Head of Greek Church Wants Ukrainian Bishops Thrown in Prison

Just when you think it can’t any worse in Orthodoxy, it does. Not content with aiding and abetting the slow-motion martyrdom of Metropolitan Onuphry, Patriarch Bartholomew now is making the situation for the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church infinitely worse.

The world is in bad shape right now — really bad shape. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. What it doesn’t need is for religious leaders to add fuel to the fire. But that’s exactly what Bartholomew did. 

According to the Orthodox Times, Bartholomew said he thinks that several Ukrainian bishops should be imprisoned.

Wow. How’s that for a kick in the head? With patriarchs like this, who needs Nero? What’s next? Herding Ukrainian Christians into prison?

For years now, I’ve tried to be as charitable as I could to this man. After all, I’ve been to Istanbul and seen the constraints that he has had to live under. Truth be told, Christians in Istanbul have been dealt bad hands for well over 500 years and they’ve tried to make the best of it.

With Bartholomew, however, no matter how bad it gets, he manages to make it worse. Geopolitically, he’s crossed one red line after another.

But this latest stunt is a bridge too far.

What else is left? Apostasy? An open avowal of homosexual marriage, abortion-on-demand, or priestesses?

I am nothing but a layman, but I have no hesitation in demanding that our bishops step to the fore and immediately convene a council. If they don’t, the the fissures that presently exist within Orthodoxy will harden into permanent chasms. Even worse, schisms will break out within the local Churches, especially in the Churches of Greece, Cyprus, and even within Constantinople.  

Gentlemen, the ball  is in your court. You will have to answer to the verdict of history. And there’s a final verdict you’re going to have to answer to.