EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis) Those of you who do not know what the name Sam Brownback means, you will get a clear picture from the report below. Mr. Brownback, former “U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom”, had been basically a hitman for the Deep State, specializing in using religion (and particularly Orthodoxy) against Russia. Some of us will not forget that he has even visited the Archbishop of Greece (accompanied by Geoffrey Pyatt) to apply pressure for the same purpose he visited recently Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA, namely to recognize the schismatics. I think he has zero chance, especially now when everyone knows that the “Ukraine project” is lost to the West. They are now preparing phase B, which means a “government in Exile”, foolishly believing they will eventually have a second chance in 5-10 years. Why they are so insistent on attacking Russia? Please watch today’s video of the Three Alexes at the Duran, posted on Helleniscope today. In a few words: the West needs to grab the huge mineral deposits of Russia as “collateral” to support its failing economic system that is about to collapse….
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Primate of OCA meets with former Ambassador Sam Brownback
Washington, D.C., October 15, 2024
Photo: oca.org
On Saturday, October 12, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and All America and Canada, head of the autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, met with Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
The meeting, which began with a brief tour of the cathedral, focused on several critical topics including religious freedom, the Orthodox Church in America’s role in U.S. society and the broader Orthodox world, and global religious persecution, the OCA reports.
Their discussion emphasized the importance of protecting religious freedom both domestically and internationally, and addressed the growing concerns of persecution faced by Christians and other religious groups worldwide.
Presumably, their conversation touched upon the situation in Ukraine. Recall that the OCA supports the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, rejecting the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”
Met. Tikhon visited the persecuted UOC in June and concelebrated with His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine and other Ukrainian hierarchs.
On the other hand, Brownback has openly voiced support for the schismatic OCU and has worked to convince hierarchs to recognize it.
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10/15/2024
I agree with you, I seriously doubt that Met. Tikhon/OCA will recognize the OCU.
However, IF he does I think that spells the end of the OCA in any meaningful sense. I’m in the GOA but am very familiar with the OCA here in the South and the majority of parishes are made up of conservative converts who are “in the know” and who, if the OCU is recognized, will switch to ROCOR, etc., in less than a heartbeat.
Usually these types of individuals don’t just “show up” for a random coffee visit…or catechism class…
It will be interesting to find out if this guy Brownback has just “casually reminded” Met. Tikhon of any “leverageable information” that anyone may be withholding from the media as “additional incentive” to recognize the schismatics…(that would be along the lines of the previously reported Pompeo- AB Demetrios meeting model that accelerated the groundwork for the Ukrainian “tomos” fiasco)
But then again, maybe it was “just an overdue coffee visit” after all, and there is nothing to worry about…
We ultimately may have to watch future events , comments, and actions closely while vividly remembering the day/time of this “meeting” in order to infer what was actually discussed.
Unfortunately, I agree with you Markos.
There was a time when I would have been willing to bet my right arm that Patriarch Theodoros would never recognize the Ukrainian schismatics, given his intimate knowledge of Ukraine and his stalwart support for Met. Onuphry and the UOC…..yet I would be without that right arm today.