Trump's clergyman Burns condemned the visit of an Orthodox delegation to the US Congress

A visit to Washington by a delegation of the Antiochian Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, related to the protection of the rights of the clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, drew sharp criticism from Donald Trump’s so-called clergyman Mark Burns. He accused the Russian Orthodox Church of using faith to justify violence and supporting the Kremlin regime, calling what is happening «spiritual warfare.»

In a statement on platform X (formerly Twitter), Burns emphasized the inadmissibility of dialog with a church structure that openly supports aggression. «Let me be clear: when the Church stands shoulder to shoulder with a regime that blesses bombs and trades in death, we cannot pretend to meet simply for spiritual dialog. We are engaged in a battle for the soul of the Gospel. This is spiritual warfare,» he wrote. Burns called on American leaders and believers to «exercise prudence, not just diplomacy» and defend the faith that exalts life, not ideologies that destroy it.

As a reminder, the day before, a pan-Orthodox delegation met with U.S. House of Representatives member Anna Paulina Luna in Washington, D.C., to discuss the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Representatives of various Orthodox jurisdictions called on the American authorities to pay attention to the violation of human rights in Ukraine and to take appropriate measures.