OCA priest: Phanar’s archons insulted participants of White House meeting

Fr. Thomas Soroka of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Photo: Ancient Faith/YouTube

On November 20, 2025, Fr. Thomas Soroka of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) appealed to the OCA Holy Synod with a request to suspend or terminate the Church’s membership in the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA (ACOB). The report comes from UOJ America.

Fr. Thomas stated that after the sharp and accusatory letter issued by the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the very principles of the organization – which unites the bishops of canonical Orthodox jurisdictions in the U.S., including the Greek Archdiocese, the Antiochian Archdiocese, the Serbian Church, ROCOR, and the OCA – are now under threat.

The priest emphasized that in their letter, the Archons labeled the delegation of Orthodox clergy who took part in the White House meeting as “agents of the Russian state.” The delegation included representatives of several jurisdictions, and, as Soroka noted, they had every right to participate in a meeting with the U.S. administration.

“I am absolutely appalled at the statement of these ‘rulers’ (ἄρχοντες),” Fr. Thomas wrote on his Facebook page. He pointed out that the Archons had insulted honest clergymen and distorted the purpose of the meeting, which was dedicated to discussing the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Soroka urged the OCA bishops to “give serious consideration” to suspend their membership in the Assembly, stating that “parallel church structures are being created in direct contradiction to every ethical norm of that Assembly’s purpose.” He asked the Synod to express its dissatisfaction with the “disgusting accusations,” and concluded his message with the following words:

“Suspend your participation in ACOB until sanity is restored and truth is honored. Everything will be done for God’s glory.”

Earlier, UOJ reported that a U.S. lawmaker condemned Rep. Joe Wilson’s accusations against the UOC.

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