St. George Slays the Double-Headed Eagle - Sacrilegious New Icon in Ukraine

In a cathedral in Ukraine, "Patriarch" Philaret — the deposed bishop of a schismatic church — has blessed the use of an entirely new religious painting: an icon of St. George slaying the double-headed eagle.

The double-headed eagle is the most recognizable symbol of Orthodox Christianity today (other than the cross). The claws of the eagle hold a cross and an orb, symbolizing peaceful cooperation between the Church and the government. The flag was historically used by the Roman Empire in the East (Byzantine), and by the Russian Empire. Today, it is the official flag of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church.

One of the most famous religious images in the Orthodox Church is an icon of St. George defeating a dragon.

The dragon — a traditional symbol for evil — has been replaced by the double-headed eagle in this new Ukrainian icon.

The double-headed eagle is on the coat of arms for the Russian Federation, the coat of arms of Serbia, the flag of Montenegro, the historic flag of the eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, and the official flag of the Greek Orthodox Church, and of Mount Athos.

In a public display of disdain for the historic Orthodox Faith — and disdain for the numerous countries which have the double-headed eagle on their national flags — Philaret has openly praised this new icon, and has blessed its presence in the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral. This took place on October 12, just one day after Patriarch Bartholomew had removed an anathema from Philaret.

To make things worse, if you look closely at the border of the depiction of St. George, you'll see that it's decorated with the Waffen-SS Wolfsangel rune, a symbol resuscitated by the Azov Battalion and other openly Neo-Nazi factions in Ukraine:

Here is an example of the rune in its original historical context:

As if that wasn't enough, Philaret also approved an icon of himself to be painted in the same cathedral, even though he is still living, and even though he is not a saint:

After giving a blessing for the new icon of St. George, Philaret addressed all the attendees with the following message: 

"Without a Ukrainian Church independent of Moscow, our state would not have a strong spiritual foundation. Due to the existence of the Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and other Christian, patriotic churches, we have an independent state today. And if we have the only Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Russia will not have any access to Ukraine. And then our state will establish itself, strengthen, and will be the stronghold of peace in the East of Ukraine."

Philaret is the leader of the schismatic "Kiev Patriarchate", which currently controls approximately 5,000 church buildings in Ukraine. Meanwhile, over 12,000 churches in the country are run by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate. For Philaret to achieve his goal of the Kiev Patriarchate becoming "the only Ukrainian Orthodox Church", he would have to confiscate over 12,000 churches from his rivals, with the assistance of the Ukrainian government.

In a move to force the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to separate its ties with Moscow, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has unilaterally presumed to remove the anathema from Philaret, and to create a new church in Ukraine, attempting to blend together the members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the members of the schismatic Kiev church. The Greek Orthodox Church in America approves of this, and the U.S. Secretary of State likewise approves.

Meanwhile, virtually every other Orthodox Church in the world condemns the actions of the schismatic "Kiev Patriarchate", and they are calling upon Philaret to repent.