Source: Fr. John Whiteford
November 20, 2025
Congressman Joe Wilson, of South Carolina, wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi in which he accused the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and "other Russian Orthodox Churches" of engaging in espionage on behalf of the Russian government. He of course made these assertions without the slightest evidence, but let's consider how absurd his claim actually is. The alleged espionage consisted of an effort by clergy and laity of ROCOR, the OCA, the Serbian Patriarchate, and the Antiochian Archdiocese to lobby members of our government. What were they lobbying for? Was it to eliminate sanctions against Russia? No. Was it to pass on military secrets to the Russian government? No. Was it to end military support of Ukraine? No. It was to stop the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. If this is what the Russian government put these people up to, you would have to conclude that the Russian government was the most selfless, altruistic, and Christian government that exists today, and perhaps has ever existed.
Some will claim that this effort was an attempt to embarrass the Ukrainian government, but that is also a ridiculous claim, because the only thing Ukraine would need to do to stop the embarrassment would be to stop persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
... Read the rest at Fr. John Whiteford.
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