PHOTO: Bishop Mykhailo Komansky and Epiphany Dumenko
EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis). In the three short reports (below) the religious and humanitarian disaster in Ukraine has caused “disappointment” – according to the official report by the mouthpiece of the Patriarchate, the Orthodox Times… But the reality is that all the divisive policies applied by Pat. Bartholomew, during the past 6 years, have failed, causing a schism within Orthodoxy and increasing violence in Ukraine. The latest violent episodes at Cherkasy brought an uproar of support for the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, led by a holy man, Met. Onufriy. UOC is autonomous under the Moscow Patriarchate and serves 70% of the Ukrainian Orthodox.
The brutal scenes of violating and stealing the Cathedral of Cherkasy from its rightful faithful and, above all, physically attacking Metropolitan Theodosius disgusted Orthodox people all over the world. Met. Theodosius of Cherkasy placed the blame where it belongs: directly on Patriarch Bartholomew. Helleniscope has been reporting for many years that Bartholomew has explicitly been warned of the imminent eventuality of violence because of the fatal decisions about giving the “tomos” of “Cacocephaly” to Ukraine. Our reporting has been cross-verified and is absolutely true!! Among the officials that had warned Bartholomew were pre-eminent Greek diplomats with years of experience in Eastern Europe and Ukraine specifically. Bartholomew was warned in writing. Acting like the contrarian “mule from Imvros” that he has always been, he ignored all voices of reason. Now, the Orthodox faithful of Ukraine pay the price for Bartholomew’s evil policies…
Soon, Bartholomew and the Phanar will be punished for their evil decisions. The end of the Ukraine War is near, as it is now crystal clear. Regardless of the specific terms the Russians will impose (does anyone still doubt that the war will end with a complete surrender of the Kiev regime?), one thing is sure (even if Russia allows part of Ukraine to function as an independent country): the religious rights of all Ukrainians will be fully restored, and their linguistic preferences will be respected.
And one more thing: Bartholomew and Emmanuel are now trying to blame Epiphanius. This will not pass: the blame belongs entirely to them. And they have to be ready to pay the price, which will be severe, given the close ties the “Ottoman” Turks have now developed with the Russians.
October 26, 2024, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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Disappointment at the Phanar over the “Ukrainian issue” (upd)
LAST UPDATED 13:44
By Efi Efthimiou
There was a sense of disappointment during the session of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate regarding the progress of the so-called “Ukrainian” issue.
According to well-informed sources of orthodoxtimes.com, on the second day of the Holy and Sacred Synod session, a 50-page report was presented by the three-member delegation that visited Ukraine in August.
The atmosphere during the ensuing discussion was tense, as the Synodal Hierarchs seemed to conclude from the report that the delegation’s visit did not yield any positively assessable results.
In particular, it was noted that there seemed to be no prospect for dialogue between the two sides in Ukraine, as both Metropolitan Epifaniy and Metropolitan Onufriy seemed unwilling to budge from their respective positions in order to find common ground.
Indicative of the prevailing atmosphere was the fact that some hierarchs even raised the possibility of convening a new unifying council. Meanwhile, some Synodal Hierarchs expressed doubt that the choice of Metropolitan Epifaniy as head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was ultimately the right one.
During the session, the view of Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw was also heard, who suggested that a new leader should be found for the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine.
Additionally, during the same session, a letter sent by Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv to the Synod was read. According to orthodoxtimes.com, Metropolitan Epifaniy in his letter criticized the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Kyiv, Bishop Michael of Comana.
He also spoke disparagingly about the three-member delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that visited Kyiv, as well as their actions and the outcome of the visit by the three envoys of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
As if that were not enough, the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Kyiv, Bishop Michael of Comana, also sent a letter in which he presented his perspective on the current situation within the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, making negative comments about Metropolitan Epifaniy.
In response, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew informed the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of his recent trip to Australia.
According to orthodoxtimes.com, Patriarch Bartholomew spoke warmly about his stay in Australia and praised Archbishop Makarios of Australia, expressing his “pride” in how much Archbishop Makarios has accomplished in five years and how he has organized the Church.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
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Media: At Fanar, the Synod heard the report of Bartholomew’s delegation to Ukraine
The Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople did not publish any decisions regarding the Ukrainian church issue.
At the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, according to OrthodoxTimes.com , the course of solving the “Ukrainian” issue was discussed. According to sources, on the second day of the meeting, the delegation of Patriarch Vapholomy , which he sent to Ukraine in August, submitted a 50-page report on the visit to Ukraine. The atmosphere of the discussion was tense because, according to the hierarchs, the visit of the delegation did not bring tangible results for achieving unity in the Ukrainian church.
