Phanar archons criticize White House meeting on UOC protection

Participants in the Assembly of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP), USA. Photo: Facebook

On November 19, 2025, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate published a letter on their Facebook page sharply criticizing a White House meeting between clergy of the Orthodox Churches in the United States and representatives of the U.S. Office of International Religious Freedom.

The archons cite a report by The Hill that claims some participants in the meeting are allegedly “lobbyists and clergy with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church.” According to the archons, these representatives are “campaigning this week on Capitol Hill and meeting with the Trump administration,” which, they argue, should draw the attention of the American administration.

In their statement, the archons elaborate the Phanar’s position on the church situation in Ukraine. They claim that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – which they refer to in the letter as “an of the Moscow Patriarchate” – is engaged in terrorism against the OCU: “That splinter group, an arm of the Moscow Patriarchate, is now targeting and killing members of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine, targeting civilians in order to sow terror among the population and make them too frightened to join the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”

The archons also cite remarks by Congressman Joe Wilson, who has previously claimed that the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) is “an extension of the Russian state.” The archons express gratitude to Wilson, who, according to them, is drawing attention to an issue that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been highlighting for many years.

In conclusion, the AEP calls on U.S. authorities to cancel the meeting. The letter states: “We urge the Trump administration to cancel this meeting with what are essentially Russian state agents, and to stand in solidarity with the suffering Ukrainian people and the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”

Earlier, the UOJ reported that an American lawmaker spoke out against Wilson’s accusations targeting the UOC.

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