EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis).  Helleniscope has warned the Phanar for years that its Ukraine policy will backfire.  Bartholomew, being the contrarian that he is, invited Epiphanius to Constantinople to celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy, acting in his usual manner.  Others, mainly Elpidophoros, are trying to maneuver and save what can be saved from this disastrous situation.  The article below ios a very good summary of the current situation.

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source – spzh.live

Epiphanius’ invitation to Phanar: a signal to Trump about unwavering support for the OCU?

Patriarch Bartholomew zealously protects Dumenko. Photo: UOJ

From March 7 to 9, 2025, the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, was in Istanbul, where he participated in the divine services of the Patriarchate of Constantinople at the Phanar. Taking into account recent events, this visit cannot be called ordinary.

First, it has a special significance in the context of the US administration’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Second, the current attitude towards the OCU both in the world in general and in the Phanar in particular plays an important role. It is for this reason that we believe that Dumenko’s visit is a signal that Patriarch Bartholomew decided to send to the world. What does it consist of?

The fight between Elpidophoros and Emmanuel

It is unlikely that Dumenko’s invitation to serve at the Phanar on March 9 can be called a coincidence. The fact is that the first Sunday of Great Lent in Orthodox churches is celebrated as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy”. And the symbolism of this holiday is not only that the Church commemorates the restoration of the veneration of icons, but also in the testimony of the victory over all heresies in general. In addition, in the Russian tradition, on the day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, anathemas are pronounced against heretics and enemies of the Church, long lives are proclaimed to Orthodox hierarchs, and “Eternal Memory” is sung to the defenders of the faith.

Of course, the joint divine service of Patriarch Bartholomew and a person whom 11 out of 15 Local Churches consider a layman or schismatic is a sign that the head of the Phanar has no intention of reconsidering his decision to grant the Tomos to the OCU.

However, taking everything into account, Patriarch Bartholomew is signaling not only to the Synods of those Churches that did not recognize Dumenko, but also to the head of the American Archdiocese of Phanar, Archbishop Elpidophoros.

There have long been rumors (which were indirectly confirmed by the Ukrainian Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople) that Elpidophoros is a supporter of revising the Tomos of the OCU. He was allegedly behind the commission that came to Ukraine last winter, and he is the one who is most strongly critical of Dumenko and Zorya.

Another confirmation that Archbishop Elpidophoros is trying to offer some options that would allow the Phanar to get out of the situation with the recognition of the OCU with minimal reputational losses appeared recently on the Orthodox Times website, which is funded by the US.

Literally within a week, the editorial office published two articles that are very similar in thesis to the statements we heard either from Archbishop Elpidophoros himself or from his entourage.

The first of them proposed that the UOC and the OCU in Ukraine first unite in the Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (supposedly, such a union would be the least painful), and the second proposed creating a permanent Synod at the Phanar , which, in addition to the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, would also include representatives of the Local Churches. This Synod should deal with resolving general Orthodox issues, and, according to the author, could become the first step towards a Pan-Orthodox Synaxis, which would resolve the Ukrainian issue.

Of course, not everyone likes Elpidophoros’ position within the Patriarchate of Constantinople. First of all, it is not liked by the main “beneficiary” and ideologist of the Tomos of the OCU, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon. We assume that he managed to convince Patriarch Bartholomew that Archbishop Elpidophoros’ plan is hopeless, and also that this plan strikes at the authority of the head of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. And therefore, the decision to invite Dumenko is, quite likely, a kind of answer not even from Patriarch Bartholomew, but from Metropolitan Emmanuel to all those who are trying to find a way out of the situation.

Moreover, this response is very similar to the step taken by the ancient Greek politician and military leader Agathocles of Syracuse, who ordered the army to burn its ships – to show that there was no way to retreat. Probably, Dumenko’s visit to the Phanar is another example of using Agathocles’s technique. However, we must remind you that this technique did not always work, and in history there were cases when, having cut off their own ways of retreat, military leaders lost battles.

Therefore, inviting the head of the OCU to the Phanar may turn out to be an imprudent decision that is unlikely to serve the Patriarchate of Constantinople well. Judge for yourself.

The triumph of non-Orthodoxy in Ukraine

The real state of affairs in the religious space of Ukraine is extremely far from the “triumph of Orthodoxy”. On the contrary, the crisis has not only deepened, but also taken on such proportions that it is practically impossible to control. The authorities have adopted a law that bans the UOC, and are doing their best to squeeze out the temples of the canonical Church in favor of the OCU. At the same time, the selected temples are “passing” empty, because believers do not go to Dumenko’s structure, and no one and nothing can force them.