The synodal hierarchs emphasized that there are no prospects for a dialogue between the head of the OCU Epiphany and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as both sides do not want to compromise. In light of this, some hierarchs even raised the issue of the possibility of convening a new unifying council to find a solution for the Ukrainian church situation.
As SPJ reported, Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv recorded a video message to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople after the second attempt to seize the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Cherkasy. The Metropolitan called on the Patriarch to intervene and stop the lawlessness taking place on Ukrainian soil.
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Dumenko complained to the Phanar Synod about Bishop Mykhailo Komanskyi
Epiphanius also “disparagingly commented on the three-person delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that visited Kyiv.”
On October 25, 2024, it became known that the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, complained to the members of the Holy Synod of Phanar about the Exarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Bishop Mykhailo Komanskyi.
Orthodoxtimes.com reported that at the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, dedicated to the “Ukrainian issue”, a letter from Epiphany Dumenka was read.
In his letter, “Metropolitan Epiphany criticized the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Kyiv, Bishop Mykhailo Komansky.”
Orthodoxtimes.com also reported that Dumenko “spoke disparagingly about the three-person delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that visited Kyiv, as well as about their actions and the results of this visit.”Previously, SPJ wrote that at the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, according to OrthodoxTimes.com, the course of solving the “Ukrainian” issue was discussed .
Έσπειραν ανέμους και θα θερίσουν
Θύελες.
Captain,
Big disappointment yesterday at our church. The priest and the AHEPA members that run the parish council didn’t mention October 28th at all, not one word!
Not many years ago at the same church there was every year a special celebration for that day. Dehellenization is not a conspiracy theory, it is happening as we speak! And leaving the churches is not a solution, the Greek way is to stay there and fight!
Mr PG, I wish your passion for Christ is as great as your passion for Hellenism.
Jk
I don’t have any passion about Hellenism. I am Greek. People’s identity is not a passion. It is who they are.
And Christ didn’t say that in order to become Christians we have to denounce our ethnic background. Christianity and Hellenism were partners for centuries. I don’t see why now they have to split. Do you see any reason?
I am also Greek and an American. I value both but my faith in Christ and Orthodox Christianity come first.
It is the Greek language that recorded the teachings of Jesus and the acts of the Apostles especially Paul. Jesus often taught in Greek the common language of the peoples in Judea at his time and said : now came the time for the glorification of the Son of Man , when he learned some Greeks came to speak with him!
Leon, you are mistaken, the common language in Judea was Aramaic. Jesus primarily spoke in Aramaic and probably did not know Greek. The Gospels are translations from Aramaic. You are correct however, a common language is needed to transmit His message. Are you suggesting that Jesus expressed some superiority to Greeks with the passage you mention. Clearly, St Paul states that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ.
Roughly 260 years before Jesus the Old Testament was translated to Greek by mostly Hellenized Jews. As I understand Hebrew was not spoken by the majority of the Jews at that time and Aramaic may not have been seen as equivalent to Greek for some reason. So the translation served a purpose.
JK,
If you read what exactly transpired between October 28th, 1940, and the summer of 1941, and if you read the books that are out there about the miracles that occurred, you will understand why the Church of Greece moved the celebration of Agia Skepi (Holy Protection) from October 1st to October 28th. There were even accounts of appearances of the Theotokos that were made by Italian soldiers (and later Germans), claiming that they saw her “blocking them” on the battlefield. In one instance, a very dangerous Italian artillery position that was causing the Greek military trouble in the mountains was exposed after the priest traveling with the military units decided to do a Paraklesis service, and the next morning a tiny cloud “sat” upon a position on the opposite mountain, which the Greek artillery targeted. Miraculously, the Italian position was there, and they were eliminated. At a village near Thebes, an ex-Nazi German officer kept returning each summer on August 15th to light a candle for the Theotokos, even up until about 1990 when he died. Why? Because he was a tank commander, and in WW2, when he tried to “level” a small church out in the farmlands, his tanks would malfunction and not move forward (only reverse worked). Then he saw the Theotokos standing between his tanks and the small church. He got the hint, and went elsewhere to continue his warfare. This and many more stories are from military officer field notes that were collected and published in books…go read them.
