Serbian Church accuses The Hill of slandering its hierarch

Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, New York, and Eastern America. Photo: Easterndiocese.org

On 18 November 2025, the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Eastern America refuted a The Hill article claiming that Bishop Irinej had supposedly met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The report comes from UOJ in America.

In a statement sent to UOJ in America, the eparchy called The Hill’s piece “blatantly misleading” and stressed that the information about a meeting between the hierarch and Putin is entirely invented. The eparchy stated that Bishop Irinej has never met the Russian president and never accompanied Patriarch Porfirije during his visit to Moscow in April 2025:

"His Grace Bishop Irinej, Bishop of Washington-New York and Eastern America, has never met with Vladimir Putin. Neither did he accompany His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije to Moscow in April 2025. The implication is egregious and tantamount to defamation."

The eparchy also noted that the bishop has been actively defending the rights of the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who are facing unprecedented persecution in Ukraine.

The statement emphasizes that the American public deserves a far higher level of accuracy and responsibility in journalism than what The Hill demonstrated. The eparchy expressed hope that the editorial team will take action regarding the authors of the article and will publish a proper correction reflecting the real facts.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Father Vasilije Vranic had already commented on Congressman Joe Wilson’s claim that Orthodox Christians in the United States “may serve as vehicles of foreign influence."

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