At the same time, the authorities, with the approval of the OCU, are taking simply terrible steps towards the UOC. The bishops, priests and laity of the UOC continue to suffer in prisons on absurd charges, the clergy are being mobilized for war, and in early March the Ministry of Culture announced an “inspection” of the relics of the Monks of the Caves. There was no protest from Epiphanius, as the declared “holy archimandrite” of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

That is, it is already obvious that the leadership of the Dumenkov structure not only did not help the Phanar “overcome the split” in the country, but also repeatedly intensified it.

Moreover, within the OCU itself there is neither unity nor mutual understanding. Several powerful conflicts are brewing within it: between Epiphanius and the Volyn “metropolitan” Mykhailo Zinkevich, as well as between those from the UAOC and the UOC-KP, who “rule” the same territory.

Naturally, against this background, for Dumenko, a visit to the Phanar is definitely a “plus”. But for Patriarch Bartholomew, it is a huge “minus”. And not only because Epiphanius is unlikely to ever be able to become a handshaker in the eyes of other Local Churches. What is much worse for him is that he may become a handshaker among politicians – primarily for the new Trump administration.

Trump and “Biden’s friends”

In early 2025, Donald Trump, as soon as he took office as US President, began a series of transformations that cannot be called anything other than a “breakdown of the old system”. It is obvious that US policy towards Constantinople and the OCU may undergo significant changes. Already now, accusations from the lawyer of the UOC, Robert Amsterdam, are becoming louder. And not only towards the Ukrainian authorities, but also towards the OCU.

For example, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, a journalist close to Trump, he stated : “This other Church stole 1,500 of our churches. They took them away. They literally captured them. Moreover, they beat our priests and parishioners. And I have it all on video.”

Part of this interview was reposted by Elon Musk. And we can be sure that it is unlikely to have gone unnoticed.

So Dumenko could very soon turn out to be a toxic figure. However, Patriarch Bartholomew invites him. Why?

To answer this question, we need to look at the position of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople regarding the US president. An analysis of his actions and statements suggests that the Patriarch does not view Trump as an ally in strengthening the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Recall that during the presidency of Joe Biden, Patriarch Bartholomew repeatedly and openly demonstrated warm relations with the American leader. Thus, despite Biden’s propaganda of LGBT and abortion, the head of the Phanar called him a “true Christian”, emphasized his friendship with him, and maintained almost constant contact. In turn, Biden called the head of the Phanar “his great friend” , congratulated the Patriarch on the thirtieth anniversary of the patriarchate, emphasizing the significance of his leadership. In his letter, Biden noted that the United States needs a leader like Bartholomew, and expressed hope for continued dialogue.

At the same time, unlike previous elections, Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 elections was not publicly commented on by Patriarch Bartholomew. This contrasts with his congratulations to Trump in 2016. And it is clear that the lack of public reaction to Trump’s re-election may indicate the Patriarch’s cool attitude towards the new US president.

Moreover, we believe that the head of the Phanar, strange as it may sound, is currently oriented more towards the Vatican than towards the State Department. In turn, it would not be out of place to recall that Trump also poses certain difficulties for the Vatican.

The fact is that the Trump administration has been vocal about its conservatism and traditionalism from the very beginning, which raises certain concerns within the RCC, which has established very close relations with globalist circles. The former Vatican ambassador to the United States, Cardinal Carlo Maria Viganò, even stated that Pope Francis is a participant in a “global project” to govern the world, and Trump is a very dangerous figure in the eyes of this project. Hence the criticism of his leadership by Catholic hierarchs and even the Pope himself. Hence the very cool attitude towards Trump on the part of Patriarch Bartholomew, who both directly and indirectly supports the “globalist agenda” that the new US administration opposes. Here it is enough to recall the “ecological initiatives” of the head of the Phanar and Trump’s statements that America does not intend to participate in them.

For this reason, we have the right to believe that Patriarch Bartholomew’s invitation to Epiphany Dumenko to the Triumph of Orthodoxy can be viewed as a signal from the head of the Phanar to the Trump administration: We will continue to take care of the OCU.

This thesis is also confirmed by Bartholomew’s recent statement that Ukraine should participate in the peace negotiation process (which the US opposes). This speech also included personal support for Volodymyr Zelensky, which seems rather strange after the scandal in the White House.

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In any case, at the moment it is clear that Patriarch Bartholomew is taking an extremely disadvantageous step for himself, thereby supporting his “child”, which will continue to harm world Orthodoxy in general and the Patriarchate of Constantinople in particular. Why he is doing this, we cannot understand. But one thing is quite