SVR: "Patriarch Bartholomew Is Creating a New Schism"
By Romfea.gr
January 12, 2026
By Romfea.gr
January 12, 2026
Severe accusations against the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the British intelligence services were launched by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), according to an official statement broadcast by the TASS news agency.
According to the SVR Press Office, the United Kingdom’s special services are allegedly providing strong support for the actions of the Phanar, with the aim of curbing the international influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
For its part, the Russian side claims that the British services are “fueling Russophobic sentiments” in various European countries, using the ecclesiastical issue as a tool of pressure.
The statement places particular emphasis on developments in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
The SVR asserts that Patriarch Bartholomew has reached an agreement with the authorities of the Baltic states in order to provoke division within the Russian Orthodox world.
It further claims that he seeks to detach the local Churches from the Moscow Patriarchate and to create “puppet religious structures” under the aegis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
“The Ecumenical Patriarch relies on ideological allies, represented by local nationalists, in an effort to lure clergy and faithful away from Moscow,” the statement says characteristically.
Elsewhere, the announcement of the Russian intelligence service (SVR) warns of an expansion of these plans into Eastern Europe, stressing that the “aggressive ambitions” of the Phanar are not limited to Ukraine and the Baltic region.
Moscow accuses Patriarch Bartholomew of attempting to undermine the Serbian Orthodox Church, which the SVR describes as “particularly disobedient.”
Specifically, the SVR claims that Patriarch Bartholomew intends to grant autocephaly to the unrecognized “Orthodox Church of Montenegro.”
Finally, it should be noted that this move is interpreted by the Russian side as a calculated blow against the canonical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Serbia in the region.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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The Geopolitical Strategy of Russia and the Accusations Against the Ecumenical Patriarch
By Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Gerasimos Fragkoulakis
By Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Gerasimos Fragkoulakis
Hanover, Germany
January 13, 2026
January 13, 2026
Reports by the TASS Russian News Agency, through statements of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), convey grave insinuations and accusations against the Ecumenical Patriarch and the British Intelligence Services, asserting — without evidence — that they are allegedly involved in geopolitical and ecclesiastical processes in Eastern Europe. In keeping with the customary practice of the SVR, instead of substantiated proof, what is offered are alleged intentions and subjective interpretations, refracted through a Russian perspective.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, within the framework of his institutional role — and consequently by obligation arising precisely from that role, in order to safeguard the unity of Orthodoxy — has from time to time undertaken initiatives to resolve ecclesiastical disputes and disagreements. On the basis of what evidence do the Russians now accuse him of collaborating with the authorities of the Baltic states to divide the Russian Orthodox world? This is something only they claim to know and demand to be accepted uncritically, yet they lack any evidentiary foundation. They fail to comprehend that the granting of Autocephaly, as an act of ecclesiastical autonomy, constitutes both an obligation and a right of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, grounded in a deep theological and ecclesiological framework. It is an act with profound theological and ecclesiological foundations and cannot be interpreted unilaterally as a political intervention or a national strategy.
The SVR speaks of the creation of “puppet structures” under the Patriarchal throne, relying on local nationalists. In truth, what stance does it take regarding the active intervention of the Russian Church in the canonical territories of the second-ranked Patriarchate of Alexandria, where it itself has constructed puppet structures?
The SVR conjectures that the Patriarch seeks to lure clergy and faithful away from Moscow. What tragic irony! The very methods employed by the Russian side are attributed to others as well. The Russian reality in Africa is distorted, being presented as a plan of the Ecumenical Patriarchate against Moscow. This is nothing but hubris and delusion — an affront to truth and to ecclesiastical order.
Within the rhetoric of Russian ecclesiastical and political strategy, the process for recognizing Autocephaly is ignored, while the expansion of the Phanar’s plans in Eastern Europe is projected. Once again resorting to conjecture, the SVR describes the Serbian Church as “particularly disobedient,” yet bound to the Russian chariot, and speculates about the granting of Autocephaly to the “unrecognized Orthodox Church of Montenegro.”
Russia’s interpretation — that such a potential action would constitute a “calculated blow” to the canonical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Serbia — primarily reveals anxieties about the loss of influence in the Balkans and less so reflects the reality of ecclesiastical procedures.
The unfounded and hasty approaches of the SVR lack the requisite care and scholarly substantiation demanded by every ecclesiastical development and by the geopolitical dynamics of the region. The distinction between reality and strategic communication — often serving national interests — becomes indispensable. Russia, wandering between nostalgia for the past and fear of marginalization in the new global order, reveals a collective anxiety over the loss of its historical role as a great power. This leads it to exaggerations, suspicions, and an uncritical treatment of every initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
At the same time, Russia attempts to present itself as the guardian of Orthodox Tradition and ancestral values, reinforcing a national sense of mission and uniqueness, inspired by the well-known theory of the “Third Rome.” Regrettably, it has gone so far as to transform ecclesiastical reality into an instrument of political and national projection, disregarding the deeper spirit of the Church and its mission in the world.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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Announcement Regarding the Statement of Russian News Services Against the Ecumenical Patriarch
Issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on June 13, 2025
Issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on June 13, 2025
The Mother Church of Constantinople — Mother also of the Church of Russia — expresses its profound sorrow over the new Russian attack against the person of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, which this time was launched by state services of that country. Since 2018, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to grant autocephalous status to the Church of Ukraine, the Mother Church has refrained from commenting on the countless similar attacks that have come from either ecclesiastical or political centers and figures in Russia. It does the same today.
The fanciful scenarios, false news, insults, and fabricated information of every kind produced by propagandists do not discourage the Ecumenical Patriarchate from continuing its ministry and its ecumenical mission.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
