October: Day 5: Teaching 2: Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia

October: Day 5: Teaching 2:
Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia
 
(Lessons From Their Lives: 
a. Every young person should receive his upbringing under the guidance of the Church; and 
b. Youth is the most precious period for the religious and moral upbringing of a Christian.)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today is the commemoration of three great hierarchs of the Russian Church: Peter, Alexy, and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow, whose names inevitably bring to mind also the name of the great hierarch Philip. Let us consider their lives so that we may learn from them how to raise our children today.

a) Saint Peter was a native of Volhynia. Upon reaching the age of seven, he was sent to receive a literary education; but however hard the young pupil tried at first, his studies did not proceed successfully. This caused him and his parents great sorrow. Once, as though in a dream, Peter saw a man dressed in hierarchal vestments who, standing near him, said: “Child, open your mouth!” The puzzled boy obeyed. At that moment, the one who had appeared touched his tongue and, blessing him, seemed to pour a certain sweetness into his mouth. From that time onward, he began to progress in his studies more than all his peers.

Pan-Orthodox Problems (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Pan-Orthodox Problems

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The articles that are written about the unity of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which in recent years has been undermined by various actions, show that a problem exists in pan-Orthodox relations at the level of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches. Meetings and dialogues are held between the Orthodox Church and other confessions and religions, but dialogues among the Orthodox Churches themselves are not taking place. One must be affected by shortsightedness not to understand this and that this is serious.

Of course, this did not arise simply from the autocephaly in Ukraine, which was granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, just as it has granted it in the past to nine other Orthodox Churches, but from internal undermining of centuries directed against the First-Throne Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate. When one reads the proceedings of the pan-Orthodox meetings, committees, and so forth — at least of the last 150 years — they will understand this very well. There the internal competition becomes clearly visible through the mentality of various social and political associations. Partisan mentalities are created, groupings, hidden internal rivalries, with the ultimate aim of showing who has the power to influence pan-Orthodox affairs, through the undermining of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Metropolitan of Derkoi Says Russia’s Attack on Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is “Unbrotherly, Irreverent, and Indecent”

Metropolitan Geron Apostolos of Derkoi characterizes Russia’s attack on Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as “unbrotherly, irreverent, and indecent.”

Commenting on the abusive accusations directed against the Patriarch, the Metropolitan of Derkoi notes at the outset: “This is not the first time that Moscow, acting through the deep state and the secret service SVR, has attacked — unbrotherly, irreverently, and indecently — the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. This time, the SVR, instigated by the official state and tightly embraced by it, the Russian Church, unleashed a remotely guided bomb. Not like the one with which they struck an apartment building and a playground in Kharkiv, Ukraine, killing six people and wounding at least fifty-five. Among the dead was a fourteen-year-old girl. Nor like the bomb with which they struck a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, and, among others, fatally wounded an unfortunate pregnant woman along with the child she was carrying.” He adds: “This time, the SVR, remotely guided by Russia’s deep state, deployed a bomb of another technology — ancient and time-tested. Its components are a political–religious mixture of irrational and arrogant claims, all manner of blackmail, and fratricidal slanders.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Responds to Russian Propaganda and Updates on the Re-Opening of Halki

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in TA NEA Weekend: “As if I would fear Russian propaganda.”

The primate of Orthodoxy speaks to TA NEA Weekend about the war in Ukraine and the attack he has faced from Russia.

By Maria Mourelatou
TA NEA Weekend
January 24, 2026

On the occasion of his visit to Thessaloniki next Thursday, and against the backdrop of the tectonic changes in the postwar geopolitical order, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew speaks to Ta Nea Weekend, addressing messages in all directions.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, the primate of Orthodoxy—who, as he notes, has from the outset stood by “the Ukrainian people, who are being severely tested by the Russian invasion”—makes it clear that this is not a “holy war,” but an expansionist war, “absolutely satanic,” which is “the result of vain people addicted to the opium of power.”

Rejecting the unprovoked attack he recently received from the press office of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the Ecumenical Patriarch declares himself fearless in the face of the fire directed at both him and the Patriarchate by “dirty attacks” and by “Russian internet trolls,” speaking of “Stalinist propaganda tactics.” “I am not afraid of them,” he responds, while at the same time emphasizing, with regard to the global balance of terror, that “every war is a defeat for humanity.”

