He was not only questioned about religious persecution in Ukraine, but he got a “big slap” in the face when J.D. Vance even asked him about his meetings with Pompeo in “manufacturing autocephaly”… And he even spoke about the “amounts of money” changing hands in the process…
EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis). If this report is true – and we have absolutely no reason to doubt it – we have to thank Vice President J.D. Vance for his moral clarity in the Oval Office. At last, the Patriarch was told to his face what so many faithful already know: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being persecuted. And instead of standing with the suffering flock, Bartholomew reached for tired excuses—invoking Stalin, the Holodomor, and ghosts of the past. These words rang hollow against the brutal present.
For too long, Bartholomew has cloaked himself in the mantle of Constantinople while serving foreign interests. This is the very definition of hubris—and in the Greek tradition, hubris always summons Nemesis. That Nemesis has now arrived. This meeting was not just political theater; it was the beginning of his reckoning.
When asked about Pompeo’s role in manufacturing the OCU and the money that changed hands, Bartholomew faltered. Even Karloutsos, seated on the couch, looked deeply concerned—his face revealing what words could not. The game is over; the mask has slipped.
This report also explains why Bartholomew took the chance (I do not remember him doing it in previous visits) to call for a press conference right after the “big slap” he received in the Oval Office. Apparently, he was following the “experts'” advice (read: Karloutsos) and he was trying to do some damage control… Futile effort, I should say… The rest of his trip will be marked by this “big slap” in his face… You can follow the link here to see the very unusual long “presser” of the Patriarch, where he explained his meeting with President Trump.
History is merciless to those who betray the truth. The faithful will not forget. And for Bartholomew, the time of Nemesis has come.
==========================
Bondarenko: Vance told Patriarch Bartholomew about UOC persecution
Kostiantyn Bondarenko shared details of the meeting between the U.S. Vice President and Patriarch Bartholomew.
Political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko, in a conversation with blogger Oleksandr Shelest, spoke about the details of the White House meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Bondarenko reminded that Vance is a well-known supporter of religious freedoms.
“And Patriarch Bartholomew was explicitly told that there is persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine,” the political analyst continued.
According to him, the Patriarch, in response, tried to justify himself by appealing to the Holodomor and Stalinist repressions, which in the current situation looked extremely unconvincing.
Also, according to Bondarenko, Patriarch Bartholomew was “asked to give an account of his relations with Mike Pompeo, of Mike Pompeo’s involvement in the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the granting of the Tomos. Besides, a specific sum was named.”
Earlier, UOJ reported that, according to Patriarch Bartholomew, he told Trump that he had granted the Tomos to the OCU because Russia is an enemy of Ukraine.
May Nemesis exact her justice.
One difficult problem with all this is that Pompeo was part of the Trump administration, whether or not he was pushing his own personal agenda behind the scenes, and the “tomos” was constructed and executed under that 1st Trump administration…whether or not the climate has since changed, and Marco Rubio (& JD Vance) are now singing a much different tune than Pompeo, the damage has already been done, including a massive Schism in the Orthodox world…
However, the big question now is this…will this new administration force Bartholomew to “rescind the tomos” in order to stop the persecutions? We know for a fact that Russia has set the resolution of the ecclesiastical atrocities facilitated by Bartholomew and general religious protections as one of their “top demands” for negotiating a long-term peace deal… The administration certainly doesn’t give a hoot about Bartholomew’s legacy, or about the embarrassment of “rescinding a tomos”…it only cares about Trump’s legacy of “peacemaking”…It also seems they probably don’t really care to throw Pompeo under the bus if needed, in order to achieve some long-term peace deal (and business deal, of course). So now what will you do “your holiness” Bartholomew? What’s your next move going to be? This is going to be very interesting indeed…there’s probably a very specific [political] reason Priebus is sitting right there in the front of the room, and Karloutsos is lurking in the shadows somewhere behind…time to order popcorn. This may be just the beginning of a wild soap opera…
Pompeo was the first Republican to be dismissed by Trump the day after the election last November… Also, Putin and Lavrov had the chance to explain to Trump and Vance specifically about the religious issues in Ukraine during the Alaska meeting… The Russian leaders have explained a million times that there will be no peace deal, no ceasefire unless religious freedom is established along with respect for the Russian language… Without human rights there will be NO PEACE. No matter how things end up, Bartholomew is finished… Helleniscope has said this many times…
How would rescinding the tomos possibly stop any persecutions? Rescinding the tomos would only make the OCU an exarchate of Constantinople.
Even if Constantinople deposed the OCU as schismatic, that still wouldn’t stop any persecutions.
The Ukrainian government is persecuting churches and clergy under Metropolitan Onuphry because of their canonical status under the Moscow Patriarchate.
