SOVIET INFLUENCE IN THE PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002000580011-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 6, 2001
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: November 12, 1948
• Content Type: REPORT

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Lo-footiJre,,,ce/WSR
.Soviet Influence in the
25X1A Patriarchate of Antioch
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11-T the early part of the twentieth century, Tsarist Russia had succeeded in
nrestinp froii the Oocaks begemiLy over the Orthodox Churches of the Arao
,loria.bGth through she considhlo sums or money that Russia spent on ;he
onurch and by the fact that RI. ';iia gave her protection to tLe church.
Church -.leaders went to Ru3s!a fl their education and the church acquire-3
;2 considerable number of RUC- characteristics, Most of the present
]iniramhv of the Patriar
,! After the Bokshevik rovoLuti -"then all connections with mssie, were sever
Orthodox Church in the 14,7i,it faced the problems of finEnce and
education with no outside a 0, the Church maladministered and mis-
qppro-ortated its rich religio, bequests (argot) and? with Russian higher
closet them. the (1 :Ey fell into ignorance and the
havin few schools or its au, hul no colleges vas ford to attend the
numerous Catholic schools rhi,,Ji enjoyed the support of the Tatiu oors,,s,
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nsr era of hope opened for he Orthodox Church members of the Levant -Ath the
opening in 1901 of tt,,,2, Legat!on in Beirut by the Soviet Union, vihich nad.
by
thea hbandoned its previous anti 10101(5 st.nd and had become the protector
the Drtbodox P,hnrch, Scvist propaganda reachcd not only tl.b:1 Orthodox
map,se, Car too i.:71-rant to have any conception of the true position of the
Church 32 the Soviet Union, Jut also these mszbers of tho Orthodox
ho rers venal or fooli9h eloue:h to shut their eyes to roolity, The raCria-ch
Antiochf, Alexandcr Tahhar, a moi-L of eichty-thcso, was influenced by
the
oviet propaganda, but the oily tiqc men with sufAcient eduoatlos or prestige
to.succod Tahhan as Patr7.axob are not nonsidered pro-Sovie, ()Awl. the
'Iefropol!_tan inatinn HurayNh of 11e,'.1a.,, follows a strong Arab nationalist
linefl
Che o-c;ser and, more likely c;ndidate ;Or the office. Theodos112, Abuff,Rujoyli,
Yc,tr47.0litar of Tyre, Sidon, arid Dc.)endencies, is highly respected and known
ibr his Rntj,-Soviet attitud: 111111 Comment, According to a public announcement:,
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.13u.-Rujoyli was transferred inThctober to the imoortant 3ee of T:-ipolif,
CLASSIFICATION
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This document la hereby regraded, to
CONFIDENTIAL In accordance with the
letter of 18 October 19/8 from the
-Director of Central Intelligence to the
Archivist of the United states.,
Next re ' ? Oats'. 2.008
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vacant
vacant for many years. He was replaced in South Lebanon byBulos Khurib
who is reported by a source with good contacts in the church to be anti-
Communist. He is the brother of Fal le Muni., leader of the 'U abet
aI-tAmal al-Qaumi JTeagtie of National Action7? and brother-in-law of
'Abdullah Qubrusi, 1iad of the political conattee of the Syrian
Popular Party.)
h. The Soviets have, therefore, found other candidates, one of *Dam is
Ilyas Salibi, the Metroeolitan of Beirut. A man of low social origin
and very little education, Salibi has managed to enrich himself through
misappropriation of the religious bequests which he controls. Politically,
Salibi has made an alliance with Habib Abu-Shahlah, Greek Orthodox deputy
from Nta Lebanon and lawyer for Tapline? and Niqola Rizqellah, !Athens
of Beirut, which alliance source states has been advantageous to all three.
Salibi proclaims openly that the Soviet Union is going to win the ncoming
mar with the West," and that the Patriarchate of Antioch should njurp on
the band-wagon.n Source states positively that Salibi does not take money
from the Soviets but is following the Soviet line because he hopes that
they win wake him the next Patriarch of Antioch, He is also spending
considerable sums of money to ensure his election. Salibi has at
influence over Patriarch Tahhan? who has been heard to echo Salibite
statements on, an eventual Soviet victory.
e. Other soviet supporters in the Church in addition to Salibi are
Archbishop Karam, Metropolitan of Mt. Lebanon, who source states, definitely
takes money from the Soviets and Archimandrite Samahah, who is a Soviet
25X1A Intelligence agent, Comment. For previous statements concerning
this intelligence act1EofgiEgEgrarid for information on Karam,
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6, At the celebrations of the 500th Anniversary of the Moscow Church, held
In Moscow in July 3.948, which the representatives of the Patriarch of Antioch
attended ulth an eye to the reestablishment of the same direct financial
assistance which Antioch had enjoyed under the tsars, Samahah proposed a
toast to Stalin as the "defender of the Orthodox Church" Source states
that the representatives of the Patriarchate of Antioch evieently made a
poor impression on their Russian colleagues.