The Transgressive Course and Anti-Ecclesiastical Behavior of the Russian Church

 

By Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Gerasimos Fragkoulakis

Hanover, Germany

January 16, 2026

The historical course of relations between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church has often been marked by periods of tension. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the “First among equals” in the administrative structure of Orthodoxy, has always held the role of guarantor of ecclesiastical order and the unity of the Local Churches, according to the words “that they may be one” (John 17:21). The Russian Church, recognized as a Patriarchate in the sixteenth century, developed a strong national and ecclesiastical identity, often desiring to play a leading role within the Orthodox world.

Although the Church of Constantinople constitutes the Mother Church of the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Church of Russia has never ceased, from the very moment of its foundation, to attempt to diminish and downgrade the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The incidents that demonstrate this stance of the Russian Church are very numerous, and their description could fill many volumes. We shall mention only some of them, which highlight the transgressive course of the Patriarchate of Moscow.

On Russia’s Attack Against the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Chrysa Makri

Recent history has shown that ecclesiastical diplomacy often precedes geopolitical developments. When, in 2018, the Ecumenical Throne handed over the Tomos of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church, no one could have foreseen Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine a few years later. Most, in fact, regarded such a scenario as far-fetched.

Vladimir Putin, however, has shown to those capable of analyzing his actions that he has often used the power and influence exercised by religion as a tool to control Orthodox Christians. To this end, he first used the late Patriarch of Moscow Alexy, who was of Estonian origin—born and raised in Tallinn—and today his successor Kirill, who serves as the standard-bearer of the Church of Moscow for Russia’s penetration into the millions of faithful in Orthodox countries.

The separation of the Ukrainian Church from the Patriarchate of Moscow dealt a heavy blow to Russia, and relations between the Patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople entered a chapter of division between the two Churches.

With regard to the latest developments and the attack launched by the Patriarchate of Moscow against the Ecumenical Patriarch, the pretext was the request of the Orthodox Church of Lithuania, as well as the country’s government, for the establishment of an Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate there—a request that the Phanar granted. The Russians now accuse Patriarch Bartholomew of “encroachment” into Russia’s “territories” and attempt to slander him, claiming that he serves “interests,” “spies,” and “planted neo-Nazis.”

Explaining the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Metropolitan Demetrios of the Princes’ Islands, speaking to parapolitika.gr, stressed that “the peoples of these states are the ones who decide the future of their lives, and I believe that they wish to break free from Russia’s influence. What is being written against our Patriarchate has political motives. They want to harm the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”

The essence of the matter is that the Russians see themselves losing their footholds in the autonomous Churches of the Baltic States—namely Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia—and for this reason they are launching this attack, Metropolitan Gregory of Peristeri told parapolitika.gr. He served the Church of Estonia for four years (2005–2009) and is currently in Tallinn as part of efforts to address the new crisis.

The Background of the Autonomy of the Baltic States

Fear of war and hostility toward the Patriarchate of Moscow have ecclesiastically turned Northern Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania toward the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In 1923, the Phanar granted autonomy to the Churches of Finland and Estonia, and in 1936 to the Church of Latvia. In 1945, however, after Stalin annexed the three countries to the Soviet Union, he abolished the autonomy of the three Churches and bound them to the Patriarchate of Moscow. At the same time, during Stalin’s era, a Metropolis was established that was directly connected to the Patriarchate of Moscow.

According to Metropolitan Gregory of Peristeri, on the basis of this history the current administration of the Patriarchate of Moscow considers the entire Church of Latvia to belong to it. However, as he points out, since 1991 the Baltic States have become independent. Nevertheless, Moscow insists that the Churches of the three countries, as well as the Church of Ukraine, still fall under the jurisdiction of the Russian Church.

“They unjustly, uncanonically, entirely without basis consider that, because from 1945 to 1990 Stalin ‘seized’ the Churches, they have acquired a right of ownership over them to this day. Such a thing does not exist, does not stand, and has no validity,” explains the Metropolitan of Peristeri.

Throughout all these years of confrontation, Moscow has never missed an opportunity to undermine the prestige of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, accusing it of being “schismatic,” along with the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Churches of Greece and Cyprus, which recognized the autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine.

It is also worth noting that the crisis in relations between the three countries and Russia is not recent. In January 2024, the Estonian authorities expelled Metropolitan Evgeny, who headed the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia, considering him a threat to the country’s national security.

