Searching for reliable news about the Holy Orthodox Church can often be just as confusing, or even more so, than searching for trustworthy sources of secular news. For while many people are aware of the particular perspectives and biases of prominent secular news outlets, discovering which sources for Church news are trustworthy can often be more difficult. This is because numerous ecclesiastical news outlets present themselves simply as Orthodox, often without making immediately clear the jurisdiction whose point of view they represent.
So where can Greek Orthodox Christians, and others who respect the unique role of the Ecumenical Patriarch within the Church as first among equals, go for solid, reliable news in the English language? (Please note that if a news outlet is not mentioned in this article, this does not constitute denial of an endorsement.)
Trustworthy sources
- Archons.org. The official website of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate not only provides unique coverage of the Archons’ dynamic efforts to support and protect our Holy Mother Church of Constantinople, but offers an enlightening series entitled Religion and Faith, shedding light on questions that all too often go unanswered, including “What Does It Mean That the Patriarch of Constantinople Is ‘Ecumenical?,’” “What Gives the Ecumenical Patriarch the Authority to Grant Autocephaly?,” and much more.
- Orthodox Times. Orthodox Times, which operates from Nea Smyrni, South Athens, Greece, describes itself as “an independent news and information portal. It covers issues related to Orthodoxy and the Christian world, as well as the main international news.” It provides news of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of the words and actions of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that frequently go unreported virtually everywhere else. It also provides comprehensive coverage of the other Patriarchates and autocephalous (independent) national Churches, as well as news of politics, society, spirituality, and more.
- Orthodox Observer. The Orthodox Observer is the publication of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and provides comprehensive coverage of the actions and statements of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, as well as coverage of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and more.
Sources to take with reserve
- Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox Christianity contains a wealth of useful information about the practice of the Orthodox Faith, including information on prayer, the saints, the liturgical calendar, and more. It provides, however, no information at all about who operates it, and decisively takes the site of the Moscow Patriarchate against the Ecumenical Patriarchate regarding the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and related matters. It is openly hostile to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, falsely claiming that he is setting himself up as an Orthodox Pope and publishing articles such as “The Dystopian Papacy of Bartholomew I of Constantinople” and “The Heresy of Constantinople Papism.”
- Union of Orthodox Journalists. The Union of Orthodox Journalists is little, if any, better, albeit somewhat more sophisticated in concealing its biases. While it will often report with reasonable objectivity about the activities of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, it often refers to His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine with quotation marks around his title, signaling their contemptuous refusal to recognize his office.
A June 29 Public Orthodoxy exposé noted that “although its name evokes a professional ‘union of journalists,’ in practice it did not function primarily as a professional association in the usual sense. From the beginning, it operated as a media platform oriented toward the UOC‑MP’s audience and presenting itself as a defender of the ‘canonical Church.’” The UOC-MP is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which does not acknowledge the autocephaly that His All-Holiness granted to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in January 2019. “In other words,” Public Orthodoxy continues, “UOJ did not function primarily as a neutral information resource. In practice, it often operated as a participant — and at times even an initiator—of polemics within Ukrainian Orthodoxy.”
Those polemics, of course, are all on the side of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In all arenas, of course, it can be difficult to know whom to trust. The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, however, remain indefatigably committed to the support and protection of our beloved Ecumenical Patriarchate, the anchor of our Holy Faith since Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle first founded the See of Byzantium. And above all, our trust is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, His All-Holy Mother, and His Holy Orthodox Church.
