Russian Orthodox Propaganda Takes Aim at Patriarch Bartholomew, Calling Him ‘Antichrist in Cassock’

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, has released one of the most extreme statements of the post-Soviet era, dropping the vocabulary of intelligence work and replacing it with theological denunciation. In an official press release issued on Jan. 12, the agency accused Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople of acting as a malevolent force whose real mission is to dismantle Russian influence across the Orthodox world.

The SVR alleged that “Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who ‘dismembered’ Orthodox Ukraine, continues his schismatic activity across the Orthodox world.” The language is not accidental. Moscow continues to treat the independence of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church not as a religious choice by Ukrainians, but as a hostile geopolitical act.

The statement claims the Patriarch has now “turned his dark gaze on the Baltic states.” It calls him a “devil in the flesh,” and alleges he is “relying on ideological allies among local nationalists and neo-Nazis” to push Russian Orthodoxy out of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, hoping to replace it with “artificially created, Constantinople-made puppet religious structures.”

This is not fringe rhetoric circulating on extremist Telegram channels. This is an official document from Russia’s premier foreign intelligence agency, the institutional successor to the Soviet KGB. When an intelligence service adopts the language of demonology, it is advertising insecurity, not strength.

As in most Kremlin conspiracy narratives, the SVR dragged British intelligence into the story as the ever-present puppet master. The agency claimed that Bartholomew is being “actively supported by British intelligence services,” which are allegedly “stoking Russophobic sentiment across Europe.” It then described the Patriarch as “mired in the mortal sin of schism” and accused him of collaborating with Baltic authorities to weaken the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) from within.

The SVR’s alarm does not stop at the Baltic Sea. The statement warned that what it called the “Constantinopolitan Antichrist” is expanding deeper into Central and Eastern Europe. To strike at the “especially obstinate” Serbian Orthodox Church, the SVR alleged, Bartholomew intends to grant autocephaly to the unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church, a step Moscow views as a direct threat to one of its remaining dependable partners in the region.

The reaction exposes the Kremlin’s core assumption about religion. In this worldview, the church is not primarily a spiritual community. It is an instrument of state power. Losing influence over pro-Russian Orthodox believers in Montenegro would mean another retreat for Vladimir Putin’s narrowing sphere of influence in Europe.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople plays a key role in the Orthodox Church. As the “mother church” from which most branches of Eastern Orthodox Christianity originated (including those of Russia and Ukraine), the Patriarchate enjoys the status of “first among equals” and significant responsibilities in spiritual leadership within the churches.

The Patriarchate responded to the SVR, saying that it would not be deterred from its mission by “imaginative scenarios, fake news, insults, and fabricated information” coming from Russia. The Patriarchate has attempted to stay uninvolved in political disputes since 2018, when Patriarch Bartholomew chose to grant independence, or autocephaly, to the Orthodox Church of Ukrainian, a decision based not only on the Ukrainian church’s request but also on a deep consideration of church history. The Russian Orthodox Church reacted by cutting ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, beginning a schism which continues to this day.

The Kremlin has long exercised a degree of control over the ROC. The current Russian Patriarch, Kirill, was reportedly a KGB agent in the 1970s according to Swiss reporting, and has consistently supported the Russian state’s policies, enhancing Russian soft power. The Kremlin has worked hand-in-hand with the ROC to present itself as the world’s chief defender of traditional, Christian values against a West which has abandoned them in favor of “gender ideologies” and “satanism.” Russian national holidays like Victory Day combine militaristic and religious themes, underscoring the submission of religion to state interests.

In occupied Ukraine, Russia continues to persecute Christian groups, including Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox. According to Ukrainian government estimates, over 600 religious sites have been damaged and dozens of clergymen have been killed since the war began. Still, Ukrainians remain committed to both their political and spiritual independence from Moscow’s imperial rule.

Jason Jay Smart, is a political adviser who has lived and worked in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Latin America. Dr. Ivana Stradner serves as a research fellow with the Barish Center for Media Integrity at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.