MARKOS replied:
Your short-term memory is weak today…
Rescinding the Tomos returns us to the pre 2019 status, where by the ink pen of Bartholomew in 1992 and 1998 signed letters to Moscow he agreed that the jurisdiction of Kiev belongs with Moscow. There is no mention of “exarchates” in those letters…but Bartholomew’s views on jurisdiction is quite clear.
Markos,
Please check the facts. Ukraine’s tomos of autocephaly was given on January 5th, 2019. For three weeks prior, the OCU functioned as an exarchate, and not of the Ecumenical Patriarchate but rather of the Patriarch of Constantinople. This was the status of the OCU when it was formed on December 15th, 2018.
On October 11, 2018, the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to revoke the controversial 1686 letter of the Patriarch of Constantinople that gave Moscow the right to ordain the Metropolitan of Kiev. That same synod also decided to restore communion with the clergy in Ukraine who had been excommunicated, not for dogmatic reasons, but for reasons of seeking autocephaly.
https://www.ecupatria.org/2018/10/12/announcement-of-the-holy-and-sacred-synod-of-11-october-2018/
It should be noted that the 1686 letter that was revoked in 2018 was controversial from the very beginning. It was first rejected in Kiev, but as Kiev would soon come under Russian military rule, the opposition was forcibly squashed. Then the following year, in 1687, a Council of Constantinople declared that same letter as non-canonical and an act of simony, deposing the writer, Patriarch Dionysius IV. Although the patriarch was later re-instated and the letter came to be accepted, it really had always been controversial.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2325&context=ree
MARKOS REPLIED:
Joseph,
If you want to talk about facts, here are the facts, not the propaganda you are presenting that is actually based on illegitimate foundations and assumptions:
Patriarch Bartholomew signed his name at least twice on official letterhead confirming his opinion in 1992 and 1998 that Kiev was Moscow’s jurisdiction, AND that Philaret and his followers were legitimately deposed Schismatics. The decision you cite about “revoking” a 17th century document in 2018 is total B.S. because Bartholomew had already signed his name. Everyone knows that this is not legitimate, and for you to call it legitimate is laughable. Besides, if you think Bartholomew’s signature is legitimate in 2018, then why wasn’t it legitimate in 1992 and 1998? What is the value of Bartholomew’s signature if it changes by the “season”? He is an embarrassment, a man with no honor, with a history of “conflicting signatures” and perpetration of Schism, and he should actually resign, instead of “sign”. What ever happened to “let your YES be YES…”? Doesn’t that apply to hierarchs?
There are Canons that forbid any single Autocephalous Church from accepting legitimately deposed bishops/clergy from another Church. Given that Bartholomew had already agreed these guys were legitimately deposed, he blatantly violated these Canons, so there is no way Epiphanios is legitimate at this point, nor his followers. The weak argument that Constantinople can “adjudicate complaints from other jurisdictions” doesn’t apply here, because Bartholomew already agreed with his own signature in both 1992 and 1998…finally, it is not logical for anyone to believe that Constantinople is going to be the “deciding authority” on anything if it is Constantinople that is perpetrating the violation of Canons…that’s exactly why we have Schism right now…and in those cases (when Constantinople becomes Schismatic), all it takes is two of the ancient Churches to convene a Synod to resolve matters…that’s “elementary Canon Law”, dude…
All “Tomos” issued in the past have some “fine print” in them that explicitly state that the tomos is NOT LEGITIMATE UNTIL WIDER ECUMENICAL – SYNODAL ACCEPTANCE IS ALSO GRANTED..usually the verbiage state “future Ecumenical Synod” has to approve the new autocephalous Church, but when ALL the other autocephalous Churches OPENLY embrace a new jurisdiction ahead of that “future Ecumenical Synod”, harmony and Unity of Faith are preserved, and that’s ok. EPIPHANIOS’ TOMOS HAS CAUSED DIVISION, AND NOT UNITY….that means we are a long way from LEGITIMACY. Even the Church of Greece and Cyprus, and Alexandria are divided on this…I will remind you for the “umpteenth time” that the Synod of the Church of Greece never really voted on this…there was a loud debate (a nasty “bar fight”), and when Ieronymos realized his resolution wasn’t going to pass, he used the lame excuse that he “heard more yelling of YES vs. NO”, and declared the resolution passed, without a real vote…Moscow isn’t stupid, and that’s why they opted to create lists of Metropolitans who commemorated vs. not commemorated Epiphanios vs. a full cessation of Communion with Athens, Alexandria, Cyprus..
Bartholomew was warned by MULTIPLE Orthodos jurisdictions NOT to issue the Tomos. He ignored them, as if he were a Pope of the East. That’s plain wrong, and unbecoming of any Patriarch. Until you get UNITY and not DIVISION, this entire Tomos is illegitimate, and the Exarchate does not “erase” Bartholomew’s signature where he agreed that Kiev was Moscow’s jurisdiction either…Bartholomew agreed Philaret and ALL HIS FOLLOWING were legitimately deposed Schismatics. Reversing that opinion puts him in direct violation of Canons, PERIOD.
