repented before he died because if he didn’t, I can only imagine how he will be judged by Christ who, in his own words, called-out the hypocrites and false teachers of his time directly to their faces. EP Meletius was, in effect, the highest false teacher one can be in our Orthodox Christian hierarchy and I am sure that when he died – if he did not repent sincerely before he died – his soul had a treacherous journey to its current state, which is only a foretaste of what awaits him. If he didn’t repent and renounce Freemasonry, I think he is experiencing the anguish that the Rich Man experienced – as related in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus – multiplied by 100.
[xiv] Here are two videos about Freemasonry that should pique your curiosity about what Freemasonry is. The first one is only about 5.5 minutes long: https://youtu.be/2S4LFiUa7Zw?si=U3FoI5jdaUtnwJja. The second one is a mammoth 5-hour exposé that provides specific information about Freemasonry that can be verified independently: https://www.bitchute.com/video/Yhv9ZMby68Ig/. I have no idea how much longer the latter video will remain available. The latter link is a “Bitchute” link because the previous YouTube link that I used to watch it, over a year ago, was taken down a few weeks after I watched it. And remember what I said earlier: trust but verify all sources and their pronouncements before forming your own conclusions.
[xv] One possible answer to this question is: only if AB Elpi means the “supreme being” that Freemasons worship … i.e. Lucifer (according to Abert Pike). In my view, AB Elpi’s statement should have been grounds for EP Bart to convene a synod to question what, exactly, the US archbishop meant by this statement … unless, of course, EP Bart is of the same view or ethos as AB Elpi (which may also include AB Sot). Look, I understand that I am being provocative by this statement but, Freemasonry is the polar opposite of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in its theology, Christology and soteriology and I find it very suspect that the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses of Canada and the US and the Phanar have not condemned Freemasonry as being incompatible with Christianity.
[xvi] See the article Is Freemasonry Systemic in the Greek Orthodox Church? published on October 7, 2020 and available here: https://orthodoxreflections.com/is-freemasonry-systemic-in-the-greek-orthodox-church/. I think this article poses a rhetorical question. To me, it is a call to action to us, the elect, to root out the Masonic infiltrators in our local Orthodox churches, expose them and prevent them from rising in ranks and using their positions to deceive unassuming Orthodox Christian about what being a Freemason means.
[xvii] The Antiochian Archdiocese has also been noticeably silent about condemning Freemasonry, and although I have not looked into this archdiocese deeply, there are many sources available on the Internet that state, unequivocally, that this Archdiocese is teaming with Freemasons in all of their senior ranks. (However, I would be remiss if I did not warn you about vetting your Internet sources very carefully before rushing to judgment. My list of “Go To” sources on the Internet is very small and constantly vetted for proclamations that can be verified.)
[xviii] Here is a simple letter that all Parish Council and/or Boards in Canada can use to petition AB Sot to answer three simple questions relating to Freemasonry:
[Date]
By E-Mail: office@goarchdiocese.ca
Archbishop Sotirios
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada
86 Overlea Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4H 1C6
Your Eminence,
It has come to our Parish’s attention that, according to your biography on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada’s website, you hold the title “Grand Commander of the Order of Phoenix of Greece”. Based on our research, this title replaces the now defunct title of “Royal Order of George I”, which has a strong connection to Freemasonry.
Based on our research about Freemasonry, we understand that it is a religion which is not compatible with our Orthodox Christian faith. In fact, Freemasonry has been renounced by Protestant Church denominations, the Roman Catholic Church, and several Eastern Orthodox Churches. In light of our research into Freemasonry, we, the Parish Council or Board of ■ [insert name of your church] respectfully request your answers to the following questions, within 30 days of the date of this letter:
Q1: Were you aware that the Order of Phoenix of Greece is connected to Freemasonry?
Q2: If your answer to Q1 is “No”, now that you are aware that the Order of Phoenix of Greece is connected to Freemasonry, will you publicly renounce your Grand Commander title?
Q3: Will you issue an official statement declaring, as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Canada, that the religion of Freemasonry is not compatible with Christianity and that you unequivocally renounce it?
Your Eminence, we mean no disrespect by asking these questions of you, the answers to which we believe are simple.
As you can appreciate, it is of utmost importance to us to confirm that our Church and especially our hierarchs have not been infiltrated by Freemasons.
We look forward to your responses.