7. When the Russians began to present pre-arranged resolutions which were
in conflict with what the Greek members of the Church thought to be the
real reason for the gathering (i.e0 the anniversary celebration of the
Moscow Church), the Greek members left the conference. The
Antioch representatives, despite the warnings of tae Greek members of
the Church, than joined in anti-Papal resolutions. The only material
gain that Antioch received from the Soviets, however, was a promise of
the revenue of one church in Moscow.
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!!!,atuabah r,,as left behind by the delegation in Moscow ostensibly to
areange for the revenue of the church promised by. the Soviets o but
probably also. to give certain assistance to the Soviets to acsable
them to strengthen their hold on the Patriarchate of Antioch,
sm?rce olains. Honeverft considerable pressure is being exerted for
the recall of Samahah from MOSCOW, but there is also talk of sending
Deacon Basileos Qs:nal'', brother of Corraunist Fuad Qazanft in ..1123 stead.,
ZI 11.
'TAar. has niammenced to learn rtussiern , Comment? A second 'source
-wi..,:o. good Ctontacts in the Orthodox Church s..:li-e`irgi....--17tcn-,12an Itad bona
tinensferred th Aleppo under Archbishop Raphael Nimrft an enemy of the
present Patriarch0)
"t: cern:Ian the problm of education of the priesthood13
25X1X when the Patriarch was questioned ati3oudang
13-katlerMSv tne o 3..at seminarsft he answered that there we no suitable
candidates? The Greek. Government offered to put three students thugh
theJ eccles5.astinAl schoo3.. at Corinth, and the Greek Church offered
1-7pi() more students still higher training:.
25X1X 10? the Greek_ Govennment had offered
to put t -V30 students through ecclesiastical school, and adds that
the Patriarch said that he did not, have anyone at the lament to sandz,
ob.-Tieus4 reftising to accept this offer for fear of offending the aoviets,,
present there are students from the Antioch Patrianrchate in both of the
alt,sesiari ecoleslastical schools at Parisft one of which baclni the present -
regime in 1:1ssiaft end the other of VilliCh is White Russian
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11, Another qu.estiou to be solved by the Church is the matter of a aussian
priest .to be delegated to the Patriarchate of Antioch as a liaison mann
There is already a Russian helping the Patriarch a laythan named Bogolyubskip,
claims to be a 7ihite Russian but whose true 3I eg.snc s uncertaini?
1:L ,
onrce states ? Comment 0 For additional information on
30gOlyll.bak iBogoltovskai
0) The priest rho used to some 25X1A
the Russian -eousitunity? Be.7.4_ru Archimandrite Simeon Nikitin. bk.ts
d(-artedh Lt Is certain to be replace& Comment., A aronite source. 25X1A
stated on J-3 October that Father Bichkov I 5? apponnted tosome th
311Wisall comramity 0 )
12-, The Greeks, -to counteract grUifing Soviet influence,, have tried to have
the Patriarch of Antioch accept a liaison man from the Greek Church,.
Their cnindid.ate for this position is the archpriestft Constontinos IxttekLs
-;!ho recently arrived In. Beirut as chaplain to the Greek Legationo
Jaoraitakis was educated at the Orthodox School in 'rant Rumania, end is
a 11.07.1 of high earthen? Recently ne has been expelled fYk the Soviets
om Rumrait4:, whom he had Item the chaplain to the GraFA Legation in
Buchareht? i.nd later was with the Swiss Tuegation.?-,? rher-e he Was working,
at the time of his enTulsion. , Comment,. Mornitalds 25X1A
possibly :identical with Bishop 11 Oiat1i1-05-Asr-ROX-talraill who reportedly
beea?. et-polled frc:c Rumania recentlny. ff.d5r antie-Conmunist ,!totivi_ties
arttl r RS reported to be in Greoce0 inli Moraitakis has been presented to 25X1A
thE7 Patx..larch of An.tiochc, who does not want to accept him as a delck;ate
from the Greek Churehft possibly fearing that the Russians could thou demand
the some privilegeft source states.
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Although a meeting of the Holy Synod is dues when most of these
questions night be expected to be discussed openly, the Synod may
bo postponed for OTfle times not only as Archbishop Kamm is
'out also as the Patriarch of Antioch is not anxious for a metingo
Source stated that the reason for the Patriarchs oppositima is
that his enemy, the Archbishop Raphael Nimrs wishes to bring up
a scandal embarrakeIng, to the Patriarchs which accuses him of
stoning for his own benefit certain tlawfaq" land belonging to the
convent of Belernend in Kura QAzalls near TriPolio ? Cornento
11 mention of this appeared in the Beirut nerwspaperNa ?ji'
15 Soptemborp)
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