The prophecy

 Neophytos of Morphou

The prophecy

In such a setting, the prophecy follows: first, a major earthquake in Greece will cause

population movement. After this incident, the Turks will invade a small and then a bigger

Greek island exploiting the Aegean dispute over the 6-mile territorial sea limit. Here, St

Paisios is invoked, who ‘with his visionary mind’ interpreted nautically the ‘Six Miles’

prophetic saying of St Kosmas (Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, 2017). This attack

will last only 3 days and will happen either before or after the political or biological fall

of Turkish President Erdoğan. Then, the Bosporus Straits issue will lead Russia and

Turkey to war, bringing freedom to Cyprus, for the Turks will use all their military units

against Russia. At this point, a new great World War will occur that will cause huge

human losses. Russia will use nuclear weapons against Turkey and Israel. The United

States, which is characterized as the ‘new Babylon’, will also greatly suffer because of

its crimes: ‘“America will become meriki”,7 St elder Vasilios Kausokalivitis was saying’,

states Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou (2020d), creating a sense of mystery: ‘What

does this mean? I do not know (...) I do not have prophetic charisma. I am a prophetologist,

not a prophet’. Despite the World War, the Greeks are reassured that they will experience

80 Social Compass 70(1)

only food shortages if they truly repent. Finally, peace will prevail and Orthodoxy will

triumph all over the world.

The salvific plan of God

‘Why will all these happen?’, asks Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou (2017). This

is the well-known problem of theodicy, namely, why an all-powerful and

omnibenevolent God permits human suffering (see Weber, 1978: 519). The answer to

this question is crucial, for (if it is accepted) it can establish the plausibility of the

prophetic narrative and mobilize support for the allegedly salvific behavior. Overall,

the cause of disasters is attributed to acts that violate Orthodox ethics, for example,

abortions, blasphemy, and homosexuality (see Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou,

2017). God intervenes to bring sinful humanity back to the correct path of life. The

suffering is thus portrayed as a golden opportunity for salvation. The Syrian war is

framed as a ‘contemporary pedagogy’ that God applies in the context of his plan for

humanity (Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, 2020d). Likewise, God will permit

the Third World War as a ‘deep surgery (...) in order to remove all this sinfulness’

(Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, 2021b). This will be a moment of divine

judgment and punishment for crimes committed by all nations: ‘whole humanity

groans under our sins (...) the satanic energy has been concentrated and now each

nation (...) will pay, my brother, the bill’ (Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou,

2020d). The economic metaphor underscores the unavoidable character of the

consequences, while the medical vocabulary reinforces both the gravity of the

situation and the urgent need for immediate divine intervention:

‘God has now a great plan, the development of which has started from Syria. He will carry out

a huge surgery to humanity. The surgery is necessary; a man who is full of tumors, cancers, and

his blood is poisoned must go through a detoxification process, and then he must even have

surgery. In order for the health of humanity to be restored, these bitter events must be fulfilled.

(Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, 2020d)’

The Greek Orthodox nation is believed to play a special role in the realization of

God’s plan. Therefore, the apocalyptic consequences of the new World War will not

completely shatter this nation, ‘because Christ will not leave Orthodoxy and Hellenism

to be lost’ (Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, 2021b). For their own part, people need

to repent, and fear is a useful means to this end: ‘[My] prophetic discourse (...) aims at

repentance (...) Yet before repentance, panic and fear come first’ (Metropolitan Neophytos

of Morphou, 2020a). Although God’s redemptive plan refers to the whole world, it

nevertheless has as its epicenter the geographical area of God’s beloved nation, namely,

Greece and Cyprus.