Sincerely,
[Name]
President
- Board Members and All Parish Members
Tags:
Albert Pike,
Aldous Huxley,
apostasy,
Archbishop Elpidophoros,
Baphomet,
Canada,
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
Canadian Frontline Nurses v. Canada (Attorney General),
conspiracies,
Constantinople,
ecumenical,
Ecumenical Patriarch,
ecumenism,
Emergencies Act,
eucharist,
fanatics,
freemasonry,
freemasons,
George Orwell,
Gnosticism,
Grand Lodge of Greece Phoenix,
Greece,
Greek Archdiocese,
Greek Monarchy,
greek orthodox bishop,
Greek Revolution 1821,
Guild of the Temple,
heresy,
J.K. Rowling,
Knights Templar,
Leftist Infiltration,
Live Not by Lies,
London Convention,
Lucifer,
martyrs,
Masonic Lodge,
Meletius IV,
Michael Witcoff,
modernity,
multiple spoons,
Notwithstanding Clause,
occult,
occult symbolism,
On The Masons And Their Lies: What Every Christian Needs To Know,
Order of the Phoenix,
Orthodox Bishops,
Orthodox fundamentalism,
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Ottoman Empire,
Patriarch Bartholomew,
Patriarch Constantinople,
Prince Wilhelm of Denmark,
Red Cross of Constantine,
Rod Dreher,
Royal Lodge,
Royal Order of King George the First,
Scottish Rite,
secret societies,
Shoshana Zuboff,
Solve et Coagula,
Sotirios,
Stratis Georgiou,
suffering,
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism,
Theology,
we need to go along to get along,
Zionism
As Americans and Canadians, this can be hard to fathom. We are used to thinking of Freemasons, if we think of them at all, as a men’s social club that does charitable work around the community. We see “conspiracy theory” documentaries about them from time-to-time pop up on TV, of course, but hardly anyone seems to take them seriously. Regardless of our mental image of Shriners in small cars and funny hats helping needy kids, very sober-minded and holy men (on the Orthodox side anyway) consider Freemasonry a serious problem.
comes complete with its own Theology, rituals and symbols (icons). Much of this occult symbolism and Theology has “crossed over” into other movements and into popular culture, giving the Masonic religion a much wider influence than mere numbers of Freemasons would indicate possible.
Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, Freemasonry created the ecumenical movement that threatens our own Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. For the Greek Church, participation in the ecumenical movement began with Freemasons infiltrating the Church during the end of the 19th Century. In his article, Some preliminary notes on the influence of Freemasonry on early Greek Ecumenism, Scholar and Monk Seraphim (Zissis) details how multiple Greek Patriarchs of Constantinople, Greek bishops, and Greek Theologians were secret Freemasons who promoted the early ecumenical movement. These included Patriarch Joachim III, who first named the Roman Catholics and Protestants “churches” from an Orthodox point of view, and Patriarch Meletios IV (Metaxakis), whose innovations included adopting the new calendar to align with the other “churches” and a keen interest in the Anglican “Church” at a time when sources indicate as many as ¾’s of Anglican clergy were with the Masons.
One of our biggest problems, as Orthodox Christians, is that we believe our cultural enemies are “secular” or “atheists.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether they recognize it or not, the enemies of the One True God are profoundly religious. Whether called “Freemasonry” or “Scientism” or “Antiracism” or “Wicca” or “Antifascism” or “Progressivism” or by any other name, their faith is deep and their god is both demanding of sacrifice and profoundly intolerant. The way for these new faiths was paved through Freemasonry rejecting supernatural Divine Revelation, without which man lies naked before raw power. The Freemason Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote: “The life of a human being is not only a gift of nature, but a conditioned gift by the state” (The Social Contract II, 5).
Satan, of course, is the original conspirator against God. He has never ceased his activity. He has never given up. His disciples follow him in wishing to transform this world into their vision of a utopia. Far from trying to create Hell, they are trying to create a Heaven right here on Earth in the form of a new order they control. They believe they are the heroes of this story, and those of us clinging to destructive fables such as Orthodoxy are the villains. Their “god” represents progress, while ours represents the Dark Ages. Key to creating this new order is first and foremost, destroying the old:
Therefore, if some of us lament the abysmal quality of some hierarchs in the Orthodox Church today, listen to what Christ said to His Disciples: “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil?” (John 6:70). Being the all-knowing God, and not interfering with the free will of His creatures, but giving them every opportunity to know Him and follow Him, Jesus knew in advance that Judas Iscariot, despite following Him closely for three years, would betray Him. He knew he would do it with a kiss and would not seek forgiveness, but would destroy himself. Christ gave Judas every opportunity to repent, but when Judas would not return to the Master, the Master used the devil to abolish the devil’s power over us by allowing his freely made choices to play out. Although one of the “twelve,” Judas did not cultivate the rock-like faith required for the gates of hell not to prevail against him. He succumbed to his final temptation, becoming “the son of perdition” (John 17:12). He was in the Church, but he was not of the church – a condition of the heart and mind that can apply to anyone, including bishops.