In the meantime, based on all the above, you are free to take your illegitimate links and your “Exarchate propaganda” and stick them in the recycling bin of Ecclesiastical History where they belong, together with whatever other Schismatics and Heretics attempted to enforce over the years…
Lord have mercy to the persecuted church of Ukraine. How can you sit here and justify the works of the devil. Vile and evil are your actions. Repent you demon
Rescinding the tomos would lead to OCU being dissolved. No more hooligans stealing the canonical UOC churches. OCU is made out of a bunch of thieves with the blessing of a corrupt Barto. The “OCU bishops” steal even the vestments from the UOC churches and then wears them. Who does this but thieves?
JD is the Man! Finally light at the end of the tunnel! May His Angels protect JD!
If all this true, then the broken and confused “west” and its globalists and paymasters have been given the boot essentially by the white house.
ΑΛΛΟ ΒΑΡΘΟΛΟΜΑΙΟΣ ΑΛΛΟ ΤΑ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΕΙΟΥ,,,,Η ΣΥΝΟΔΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΑΛΚΗΔΟΝΑΣ ΑΠΟΝΕΜΕΙ ΕΚΚΛΗΤΟ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑ ΚΡΙΣΕΩΣ ΜΟΝΟ ΣΤΗΝ ΡΩΜΗ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΗ ΔΙΟΤΙ ΚΑΘΕ ΤΟΠΙΚΗ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΑΥΤΟΚΕΦΑΛΟΣ ΔΕΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΠΟΛΥΤΩΣ ΑΝΕΞΑΡΤΗΤΗ ΟΠΩΣ ΤΟ ΠΡΕΣΒΕΥΟΥΝ ΟΙ ΑΝΤΙΧΑΛΚΗΔΟΝΙΟΙ ΚΟΠΤΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΟΝΟΦΥΣΙΤΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΕΝΑΣ ΚΥΡΙΟΣ ΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΟΥ ΔΕΝ ΔΕΧΘΗΚΑΝ ΩΣ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΥΤΗΝ ΤΗΝ ΣΥΝΟΔΟ,,,Ο ΡΩΜΗΣ ΛΟΓΟ ΑΠΟΣΤΑΣΙΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑΣ ΔΕΝ ΕΧΕΙ ΠΛΕΟΝ ΛΟΓΟ ,,,ΕΜΕΙΝΕ ΜΟΝΟ Ο ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΠΟΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΑ ΝΑ ΚΡΙΝΗ ΚΑΙ ΝΑ ΕΠΙΛΥΣΗ ΤΑ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΤΟΠΙΚΩΝ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΩΝ,,,,ΕΧΕΙ ΜΟΝΟ ΑΥΤΟΣ ΑΥΤΗ ΤΗΝ ΕΞΟΥΣΙΑ ΔΙΟΤΙ ΟΛΕΣ ΟΙ ΑΥΤΟΚΕΦΑΛΙΕΣ ΠΡΟΗΛΘΑΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΟΥΣΑ,,,ΤΩΡΑ ΔΙΑ ΤΟ ΟΥΚΡΑΝΙΚΟ ΑΛΛΟΙ ΣΥΜΦΩΝΟΥΝ ΑΛΛΟΙ ΔΙΑΦΩΝΟΥΝ ΝΑ ΕΚΦΡΑΣΘΟΥΝ ΑΛΛΑ ΚΑΝΕΙΣ ΠΡΟΚΑΘΗΜΕΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑΣ ΕΧΕΙ ΑΥΤΗ ΤΗΝ ΕΞΟΥΣΙΑ ΔΕΝ ΔΥΝΑΜΕΘΑ ΝΑ ΤΟΝ ΚΡΙΝΟΥΜΕ ΔΙΟΤΙ ΤΟΤΕ ΑΝΑΙΡΟΥΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΧΑΛΚΗΔΟΝΑ,
Μοναχε Ιωαννη,
Υπαρχει ενα θεμα με αυτα που λετε…Εφ’οσον θεωρητικα υπαρχουν14 κανονικες αυτοκεφαλες εκκλησιες (Το βδελυγμα του Σχισματικου Ουκρανικου τομου δεν εχει ευρεως αποδεχθει ακομα), ουτε η Αλεξανδρεια, ουτε η Αντιοχεια, ουτε η Ιερουσαλημ προηλθαν απο την Κωνσταντινουπολη, και παλι, η Κυπρος ισως αποφανθει οτι εγινε αυτοκεφαλη περισοτερο λογω του αυτοκρατορα και λιγοτερο λογω του Πατριαρχειου… Αρα, δεν ισχυει ακριβως το “ολες οι αυτοκεφαλες προηλθαν απο την Βασιλευουσα”…και για αυτο επισης, κατα τους ιερους κανονες, ακομα και σημερα, αν αποφανθει οτι “η Βασιλευουσα” εχει εκπεσει σε Σχισμα η Αιρεση, εχουν το δικαιωμα 2 απο της “αρχαιες εκκλησιες” (Συμπεριλαμβανομενης και της Κυπρου) να καλεσουν εγκυρη Οικουμενικη Συνοδο, για να βαλουν τα πραγματα σε μια ταξη. Αρα, και η θεωρια οτι μονο ο Κωνσταντινουπολεως μπορει να “επιλυσει” προβληματα τοπικων εκκλησιων δεν ειναι ενα απολυτο γεγονος, ουτε ιστορικα, ουτε θεωριτικα, ασχετως τι λενε οι “παπαγαλοι του Φαναριου” τις τελευταιες δεκαετειες…
