(RNS) — A delegation of Orthodox Christian clergy and lobbyists met with Trump administration officials and members of Congress this week, igniting feuds among both U.S. Orthodox Christian and Republican groups amid accusations that the visitors were agents of Russian influence.
On Tuesday (Nov. 18) and the following days, representatives from various Orthodox churches in the U.S., including the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Orthodox Church of America, met with Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence; U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Darrell Issa of California, both Republicans; U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a Democrat; the incoming ambassador for international religious freedom, Mark Walker; and the State Department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, Sarah Rogers.
Issa, an Antiochian Orthodox Christian, is vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The delegation was scheduled to meet with the White House Faith Office, but White House staff canceled the meeting as the delegation arrived, according to a source close to the White House. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The meetings had been organized by members of the Young Republicans National Federation and the Society of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco, a religious fraternity that evangelizes for Orthodox Christianity in the United States and supports the …