As She did from the very beginning, the Church continues Her struggle against both external and internal enemies. It is the “kissing” internal ones that pose the greatest threat to the flock, the ones that lie to the Holy Spirit when they say, “nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas.” The New Testament refers to such as these as Judaizers (refuted by St. Paul), the sexually immoral Nicolaitans (in Revelations), false teachers, false prophets and wolves masquerading in sheep’s clothing. While Papal heresies led to the Protestant Reformation in the West, the East struggled under the Ottoman yoke, keeping Orthodoxy alive by the 
Recent publication from our friends at Fordham University Press, home of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center which has extremely close ties to the Patriarchate of Constantinople
The genuine Orthodox Christian is not drawn to Ecumenism, which accepts 
Orthodoxy’s presence in today’s world must first be Sacramental and Liturgical, a salvific way of life that is found only in the Orthodox Church, the only vessel that can carry us safely through every storm. It is only within this Church that one finds the greatest treasure – the experience of Divine Liturgy and all its worship. This infinite treasure encompasses and preserves the fulness of the Christian Faith, the Mind of God and His Laws as expressed by the Apostles and Holy Fathers, the lives of the Saints, and the meaning of our very existence. If there is anything of unlimited value in this world that is worthy of every sacrifice, even our very lives, it is the Orthodox Faith, which was given to us by Christ, fought for, preserved, and passed down to us by His Holy Apostles, Holy Fathers, Martyrs, Saints and every righteous man or woman of our Holy Orthodox Church.
One thing is for sure, the Orthodox Church will always be here. Nations come and go, but the Church remains. Those nations, political ideologies, that sought to destroy her have failed, and will fail until the end.
So it seems, the Church is in uncharted territory, but is it really? Is there anything new under the sun? Some suppose, the whole COVID storm is very different than anything we have seen in history—but not so much. During the Iconoclasm controversy, kissing icons became a sign to all which side folks were on—it was the defining issue of the day. For those who refused to kiss the icons, their status was clear. They were iconoclasts. While we would think some churches would go one way and others the opposite, often that line of division ran right down the center of many parish communities.
Often in the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant (the symbol of the Theotokos equating to God’s good will toward His people at that moment) was often called the Ark of the Testimony. What is meant by that term, “Testimony”? Ark means keep, vault, or cache, but keep of what? Of course, the “keep” of Christ, but in terms of the “Testimony” what does that mean? What does it mean to keep the “Testimony,” the Testimony of Christ, or the Testimony of the Faith?
How does that relate to now? If any seeker went to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) seeking the same experience as Vladimir’s ambassadors, would they find it? The ever glorious 
Earlier in Christendom, deference was given to the Bishop of Rome—“first among equals” (not first among subordinates). What was the basis for labeling the Pope of Rome first in anything? Why was this honor given? It was because for the first few centuries, after Jerusalem, Rome was the center of gravity for the Faith. It was a missions center from which the Church reached out to the world.
Without boring my reader (and exposing my ignorance) we’ll pluck only a few choice facts from the 
By the time St John wrote this, he had seen everything. What he noted was that those in error were the ones quick to sever relations. They opt for divorce to defend their pseudo-authority. They cut off anyone who disagrees or tries to bring light to their senses. Those that depart are in error. But this begs the question: who is the one departing the True Faith? Could it not be the bishop who by fiat does things never before seen in the Church? 
Fr. Demetrios has decades of experience as a priest. During his career, he has served under several bishops in more than one jurisdiction. He had reached out to us for technical assistance with a project he was working on. While we had him on the phone, we couldn’t help but ask him about the state of our Orthodox Church in the United States.
Fr. Demetrios explained to us that, in his experience, bishops are rarely interested in the opinions of their priests or the laity. We have seen multiple public confirmations of this. For example, most bishops did not ask for any input on how to deal with Covid at the parish-level. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon was 
On a regular basis, bishops ignite firestorms. Sometimes it seems to be accidental. At other times, it is clear that they took controversial positions and steps on purpose, but it is hard to believe they were in any way prepared for the severity of the backlash that followed. If they listened to anyone at all in the preparation of their controversial texts or planning some of their controversial actions, then it was to individuals who agreed with them completely and looked at everything from the same perspective as the hierarchs. An echo chamber does not prepare you for contact with the real world.
Of course, the unfortunate “new age” wording has already spawned many negative responses. Among them are humorous memes such as the one to the right.
Bishop Benjamin of the OCA 
not suspended for participating in the rally. Despite the fact that this suspension had become an international news story, the chancellor refused to comment on why Fr. Mark was suspended, if not for participation in the rally. So of course, as you can see from the 
Archbishop Elpidophoros 
On the Feast Day of St. Bartholomew, June 11th, Archbishop Elpidophoros 
Cuban Communist dictatorship against the brave people of Cuba who are in the streets demanding their freedom. 
His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios, the former Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Kalavryta and Aigialeia in northern Greece, recently 
caused by the hysterical, harmful