"Arms open to gays": Is Phanar following Rome in legalizing LGBT issue?

On December 18, 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church published a document signed by the Roman Pope, allowing priests of the RCC to bless gay couples. This document caused a lot of commotion among Catholic believers worldwide and led to many bishops of the RCC refusing to comply with it, with some accusing the Roman Pope of serving Satan.

Despite the controversy surrounding this decision and the extremely negative backlash from the majority of Christians, the Vatican did not back down. Moreover, a recent directive from the custodian of the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome allowed gays to seek blessings in the church considered the heart of the Catholic world.

Regardless of the scandalous nature of this decision and the overwhelmingly negative response from most Christians, we have somehow become accustomed to the fact that the RCC, led by Pope Francis, is gradually moving towards the legalization of gay marriages. Our resource wrote about such a scenario six years ago. What is even more surprising is that almost simultaneously with the permission to bless homosexuals from the "Holy See", words in support of gay marriages were uttered by Orthodox hierarchs on the pages of Orthodox internet publications. And all of them, one way or another, are related to the Phanar. And it is for this reason that we are not inclined to believe such statements a mere coincidence. So what is happening?

The Phanar and Gays

On January 11, 2024, the head of the semi-autonomous Cretan Church within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Archbishop Evgenios, stated that he does not consider gender diversity a sin. Reflecting on the "peculiarities" of gays, he mentioned that he has "no concerns about homosexuals" and emphasized that "our arms are open for these individuals" because "they are our brothers and sisters; they are people who have just a different sexual orientation, that’s all."

Archbishop Evgenios also said that he is "not worthy to judge any of them." Strangely, these exact words were once uttered in the context of a conversation about gays by another person—the Roman Pope: "Who am I to judge a homosexual?"

However, why be surprised if Archbishop Evgenios has someone to emulate? Because a week before his interview, the head of the Phanar, Patriarch Bartholomew, on the day of the Feast of Theophany according to the new style, immediately after the liturgy and the consecration of water, held a private audience for the openly gay Greek politician, the leader of the "SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance" party, Stefanos Kasselakis.

Agree, the invitation to an openly gay person to participate in the festive Worship at the Phanar, an honorary seat next to the patriarch during the Great Blessing of the Waters, and a warm conversation with him after the consecration of water, look extremely bizarre, if not more. Especially given that just before the meeting with the head of the Phanar, Kasselakis demanded the introduction of a law legalizing same-sex marriages in Greece. But perhaps Patriarch Bartholomew invited him to call for repentance? Hardly. Because this was not their first meeting – in October of last year, the gay politician already visited the Phanar. After the visit to Patriarch Bartholomew, Kasselakis stated the following: "At the meeting with His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, I told him about my partner, and he reacted normally, there were no doubts."

Indeed, there could be no doubts. After all, Patriarch Bartholomew did not punish his subordinate and one of the candidates for the position of the head of the Phanar, Archbishop Elpidophoros, for baptizing the children of a gay couple from the United States. Moreover, even when the Greek Church, in one of whose dioceses this baptism took place, publicly expressed its disagreement with the situation, Bartholomew did not react to it. Instead, one of the closest assistants and advisors to the head of the Constantinople Church, theologian John Chryssavgis, reacted, stating that those criticizing Elpidophoros are "out of touch with reality and the world," and that it is long overdue in the Church to "start discussions about sex and gender." Although, it would seem, what is there to discuss after the quite clear words of Holy Scripture that "homosexuality is an abomination before God"? But apparently, not all those who consider themselves Orthodox Christians agree with these words of the Bible.

Thus, a pro-Phanariot publication reported that the new Prime Minister of France is Gabriel Attal, a "Orthodox Christian with Greek roots." Almost concurrently with the Phanariots, the OCU resource joyfully reported this news. However, neither the first nor the second for some reason mentioned that Attal, like his Greek colleague Kasselakis, is an openly gay person. Is this journalistic incompetence or a consciously chosen silence? In this case, it seems to us that the second option is more likely. Because, apparently, the Phanariots have a goal to achieve in the Orthodox world regarding gays the same as the Vatican managed to achieve in the Catholic world.

Greeks and Gays

It is worth noting that the statements of the Archbishop of Crete, the meeting with the gay politician, the leader of the largest opposition party in Greece, as well as the coverage of Attal's personality, hints that a homosexual could lead the country – all these are links in one chain that cynically unfolds against the backdrop of extensive debates in Greek society about the possibility of legalizing gay marriages.

The authorities of Greece have announced their intention to pass a law that not only allows the legalization of same-sex cohabitation but also grants the opportunity for gays to adopt children. The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece opposed this law, as did the overwhelming majority of Greek hierarchs. Some of them, such as Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, express their opinions about the future law very harshly, calling things by their names. He points out that homosexuality is the pinnacle of evil, which alienates a person from God, brings cancer and death, and will be the cause of God's wrath and disaster for Greece. Other hierarchs urge the people to fight against the legalization of gay marriages and warn the authorities that "a Greek knows how to fight for the morality of his homeland, for Jesus Christ, and our Orthodox faith."

The monastic brotherhood of Mount Athos did not stay on the sidelines either. Its Holy Kinot initially expressed its disagreement with the possible legalization of gay marriages and then opposed the visit to the territory of the Virgin Mary mentioned earlier in connection with the baptism of the children of a gay couple by Archbishop Elpidophoros.

The Overton Window

So, as we can see, the position of Greek hierarchs, monks, and undoubtedly believers is clear and unequivocal. Archbishop Evgenios's words against this backdrop may seem like the expression of an individual who does not influence the situation (especially since the Synod of the Cretan Church made a statement recognizing marriage only between a man and a woman). But it's not that simple.

The fact is that Archbishop Evgenios is a citizen of Greece, and the Church he leads, while part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, is located on the territory of the Greek state. This means that he is not just expressing his opinion but going against his fellow hierarchs, against the opinion of the majority of believing compatriots. It is entirely possible that the Greek government, stating that the law on gay marriages will be passed anyway, will later use Archbishop Evgenios's words to justify its decision by claiming that not everyone in the Church agrees with those opposing gay marriages. However, as it seems to us, there is something more behind the position of the head of the Cretan Church than just a desire to express an alternative opinion. It is very likely that he is supported by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This means that Archbishop Evgenios may be expressing not only his standpoint but also that of his leadership. And that is indeed a problem.

Because recently, the Phanar has been too overtly synchronizing with the Vatican in rhetoric, which concerns not only "Eucharistic unity" but also "unity" on issues that are currently on the agenda of the "powers of this world". It may well turn out that through Archbishop Elpidophoros, Archbishop Evgenios, and the like, Patriarch Bartholomew, residing in Turkey (an Islamic state), is trying to "extend" into Orthodoxy everything that literally separates us from the faith of our Fathers, from the Tradition of the Church, Its saving mission, and most importantly – from unity with Christ.

In any case, the Phanariots' discussions about same-sex marriages, the need for deliberations on this matter – this is not just "air shaking" but the opening of the "Overton Window," through which we are taught that things considered "abominations" just yesterday will not cause "doubts" tomorrow, according to Kasselakis. And in this sense, we should heed very carefully the words of Metropolitan Savva of Poland: "Today, whole countries are changing their principles, traditions, and customs, preparing the ground for the coming of the Antichrist."

Perhaps that is indeed the case.