Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia Calls Patr. Bartholomew 'Antichrist in a Cassock'

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Aaron Hickman/UOJ-USA

MOSCOW — On Monday, the Press Bureau of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of the Russian Federation released a sharply worded statement accusing Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of continuing what it described as “schismatic activity” within the Orthodox world. The statement alleged that the Patriarch is seeking to displace Russian Orthodoxy in the Baltic states by establishing church structures under the control of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the alleged support of British intelligence services and local political authorities.

In a release titled, “Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople: ‘the Antichrist in a cassock,'” the SVR further claimed that similar efforts extend beyond Ukraine and the Baltics, asserting that Patriarch Bartholomew intends to weaken the Serbian Orthodox Church by granting autocephaly to the unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church. The statement employed highly charged language, accusing the Patriarch of dividing the Church and likening his actions to those of “false prophets.”

"The aggressive appetites of the 'Constantinopolitan Antichrist' are not limited to Ukraine and the Baltics; with his duplicity he is gradually spreading over the lands of Eastern Europe as well," the statement said. "With the aim of striking at the 'especially obstinate' Serbian Orthodox Church, he intends to grant autocephaly to the unrecognized 'Montenegrin Orthodox Church.' Church circles note that Bartholomew is literally tearing apart the living Body of the Church. In doing so, he likens himself to the false prophets spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount: 'They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves… By their fruits you will know them.'"

In response, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a statement expressing “profound sorrow” over what it described as a new attack against the person of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, noting that this time the accusations originated from Russian state services. The Patriarchate recalled that since its controversial 2018 decision to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, it has consistently refrained from responding to similar attacks from political and ecclesiastical circles in Russia, and stated that it would continue to do so.

"The imaginative scenarios, false news, insults, and fabricated information of all kinds propagated by propagandists do not deter the Ecumenical Patriarchate from continuing its ministry and its ecumenical mission," the brief statement, titled "Announcement regarding the statement of Russian services against the Ecumenical Patriarch," concluded.

Previously, UOJ reported that Patriarch Bartholomew had urged the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — which the majority of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians still belong to — to "reconsider its stance."

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