Cyril, Without Equal: Parasitic Ecclesiology

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​The Moscow Patriarch is undoubtably “without equal” in his lust and ability to excel at parasitic ecclesiology. The Russian Church lives and expands as a parasite. Its historical incestual relationship with the various governments of the Russian State is not unusual, the extent to which the Moscow church will abuse other jurisdictions is. Habitually exploiting other primate’s grim circumstances has become a talent for Moscow.

There is something uniquely pernicious in the Moscow Patriarch’s thought process that exploits expansionism to validate all its ecclesial atrocities and illegal geographic incursions as it deems fit. The unruly Russian patriarch is not simply a rogue with a singular viewpoint, but his theological approach is a feeble attempt to construct a worldwide narrative which is, wholly false.

​Patriarch Cyril’s toxic rhetoric and repulsive actions target the Ecumenical Patriarchate and are the purvey of the Kremlin aligned Russian Orthodox Church. Led by the church’s Department of External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion and his neo-nationalists. Make no mistake it is Patriarch Cyril’s outlets who amplify the ridiculously ignorant justifications analogous with the “Third Rome” conspiracies and which seek the obliteration of ancient canons. Cyril’s close ties to Vladimir Putin go unnoticed by the novice reader. One representative at the head of this sycophant fake news line is Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov, long identified as Vladimir Putin’s spiritual advisor. These fraudulent purveyors disguised as monastic news-outlets spew the most extremely unscrupulous misinformation imaginable. Orthodoxy’s ecclesial essence and ancient orderliness is being defiled by the self-interests of the Russian Church’s immoderate claims.

​Why such vitriol from this sister church? The answer put simply: the collapse of Russian expansionism and the contraction of the Moscow Patriarchate’s sphere of influence. Lets examine most recent events.

Everyone is aware Russia and Ukraine are involved in a long war. Long before the invasion of Crimea, Russia engaged in a cultural genocide of Ukraine. Admittedly Russia and Ukraine share a lot of cultural similarities. Many argue these commonalities are caused by centuries of forced Russian oppression of Ukraine (Tsarist, Soviet, and beyond). For starters they have different languages. Ukrainian was banned from the Russian Empire, and what is now the Eastern half of modern-day Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church only allows for the Russian language. The new autocephalous church uses Ukrainian. During the war with Russia the Moscow patriarch would not allow Ukrainian soldiers to have Orthodox funerals, as they were the enemies of the Russian State.
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“The image of the Russian Orthodox Church as the “handmaiden” of the state long prevailed in Tsarist Russia. After decades of Soviet persecution, this perception of the church has reemerged in post-communist and, especially, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Western media routinely describe the church as a “staunch Kremlin ally,” as The Washington Post did. The New York Times called the church “a reliable pillar of support for the government of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin,” and the BBC casually referred to the church’s “close links to the Kremlin.” Some in Russia have leveled similar criticism, as in a public declaration by three provincial Orthodox priests: “We urgently ask you to cease the shameful practice of blind collaboration with the authorities and every kind of dalliance with the wealthy in our country.” Such descriptions appear to find confirmation in the many photographs of Putin crossing himself at Orthodox services or standing alongside Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The two leaders demonstrate mutual respect, emphasize pride in Russian culture and history, and invoke patriotism and cultural tradition as enduring values. Collaboration has rewards: The state has been generous... to the church.”

​Patriarch Cyril has a mission to entomb the authentic authority of Orthodoxy. One such example is patriarch Cyril’s misuse of the political reality that “Putin and Erdogan both see the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an extension of Western influence that threatens their respective political ambitions.” The Kremlin based church, a sympathetic partisan parasite, supports Russia’s geopolitical objectives and in fact embodies those same aspirations. In many cases, beyond the Moscow Patriarch’s illegal invasions as in Crimea, Northern Cyprus and most recently in Abkhaz, Georgia the Russian church benefits from the state’s invasions as well.

Most hierarchs are “worried about the long-lasting effects of the church hierarchy's unwavering support for Putin.” Patriarch Cyril openly validates and endorses Vladimir Putin and his criminal activities. The Moscow Patriarchate delivers the Kremlin’s temnik [officially approved talking points] in 'church style'… According to Sergei Chapnin, “the church is falling into a rut by showing that its alliance with the state is firm and lasting. Russian foreign policy: derzhavnost, or “great power status;” in other words, recognition that Russia commands respect in world affairs. Russia’s identity as an “Orthodox power” is kept backstage, but it steps into the limelight when geopolitical aspirations and Church interests converge.”
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“A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that between 1991 and 2008, the self-identified “Orthodox” rose from 31 percent to 72 percent, but that regular churchgoers remained in single digits—just 2 to 7 percent” the lowest attendance of any majority “Orthodox population country.” Patriarch Cyril manipulates facts where “Russian and Turkish disinformation campaigns amplify one another.” Justifying Cyril’s illegal ecclesial incursion into all regions of Turkey; Istanbul (Constantinople), Izmir (Smyrna), Antalya (Attaleia) and beyond.

Aykan Erdemir and John Lechner sum up in their 2/26/21 BalkanIsight article Russia-Turkey Pincer Movement Threatens Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Survival thusly:

This failure to recognize Bartholomew I’s quandary, which goes far beyond ecclesiastical infighting, reflects the transatlantic alliance’s inability to take the role of religious narrative in authoritarian regimes seriously, leaving vulnerable minorities at their mercy.
Western leaders would better serve the secular agendas of democracy, human rights and personal freedom by offering more robust support to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, caught in Russian and Turkish crosshairs.

​It is time for Truth, not partisanship.
It is time for Tradition, not domination.
​It is time for Unity, not coercion.