Washington, D.C., December 19, 2025
Members of the American Coalition for Ukraine with Senator Chuck Schumer in April 2023. Photo: x.com
A leaked internal document from the American Coalition for Ukraine reveals that the organization views religious freedom advocacy as a critical vulnerability in its efforts to maintain support for Ukraine, describing it as “our Achilles heel.”
The document, obtained by the Union of Orthodox Journalists, was presented during an emergency call held by the ACU on Wednesday night. The call was convened in response to a Day of Action organized by the Society of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco that saw a pan-Orthodox group of nearly 200 hierarchs, clergy, and laity meet with dozens of Congressmen.
Unsurprisingly, the document contains propaganda meant to distract from and justify the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was protested by American Orthodox Christians on Wednesday. “Russia-aligned actors have found a politically correct way to advocate for Russia in the West” by focusing on religious freedom and the persecution of Christians, it states. The ACU identified the Union of Orthodox Journalists and Society of St. John Director of Government Affairs Catherine Whiteford as “key players driving the narrative.”
Photo: uoj.news
The ACU presentation describes what it considers “common tactics,” including “priests in cassocks on Capitol Hill” and “icons, crosses, and prayer imagery.” According to the document, these visuals “short-circuit policy skepticism” and “read as ‘authentic faith under attack.’“
A slide titled “Orthodoxy in America (Why the U.S. Is a Battlefield)” provides the coalition’s analysis of various Orthodox jurisdictions. The Orthodox Church in America is described as “founded” by the Moscow Patriarchate and a “predominantly convert church” with “strong emphasis on the Russian saints and missionaries.” The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) is characterized as “Moscow’s most ideologically conservative outpost abroad” which “acts as a foil to other Orthodox Churches.”
Photo: uoj.news
By contrast, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is identified as a “key counterweight in the U.S.” that recognizes the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The ACU ignored the fact that members of the Greek Archdiocese have participated in both St. John Society events in Washington.
Another slide, titled “Converts Matter More Than People Think,” states that “many leading voices are converts” who are “more ideologically rigid, frame Orthodoxy as civilizational identity, and become effective political activists.”
Photo: uoj.news
According to the confidential source, speakers during the presentation said they had recently met with Rep. Joe Wilson, who called for the persecution of Orthodox Christians in the U.S., and that the situation is “getting under his skin.” Meeting organizers instructed attendees to thank Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Wilson for bringing attention to what they called a “serious foreign intelligence” risk posed by Orthodox Americans.
The Society of St. John has stated that it did not advocate for an end to U.S. support for Ukraine, but rather requested accountability measures to ensure tax dollars are not funding the persecution of Christians. The organization’s Day of Action included representatives from every Orthodox jurisdiction in the United States.
The American Coalition for Ukraine describes itself as an alliance of over 100 organizations united by the mission to ensure Ukraine receives necessary support to defend itself and restore a just peace and its territorial integrity.
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