Phanar’s Archdiocese in U.S. tried to derail meetings held in defense of UOC

Archbishop Elpidophoros and Archpriest Alexander Karloutsos worked to derail meetings in defense of the UOC in the United States. Photo: Orthodox Observer

Archbishop Elpidophoros, head of the Archdiocese of the Constantinople Patriarchate in the United States, was covertly trying to block meetings between American politicians and clergy and faithful advocating for the defense of the UOC. He wrote this in a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew dated November 21, 2025, which came into the possession of the American editorial office of UOJ.

Describing already completed meetings between clergy of the Antiochian and Serbian Churches, as well as the OCA and ROCOR, and American congressmen, the hierarch called them “highly alarming reports,” since even larger actions were soon being planned. Archbishop Elpidophoros informed the Patriarch that, “following these very troubling reports, after consultation with the Very Rev. Archpriest Alexander Karloutsos, we decided to travel in the coming days to Washington in order to prevent developments and inform officials of the White House, the State Department, and Congress regarding the real facts and the situation in Ukraine.”

“At the same time, we took steps to cancel the meetings of this pro-Russian group with the aforementioned government officials,” he wrote. According to the hierarch, “ultimately Fr. Alexander informed me by telephone that through his coordinated efforts on November 19 the meetings with government officials were canceled.”

Archbishop Elpidophoros also wrote: “Supportive of our position was the intervention of Pastor Mark Burns, advisor to President Trump, who described the Moscow Patriarchate as a 'documented tool of the Kremlin,’” and he quoted the Patriarch the full text of Burns’s remarks.

Throughout the letter, Archbishop Elpidophoros repeatedly attaches the label of “pro-Russian actors” to the members of the Orthodox delegation – representatives of the Antiochian and Serbian Churches and the Orthodox Church in America. He specifically refers to UOJ-USA as “the main organ of Russian propaganda.”

The source that provided UOJ’s editorial office with Elpidophoros’ letter characterized the hierarch as follows:

“You will see that it is not the Archons, but Archbishop Elpidophoros who is your main and most dangerous enemy – the enemy of all American Orthodoxy. I cannot tell you all the details. He is hypocritical and cautious, but he is currently doing everything to destroy you. Only public exposure and widespread disgrace can stop him.”

As previously reported, the full text of the letter can be read here.

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