Slanderers of UOJ in Greece and Cyprus apologize for their attacks
Journalists in Greece and Cyprus acknowledged the inaccuracy of their accusations of UOJ's ties to Moscow and retracted their claims about “Russian influence” on UOJ’s work.
The UOJ in Greece reports the positive resolution of two conflicts in Greek-language media, where the outlet had been baselessly accused of links to the Russian government.
Incident in Cyprus: from accusations to apologies
On June 6, 2025, journalist Aristeidis Viketos, during the “AIHMES” program on OMEGA TV, unexpectedly claimed that the UOJ was allegedly “instigated and given instructions from Moscow,” and that it “works to promote and support Moscow’s positions.”
These groundless accusations prompted an immediate response from UOJ’s management. On June 10, the outlet published an official statement titled “Why UOJ Is Taking Fefamers to the European Court,” reiterating its complete independence from any state structures and categorically rejecting all accusations.
Facing the threat of legal action, Viketos sent a written apology: “I assure you that I had and have no intention of slandering you. I accept what you state in your publication about your principles and values, and I acknowledge that my statement was mistaken. Therefore, I believe there is no reason for any disagreement between us.”
On June 27, the host of “AIHMES,” Sotiris Paroutis, publicly read his colleague’s statement on air, stressing: “The editorial board of the Union of Orthodox Journalists indicated that what he (Viketos – Ed.) said was not true, and there is no issue of any relationship between the Union of Orthodox Journalists and Russian interests. Neither we nor the program have any reason to dispute the assurances given by the editorial board.”
Incident in Greece
Meanwhile, on June 4, the influential religious blog anastasiosk.blogspot.com published an article from the Ukrainian propaganda site uaorthodox.com titled “Attacks on the Ukrainian Church: External Influences and Internal Decay.” The material contained similar slanderous accusations against UOJ.
Following an official appeal from the UOJ leadership, the blog administrator promptly removed the disputed publication, posted an apology to the organization, and expressed regret for publishing false information.
Commenting on these events, the UOJ editorial board stated: “We recognize that the journalists became victims of Ukrainian government propaganda, which tolerates neither dissent nor the UOJ’s exposure of the crimes it commits against holy sites and millions of faithful of the universally recognized canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
It should be noted that the UOJ now has offices in nine countries: in addition to Ukraine, the organization operates on Mount Athos, in Albania, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, the United States, Serbia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
“We do not intend to tolerate slanderous statements that insult the integrity and journalistic work of the members of the Union of Orthodox Journalists,” the UOJ statement says.
Earlier, the UOJ explained why it was suing the slanderers.