This event was linked to geopolitical tensions and Estonia’s concerns over Moscow’s expansionist intentions. According to Metropolitan Gregory of Peristeri, “at this moment the Baltic States are living under a sense of threat. Whatever the Russians demanded in Ukraine, they have also demanded for Estonia,” raising fears that what happened in Ukraine could also occur in the Baltic countries.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

The Phanar in Moscow’s Crosshairs: Behind the Hatred, a Plan for Dominance

By Fr. Panagiotis Kapodistrias
Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne

The confrontation between Russia and the Ecumenical Patriarchate is not a temporary phenomenon, nor can it be explained simply through theological differences. At its core lies a deep ideological and geopolitical conflict that has taken shape over centuries and has reached its peak in recent years. The Russian concept of the “Third Rome” constitutes the cornerstone of this tension. The Russian Church, and by extension the Russian state, regards Moscow as the natural successor to Constantinople and the spiritual guide of the Orthodox world. This unhistorical and unfounded view leaves no room for recognizing Constantinople as the canonical and spiritual center of Orthodoxy.

Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill reinforce this mindset in a manner that goes beyond the bounds of religiosity and fully enters the realm of state ideology. The Russian Church functions as an ideological arm of the state, providing metaphysical legitimacy to political and military actions. Patriarch Bartholomew, through his words and stance, stands in opposition to this approach. He upholds the spiritual independence of the Church, rejects its instrumentalization by the state, and defends synodality and canonical order.

The granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church in 2018 was the straw that broke the camel’s back. On the one hand, this act restored a people’s right to ecclesiastical self-governance; on the other, it directly affected Moscow’s interests, which until then had regarded Ukraine as its “ecclesiastical territory.” Russia viewed this action as a threat — not only spiritual but also geopolitical. The tension escalated with the Russian Church’s severance of communion with the Phanar and with a fierce propaganda campaign aimed at delegitimizing the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Patriarch Bartholomew, through his clear stance against the war in Ukraine, his defense of peace, and his consistent position in favor of Orthodox unity, emerges as a disruptive factor for the Russian narrative. His international recognition, his relations with other Christian denominations, and his adherence to canonical order strengthen his standing on a global level — and this provokes a reaction. Russia systematically seeks to portray him as an “instrument of the West,” with the aim of weakening his influence within the Orthodox world.

The hostility toward the Ecumenical Patriarchate is by no means the result of personal differences, but rather a deliberate strategy of dismantling. Through it, resourceful Russia attempts to promote its own hegemony in Orthodoxy, using every means — theological, propagandistic, geopolitical. The Phanar, with its historic and enduring course, its uninterrupted spiritual contribution, and its independence, constitutes an obstacle to this ambition.

The rivalry persists on unequal terms. On the one side stand power and authority; on the other, spiritual authenticity. What provokes Russian hostility is the resilience and influence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, even without a state apparatus. And as long as this influence endures, the Phanar will continue to trouble those who view the Church as a tool of politics.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

The Geopolitical Strategy of Russia and the Accusations Against the Ecumenical Patriarch

SVR: "Patriarch Bartholomew Is Creating a New Schism"

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.

Prologue in Sermons: January 9

For Those Who Love the Monastic Life

January 9

(Commemoration of our Holy Father Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, the Wonderworker)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

There are many who desire to become monks, but unfortunately, few among them understand what true monasticism should consist of and know how to prepare themselves for it. Such people, for example, fall into the following error regarding monasticism: they think that life as a monk is easy and pleasant, and that in monasteries one only needs to pray to God and do nothing else. And this error alone leads them to the saddest of things. Having entered a monastery, with their idea of doing nothing there, they become the most pitiful monks and serve only as a mockery and a stumbling block to both the monks living with them and laypeople alike. Is this good? As you can see, it is very bad. What is to be done? Yes, we will do this: we will point out to everyone who desires monasticism, but does not understand its essence, for the first time at least one example of how true servants of God prepared for monasticism and how they behaved after accepting it.

August: Day 24: Teaching 2: Translation of the Honorable Relics of our Holy Father Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev, and Wonderworker of All Russia

August: Day 24: Teaching 2:
Translation of the Honorable Relics of our Holy Father Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev, and Wonderworker of All Russia
 
(Lessons To Follow From His Holy Life: 
a. Mercy, 
b. Meekness, and 
c. Love for the Fatherland)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, whose memory of the transfer of his holy relics from the former Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos to the present Dormition Cathedral in Moscow is now celebrated, was born in the Volyn of pious parents. Even from birth, his mother had a vision that Saint Peter would shine with virtue in the Russian land. Having begun his studies, Peter, although he studied diligently, did not keep up. He prayed fervently, and then one day he saw in a dream that some Saint approached him and, ordering him to open his lips, touched his tongue with his hand and blessed him. And from that time Peter became a most capable student. 

