Like Comrade Stalin
Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Romfea
During a sermon at the St Nicholas Church in Istanbul on 6 December, Patriarch Bartholomew offered "special prayers for those Russian clergy and laypeople who support their suffering Orthodox brothers in Ukraine and face brutal persecution and imprisonment for opposing the inhumane policies of President Putin and the un-Christian rhetoric of Patriarch Kirill."
"May their example awaken the conscience both within their country and beyond," said the Patriarch.
Beautiful and fair words. But there are a few points of confusion.
Patriarch Bartholomew has no influence over the persecution of these clergy and laypeople (and in reality, there are very few of them). However, he most certainly could have an impact on the suffering of thousands of the clergy and laypeople of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), who are enduring incomparably greater persecution. He could even do so privately, without making a public statement. All he would need to do is make a few calls: to Serhiy Dumenko and to the Office of the President of Ukraine. He could have at least mentioned the persecution of the UOC in his sermon – after all, the Ukrainian Ambassador Roman Nedilsky was present at the service.
But Patriarch Bartholomew remained silent. Just as he remained silent when Dumenko followers seized the cathedral in Cherkasy, beat Metropolitan Theodosiy over the head with a baton, broke the legs of parishioners, shot at them with traumatic weapons, and so on. And this was not just in Cherkasy; similar cases have occurred across the country – hundreds, if not thousands of them. The UN, OSCE, top US officials, and leaders of the Local Churches all speak about it. Only Patriarch Bartholomew does not. And his silence is deafening.
After Stalin’s death, when the USSR underwent a de-Stalinisation process and the horrific crimes of the Stalinist regime became widely known, the people simply couldn’t believe it. For some time, there was a popular belief that all these crimes were committed by Stalin’s entourage, and that Stalin himself was deceived. In other words, Comrade Stalin was actually a good person. It sounds naïve, but many believed it at the time.
Is it possible that, in time, similar things will be said about Patriarch Bartholomew?
Shall we believe it?
Read also
How Epifaniy became a successor of the "occupier"
From the OCU's perspective, Bishop Ioann was the living embodiment of the very “spiritual occupation” of Ukraine and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra that they now claim to be heroically fighting against.
Ukraine’s court religions: conscience or LGBT?
“Moscow priests” will be branded not only for refusing to join the OCU and for following the Julian calendar, but also for “homophobia.”
Does Patriarch Bartholomew consider Ukrainians bearers of the "Russian World"?
The Primate of the Church of Constantinople arrived in Vilnius to introduce the newly appointed Exarch of Lithuania, Bishop Panaretos of Tamasos.
A lesson for the modern Church from the depths of ages
St. Leontius had no desire whatsoever to be “one of their own” for the local authorities or non-believers.
How the UOC Council in Feofania was turned into a “lawless gathering”
All the insults hurled at the Council – claims that it was a “mob gathering,” “filth,” “foam,” and the like – rest not on canons or facts, but solely on the emotions of those making them.
What kind of Ukraine are we moving toward?
Ukrainian authorities are now openly admitting that the country is facing a demographic catastrophe and that there are already not enough people left to fill the workforce.