Chicago, December 19, 2025
A group calling itself the “Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of the Americas” misnames actual Orthodox hierarchs as passes them off as its own. Photo: easternorthodoxpatriarchateoftheamericas.weebly.com
The Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas has issued a public warning about a fraudulent website that is using photographs and identities of legitimate Orthodox bishops to create a false impression of ecclesiastical authority.
The website, which operates under the name “Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of the Americas,” has been found using stolen images of three prominent Orthodox hierarchs while assigning them false identities, the Metropolia reports.
The site features a photograph of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, but falsely identifies him as “Archbishop Gregory.” The Metropolia emphasizes that Met. Nicolae has absolutely no connection to this unrecognized entity.
The fraudulent operation has also misappropriated a photograph of Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, presenting him as “Patriarch Paulos I,” and His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, administrator of the Moscow Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, falsely labeling him as “Bishop Methodius.”
The Romanian Orthodox Metropolia stated that these acts of deliberate misrepresentation and identity theft are designed to deceive Orthodox faithful and the general public, as the group has no canonical recognition or institutional standing within the Orthodox Church.
The Metropolia announced it has begun legal and administrative proceedings to address the situation and protect the integrity and reputations of the hierarchs whose images were stolen. Church officials are urging clergy and faithful to exercise caution, verify information through official ecclesiastical channels only, and avoid any involvement with entities lacking proper canonical recognition.
The press release was issued “for informational and preventive purposes, in order to safeguard truth, unity, and proper ecclesiastical order.”
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