Announcement by the Holy and Sacred Synod
On account of the related press releases, the Ecumenical Patriarchate hereby assertively denounces that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has any relation whatsoever with freemasonry.
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the 28th of November, 2013
From the Chief Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod
For many years Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been accused of being a Freemason, usually by anti-ecumenists who claim that his ecumenical agenda is based on Masonic beliefs, but a few days ago the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to make an official announcement stating that the Ecumenical Patriarch is not a Mason. The decision to do so is "on account of related press releases". The two most recent press releases making this accusation come first from the Golden Dawn party in Greece, and second from the Patriarch's recent blessing of the AEK soccer stadium in Athens. Certain members of the Golden Dawn accuse any Greek hierarchs that speak against their party of being Masons, despite the fact that an investigation has determined that no hierarch in Greece is a Freemason. They do this to link them with Zionist conspiracies. The new AEK soccer stadium, which will soon be built and named Agia Sofia after the Cathedral in Constantinople and house a chapel dedicated to Hosios Loukas, recently received a 50,000 euro donation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The reason for this donation is the historical link between AEK and Constantinople, and the mutual assistance between both.