Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has launched a sharp public attack against Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, accusing him of political alignment with the West and of actions that, according to Moscow, undermine Orthodox unity.
In a statement reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, the SVR alleged that Patriarch Bartholomew receives active support from British intelligence services, claiming this backing contributes to what it described as the cultivation of Russophobic sentiment across Europe.
The statement reflects the long-running and deepening dispute between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Moscow Patriarchate, a rift that intensified after the Ecumenical Patriarchate granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. That decision was strongly opposed by the Russian Orthodox Church and led to a major ecclesiastical rupture.
According to the SVR, British intelligence agencies are “actively supporting” the Patriarch’s actions, while accusing him of finding common ground with authorities in the Baltic states in an alleged effort to sow division within the Russian Orthodox world. The Russian service further claimed that Patriarch Bartholomew relies on “ideological allies,” whom it described as local nationalists and neo-Nazis, in attempts to detach Orthodox churches in the Baltic region from the Moscow Patriarchate and place them under what it called “artificial religious structures” linked to Constantinople.
The SVR statement also referred to Montenegro, alleging that the Ecumenical Patriarch is planning to grant autocephaly to the unrecognised Orthodox Church of Montenegro. According to the Russian service, such a move would aim to weaken the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The intelligence agency characterised the Patriarch’s stance as “aggressive,” claiming it extends beyond Ukraine and the Baltic states. It further alleged that he seeks to initiate a campaign against what it described as the “particularly resilient” Serbian Orthodox Church through the potential recognition of the Montenegrin church.
Concluding its statement, the SVR asserted that, in church circles, Patriarch Bartholomew is viewed as “literally dismantling the living Body of the Church.” It compared his actions to those of “false prophets,” invoking biblical language to suggest that, in its view, his intentions would ultimately be revealed through their consequences.
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