At the age of 12 he went to a monastery, was soon tonsured and then, for his exemplary life, was ordained a deacon and then a priest. In his free time, Peter loved to paint icons. After many years of exploits in the monastery, with the blessing of the abbot, he retired to solitude, near the river Rati. Soon, many brethren gathered around Peter, and he established a monastery named after the locality of Dvorts, known as Spassky-Dvorts or Novodvorsk. Gentle and uncontentious, he never grew angry with those who erred, but corrected them with kind words. A poor person or a wanderer always found shelter and assistance in his cell. Prince Yuri Lvovich of Volyn and Galicia took a great liking to Peter and asked the Patriarch of Constantinople to appoint him as bishop. The Patriarch designated Peter as the Metropolitan of All Russia. Initially, Peter lived in Kiev, but in 1309 he moved to Vladimir. 

December: Day 21: Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow

December: Day 21: Teaching 1:
Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow
 
(Lessons From His Life)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Almost 600 years have passed since the death of the now celebrated Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, but time has not hidden from us the lamp of faith and piety; the Russian people have preserved his memory in their chronicles for the grateful, prayerful glorification of the Saint of God. Let us open these chronicles to see in them the bright image of the Saint standing before the throne of the Lord of glory.

Saint Peter was born in Volyn, in the second half of the 13th century. Not long before his birth, his mother had a significant dream, foreshadowing the greatness of the soul and life of her future son. She dreamed that she was holding in her arms an extraordinary lamb, between whose horns there was a tree on which the leaves were mixed with flowers and fruits, and among the branches of the beautiful tree many candles burned, pouring out fragrance. And the dream came true: the Lord gave her a son, who became a shepherd of many rational sheep, was fragrant among them, and shone with faith and a God-pleasing life.

Homily on the Commemoration of the Saints of Moscow Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Commemoration of the Saints of Moscow 

Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Holy Church blesses the memory of the first hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, who shone with deeds of piety and wise management of the flock of Christ – Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes. These hierarchs ruled the Church at different times, but all of them, thanks to their zeal for the salvation of the souls entrusted to them, had one and the same spirit of Christ's love for their neighbors, the readiness to lay down their very souls for their neighbors.

The first to rule the Church was the Holy Metropolitan Peter – from 1308 to 1326. He came from pious parents and was originally from the Volyn region. Having felt a strong attraction to monastic life since childhood, the future saint entered a monastery at the age of twelve, where he devoted himself to the feats of fasting and prayer, for which he deservedly enjoyed universal respect and love. For his pious life and ascetic zeal, he was soon elevated to the rank of abbot, and he became the head of the monastery he founded on the banks of the Rata River. Subsequently, Saint Peter was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' and governed the Church well until the day of his death.

October: Day 5: Teaching 1: Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia

October: Day 5: Teaching 1:
Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia
 
(On the True Teachers of Faith, Whom Christians Must Obey According to the Apostolic Commandment)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. We celebrate today the memory of three Russian saints: Peter, Alexy and Jonah, the Metropolitans of Moscow and All Russia and Wonderworkers, who during their lives taught faith and piety to their vast flock and contributed to the prosperity of their fatherland, not fearing for this purpose either labors, or dangers, or even death itself, and after death praying unceasingly for it, we must say that these were true teachers of faith and piety, true shepherds, ready to lay down (and some of them, such as Saint Philip, did lay down) their souls for their flock.

The Controversial Canonization of Saint Photios the Great

There is evidence showing that the veneration of Patriarch Photios I the Great of Constantinople as a saint has origins going back to the 10th century, as we see also in his veneration in the West until the 12th century.

His official canonization as a saint, however, was accomplished by the Patriarchate of Constantinople under Patriarch Anthimos VI in 1848, in the context of acute opposition to the proselytism of Catholics and other Western confessions in the territory under Ottoman rule. Because Patriarch Anthimos VI had issued anti-Russian statements during the Crimean War and later proclaimed the Bulgarian Schism in 1872, the canonization was not accepted in the calendar of the Russian Church. On the 1000th anniversary of the death of Saint Photios, on February 6, 1891, an official celebration took place at the Theological School of Halki; the Russians were not invited.

There were three different views of Patriarch Photios among the Russians at the time: Slavists, who valued Patriarch Photios for his role in the Christian education of the Slavs; Graecophiles, who demanded that the name of Patriarch Photios be included in the Russian calendars; Anti-"Eastern Papists", who recognized the historical and theological merits of Patriarch Photios, but firmly stood on the non-recognition of his canonization because Constantinople instituted it.