In response to, Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria Dared to Do the Right Thing (Nov. 12), I have to strenuously object to Mr. Kalmoukos calling Patriarch John of Antioch a “coward.” The Patriarch has spent years defending his flock in Syria from genocide that was being waged by Islamic ‘rebels’ armed and supported by the western alliance. The genocide of the Christians in Syria and Iraq supported by the West is a repetition of the genocide of the Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians by the Turks a century ago who were also supported and armed by the western powers.

The person that I would refer to as a coward is the fake Ukrainian Bishop Dimenko who has no valid consecration, ordination, or baptism. This is a man whose followers consist of neo Nazi fanatics tolerated and supported by the thuggish Ukrainian authorities who seize churches belonging to the legitimate Ukrainian Orthodox Church and who terrorize and beat innocent churchgoers, bishops, and priests. I would also like to defend Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem who has defended the canon laws of the Orthodox Church and the sanctity of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by banning the criminals of Dimenko’s gang from serving at the Lord’s sacred tomb.

Patriarch Theophilos resisted pressure from the former Ukrainian President and has acted as a Church statesman by refusing to recognize schismatics from Ukraine. He has maintained ties with all Orthodox Churches an important responsibility considering the importance of Jerusalem to Orthodoxy. At a time when the schism in Orthodoxy is worsening and could prove irreversible, the longer this crisis persists the statesman-like attitudes of both Patriarch John and Patriarch Theophilos who have resolved their own differences are quite welcome.

Theodore G. Karakostas

Boston, MA