Bsp. Luke Pens Strongly Worded Letter to Rep. Joe Wilson

Bishop Luke of Syracuse. Photo: orthodoxytoday.org

JORDANVILLE — Bishop Luke of Syracuse, abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery and vicar bishop of the Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), issued a public letter denouncing what he called “slanderous and misleading attacks” against the Church’s bishops and faithful. The letter, addressed to U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson, responds to recent social media posts in which the congressman accused ROCOR hierarchs of acting as agents of the Kremlin and even the KGB.

In a personal note prefacing the letter, Bishop Luke described the accusations as particularly painful in light of his own family history. His grandparents fled centuries of persecution under Austro-Hungarian rule, he wrote, and found in the United States a place where they could freely practice their Orthodox faith. His father later fought for the country at Iwo Jima.

In the formal letter to Rep. Wilson, Bishop Luke said he felt “deep horror and dismay” at the congressman’s remarks and rejected the claims unequivocally. “Any suggestion of collaboration or espionage by ROCOR on behalf of the MP or the Kremlin is libelous,” he wrote, insisting that the Church operates free of political influence from the Russian state.

Bishop Luke also cited his service on the joint commission that negotiated the Act of Canonical Communion in 2007, saying this firsthand experience gave him full confidence to deny any allegations of foreign control. Calling on Rep. Wilson to correct the record, he demanded “a full retraction” and “a public apology to the Bishops of ROCOR.”

He closed the letter with an appeal for moral clarity: “May God grant you the wisdom and courage to take this action.”

The letter, including an additional note from Vladyka Luke, is published below.

A Note and Letter from our Abbot, Bishop Luke

The latest slanderous and misleading attacks on our bishops and flock are particularly disturbing to me, considering that my grandparents came to America having endured nearly three hundred years of persecution under Austrian-Hungarian rule. They were able to freely practice their Orthodox Christian Faith in the United States with my father having fought for this country on Iwo Jima.

Dear Congressman Wilson,

I am writing to you, as an elected representative, to express my deep horror and dismay at your recent X tweet, and subsequent follow-up X tweet, accusing the Bishops of ROCOR, of which I am one, of being agents for the Kremlin and KGB (an organization that no longer exists).

As one of the members of the commission representing ROCOR in the talks leading up to the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in 2007, I can assert without any hesitation that we are in fact under no influence whatsoever from the Moscow Patriarchate. Any suggestion of collaboration or espionage by ROCOR on behalf of the MP or the Kremlin is libelous, and I insist that you issue a full retraction of your tweet and issue a public apology to the Bishops of ROCOR.

May God grant you the wisdom and courage to take this action.

In Christ,

Bishop Luke of Syracuse

Vicar Bishop of the Eastern American Diocese of ROCOR

Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery

Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary

Previously, UOJ reported that Met. Nicholas, First Hierarch of ROCOR, had issued a statement on his recent trip to Capitol Hill.

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