Και το τελευταιο…πως μπορει να δεχθει η κοινη λογικη οτι ο Κωνσταντινουπολεως ειναι ο αρμοδιος να κρινει και να επιλυσει ενα προβλημα που προκαλεσε ο ιδιος? Αυτο εχει κανει με το Ουκρανικο…ποιος θα το επιλυσει τωρα? Ευτυχως ομως, επειδη ενωθηκε με Καθηρημενους Σχισματικους κατα παραβαση αλλων ιερων κανονων και κατα παραβαση της ιδιας υπογραφης του Βαρθολομαιου το 1992 & 1998 οποτε συμφωνουσε με την Μοσχα για την καθαιρεση και για την δικαιοδοσια της Μητροπολεως Κιεβου….επειδη γιναν αυτα, ειναι σιγουρο οτι ειναι “εκπτωτος” τωρα και ο Βαρθλολομαιος, και πρεπει οποσδηποτε να συγκαλεσουν Συνοδο οι υπολοιποι, να λυσουν το προβλημα…
Well said. Pompeo –like Bartholomew–is the avatar of an old paradigm. So too are the Archons/L100 class of Greek Orthodox laity.
How embarrassing that the Patriarch is being lectured to on the persecution of Christians by non Orthodox because he does not care.
This might have been a chance for the Patriarch to come clean and tell all about Pompeo. To express repentance perhaps.
There was a time I admired the Patriarch in the 1990’s when he withstood assasination attempts by the Turks and viewed him as preserving the faith in Constantinople.
Now I view him with horror for collaborating with the enemies of the Church and persecuting the Ukrainian Church. Considering the bishops under Constantinople are following his orders is there any way other way to depose him?
Patriarch Irensios of Jerusalem was deposed by a pan Ortbodox synod. When will the Churches convene to deal with this Patriarch?
Rescind the tomos Barto!
Ever notice Karloutsos always stays behind the curtain?
Trust nothing.
Ο Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαιος αναφέρει την επισκεψι του στον πρόεδρο Τραμπ
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16qrsXrVFp/?mibextid=wwXIfr
This video misses the last few minutes of the “presser” where Bartholomew surprisingly admits “that he makes mistakes like all humans” and even more surprisingly admits that “he doesn’t have the infallible if the Pope”… Up to now he and his people were pushing the Primus Sine Paribus theory
… and another blow to the one without equals here:
https://spzh.eu/en/news/88180-greek-hierarchs-protest-against-silencing-uoc-persecution-media
A good article. I am disgusted that a bishop actually said geostrategic alliances do not only the bishops to support Metropolitan Onuphry. Are the bishops of Greece this cowardly?
The Greek speaking Orthodox Churches have credibility issues owing to the fact that the primates of Athens, Cyprus, and Alexandria followed Patriarch Bartholomew.
If the Bishops of Greece want to be revered as shepherds over their flocks and as ethnarchs they have to speak on behalf of the Ukrainian Church.
Exactly. The closer that a bishop is to Barto, the less I trust him. THere are a few UOC bishops in jail or in and out of courts, unjustly detained, etc for the simple reason that they defend the canonical Church that God entrusted them with, so essentially for doing their jobs. UOC is persecuted and anyone speaking against this persecution of UOC it with God. Barto and his followers clearly decided not to be, and they are the problem, not the solution.
All I can say is Cлава Богу! Glory to God. I remember attending the arrival of the Patriarch in New York about 30 years ago. A helicopter was chartered to take him from La Guardia to NJ at a cost of $80k. 👎
That’s disgusting! Christ was not flying in helicopters; He came at a time that technology was pretty low. His meals were very simple. He was very humble, not even riding on a horse and walking, I am sure he was walking long distances. What a waste of money! He did not stay at 5 star hotels either.
How wonderful ! Glory be to God !