ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
Archons – or “Deep State” Agents?
By Nick Stamatakis
As Ukraine staggers through another year of a ruinous war, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate appear increasingly less like a Christian brotherhood and more like a geopolitical pressure group. Their recent barrage of announcements is remarkable for its fervor.
Consider just the last several weeks:
- August 4: The Archons amplified Patriarch Bartholomew’s denunciation of Moscow’s theology of “holy war,” squarely identifying Russia as the aggressor.
- August 11: National Commander Anthony Limberakis declared that Russian Orthodox leaders are “instruments of Russian state power,” denounced Putin’s “savage war,” and warned that Russian victory would be catastrophic “for the West.”
- August 30: The Archon-connected Orthodox Public Affairs Committee rushed to defend Volodymyr Zelensky while portraying much criticism of Ukraine’s treatment of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as Russian disinformation or cover for collaboration.
- September 1: The Archons again promoted Bartholomew’s solidarity with Ukraine and his controversial ecclesiastical project there.
- September 3: They enthusiastically applauded St. Nicholas National Shrine for honoring war criminal Zelensky as a champion of religious freedom, while effectively reducing the serious controversy over Ukraine’s treatment of the UOC to questions of treason and Russian sabotage. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is prosecuted, the Churches stolen and burned, the monks killed, and the Archons applaud Zelensky!! There is an open court case in Kiev as we speak to dissolve the UOC, the Church followed by 70% of Ukrainians!!
Why has an ostensibly religious order adopted the language and priorities of a foreign-policy operation?
The answer may lie in its history.
At the center stands “Father” Karloutsos, longtime Spiritual Advisor to the Archons and, for decades, one of the most politically connected Orthodox clerics in America. The Archons themselves boast that for 46 years he represented the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese before the White House, Congress, and government officials.
In March 2022, Karloutsos and Archon leaders met the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs to discuss Patriarch Bartholomew, Putin and Ukraine. Months later, Karloutsos accompanied an Archon mission through Romania and Bulgaria, meeting senior political and Orthodox leaders as the Phanar sought support in its confrontation with Moscow.
The same model appeared in Africa. After Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria recognized the OCU and Moscow responded by creating an African Exarchate, the Archons rallied behind Alexandria, raised more than $350,000, and helped bring Theodore before President Biden. Karloutsos was there.
Call this the “Deep State,” the foreign-policy establishment, or simply elite influence networking. The architecture is unmistakable: wealthy Archons, ecclesiastical officials, the White House, State Department personnel, and American diplomacy repeatedly advancing through the same revolving door.
And the ranks continue to swell. On October 18, 2026, Archbishop Elpidophoros is scheduled to invest another 47 Archons in New York. The Archons describe them as the “nobility of the Church” and “goodwill ambassadors” of the Phanar. Meanwhile, the Bartholomew Foundation’s elite Founder category begins with a $100,000 pledge. Is this a Church or a Country Club for the wealthy? Where is your Christian ministry, GOARCH?
With so much money, political access, and international lobbying surrounding this institution, Orthodox Christians are entitled to ask harder questions about priorities, accountability, and transparency—and why political influence appears so much more visible than ordinary Christian ministry.
The Archons call themselves defenders of the Mother Church.
But after watching their operations from Ukraine to Washington, from the Balkans to Africa, another question becomes increasingly difficult to avoid:
Are they Archons—or agents of “Deep State” influence?
Citations
- Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, There Has Never Been, Nor Will There Ever Be, a “Holy War”, August 2026.
- Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, “Russian Orthodoxy’s Leaders Are Instruments of Russian State Power”, August 11, 2026.
- Orthodox Public Affairs Committee, Official Statement, August 30, 2026.
- Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, statements concerning Ukraine and Patriarch Bartholomew and President Zelenskyy and St. Nicholas National Shrine, September 1–3, 2026.
- Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, records concerning meetings with U.S. State Department officials and the 2022 Religious Freedom Mission to Romania and Bulgaria.
- Archons/Greek Orthodox Archdiocese records concerning Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, the Russian African Exarchate, fundraising for Alexandria and Theodore’s visit to Washington and meeting with President Biden.
- Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, announcement of the October 18, 2026 investiture of 47 new Archons.
- Union of Orthodox Journalists of America, Abp. Elpidophoros to Invest 47 New Archons in New York, September 11, 2026.
- Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation, published membership and Founder information.
September 12, 2026, www.helleniscope.com, n.stamatakis@aol.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