As a result, there is definitely a religious angle to WW2, and we can easily understand why Panagia would be “taking sides” if we remembered the incident 75 days “prior” to October 28th, on August 15th 1940, when the Italians torpedoed the naval ship “Elli” in the port of Tinos, during the festal celebrations of the Theotokos, killing a lot of people, including non-military…The Greek government was unusually restrained, and “didn’t take the bait” on August 15th to declare war on Italy, tried to be patient, but the Italians went to “plan B”, and started crossing the Albanian border 75 days later…The blatant religious war that was perpetrated by the Italian regime on August 15th, 1940 against the Orthodox conscience, the same fascist regime that in the Dodecanese was forcing Greeks to speak Italian and banning Greek (like the Ukrainians were doing to Russian speakers today) doesn’t phase you a bit, does it? But no, you don’t care to mention the events starting on August 15th and culminating on October 28th, 1940 in a Greek Orthodox Church, because you don’t seem to care about the “memorial” of those “Greeks” who died, do you?…Instead you continue your obstinate rhetoric, and unusually high “hatred” of anything that is Greek. Despicable behavior, and I ask you openly…how do you dare venerate any icon of the Theotokos with a mindset like this?
You also continue to spew the lies about Aramaic, when we’ve asked you repeatedly and clearly to answer the simple question: “Why did the sign on the cross only include Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and not Aramaic”? Until you logically, and convincingly answer that question, you shouldn’t make “big statements” about Aramaic.
I’m not sure who you work for, dude, but you are totally out of line on this topic of October 28th…you should really try and “snap out of this dark, anti-Greek mindset” because you are looking ridiculous right now.
Bart is not a Patriarch. He is an imitation, a cad, a liar, and holds a heavy hand in the murder of thousands of people. Bart is a divider of the faithful and a lackey for the US State Department.
Marcos, I have no idea what your WW2 stories have to do about my statement. I am not anti-Greek as you claim. I am pro Christ and pro Orthodox and pro understanding in Liturgy. Please answer for me why you think Aramaic was not used on the cross. Obviously you have some idea. Do you think it proves that Jesus spoke in Greek and not Aramaic? Please let me know your hypothesis I have no answer.
JK,
You openly disparaged ΠΓ’s “passion for Hellenism” when he expressed disappointment that October 28th was not mentioned in a specific Greek Orthodox parish this year. ΠΓ obviously understands the reasons why the Greek diaspora Churches traditionally conduct a memorial service on Oct. 28th, and why the Church of Greece locally moved the celebration of Agia Skepi from Oct. 1st to the 28th. You didn’t seem to have one ounce of sympathy about the complaint that ΠΓ was expressing. Your active response was a suggestion to “abandon energy from complaining about the lack of commemoration of Oct. 28th” (you called it passion for Hellenism), so isn’t that equivalent to an “anti-Greek” stance in this case? If you still don’t “have any idea what the WW2 stories” have to do with this discussion, then you have much bigger problems to solve on your own, unfortunately.
On the Aramaic topic, I asked you a specific question multiple times, and now you honorably admit you “have no answer”, which is fine, but apparently you insist on making the same big claims about the alleged “linguistic supremacy of Aramaic in Judea”, without stopping to do some research on the controversy presented by our own Scriptural tradition, that only 3 languages were inscribed onto the Cross, and none of them was Aramaic. Why do you still make those claims about Aramaic if you simultaneously admit that you “have no answer” to a basic scriptural question? Is that logical?
I’m intentionally not going to bail you out of doing your own research on this one because an opportunity for some “cerebral calisthenics” is always a healthy experience for any age group, and I don’t want to deprive you of this great, healthy opportunity. In a military boot-camp, we would simply call this an exercise of “character-building push-ups until the mindset improves”. As a good soldier of Christ, you should be super-excited about this intellectual challenge you have been presented with. We’ll be here waiting for either your response to my question, or at least a more logical revision to your “Aramaic claims”, no matter how much time you need to sort things out on this topic. :)
Marcos, my response to PG is based on multiple past exchanges. I still have no idea what the WW2 references has to do with my statement, so apparently in you estimation I have a problem. I have no answer to your question about the cross but am certain that Aramaic was the spoken language in Judea. Please enlighten me and the other readers with your indepth understanding. You are obviously more knowledgeable than I am.
If Barto fails with this project, I am hopeful that he will not have any support for the union with Rome in 2025. Maybe the pope will make him a cardinal or bishop and all the traitors of Orthodoxy will join him and leave the rest of us alone. But the pope is probably after our beautiful Churches and it’s wealth too, not just a few traitors.
Is Barto quietly trying to repeat the Ukrainian disaster in Estonia?
https://orthochristian.com/164119.html
Yes, the translation was done in Alexandria where there was a large group of Hellenized Jews. Aramaic was spoken in Judea .