The Ecumenical Patriarchate labelled “fake news” the allegations made by Russia against Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians.
Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) launched a stinging verbal offensive against Bartholomew in a statement published on its website and reported by the state news agency TASS.
The SVR labeled the Patriarch the “Constantinople Antichrist,” accusing him of working in tandem with Western intelligence to dismantle the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Russia accuses Bartholomew of “Russophobic sentiments”
A central theme of the SVR’s attack is the claim that Patriarch Bartholomew is not acting alone. The intelligence agency alleges that British secret services are actively supporting the Patriarch’s activities to fuel “Russophobic sentiments” across Europe. According to the SVR, this partnership aims to “sow discord” within the Russian Orthodox world by leveraging the Patriarch’s religious authority for geopolitical ends.
The dispute stems largely from the 2019 decision by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine—a move that deeply embittered Moscow. The SVR now claims Bartholomew is expanding this strategy to Baltic nations by:
- Targeting the Baltics: The SVR accuses the Patriarch of attempting to “tear away” the Orthodox Churches of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia from the Moscow Patriarchate.
- Controversial alliances: The statement alleges that Bartholomew is relying on “local nationalists and neo-Nazis” to lure clergy and worshipers into “puppet religious structures” controlled by the Phanar (the Patriarchate’s seat in Istanbul).
Expansion into the Balkans
The SVR warned that the Patriarch’s “insidious spirit” is spreading further into Eastern Europe. Specifically, the report claims Bartholomew intends to grant autocephaly to the unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church. Russian intelligence views this as a direct strike against the Serbian Orthodox Church, which remains a close ally of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Biblical rhetoric and “false prophets”
The SVR’s statement shifted from political accusations to harsh religious condemnation, reflecting the deep-seated spiritual and administrative schism within Orthodoxy. “Church circles note that Bartholomew is literally tearing apart the living body of the Church,” the statement concluded.
Invoking the New Testament’s Sermon on the Mount, the SVR likened the Patriarch to “false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves,” adding that he would eventually be “recognized by his fruits.” This escalation underscores the deepening divide between the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul and the Russian Orthodox Church, a conflict that has become inextricably linked to the broader geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West.
The Patriarchate responds: Fake news
In an official statement, the Ecumenical Patriarchate expressed its “deepest sorrow” over a fresh wave of attacks, noting with concern that these accusations now stem directly from Russian state agencies rather than just ecclesiastical or political circles. The Patriarchate recalled that since its 2018 decision to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, it has consciously chosen not to engage with repeated provocations—a stance of silence it maintains today.
“The imaginative scenarios, fake news, insults, and fabricated information of various propagandists will not deter the Ecumenical Patriarchate from its ministry and global mission,” the statement read, in a clear rebuke of the rhetoric adopted by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Related: Ukraine Orthodox Church Cuts All Ties With Russian Church Over War
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