THE EP HONORS CASTRO
(Tuesday)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the first among equals of the 14 Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, will arrive in Cuba tomorrow. He plans to honor Fidel Castro with "a church order in recognition of Cuba's construction of a new cathedral." Apparently Castro will receive the Order of St. Andrew because his government constructed a cathedral, which will be consecrated next week. Link

It's great that Castro has allowed the Orthodox to build a cathedral. And it's not necessarily a bad thing that the EP honors him. But it seems like a stretch to make him an Archon. This is the knightly order of St. Andrew which is given to "an honoree by His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, for his outstanding service to the Church, and a well-known distinguished, and well-respected leader of the Greek Orthodox Community (at large)."

The order involves "the sworn oath of the Archon to defend and promote the Greek Orthodox faith and tradition. His special concern and interest is to serve as a bulwark to protect and promote the Holy Patriarchate and its mission. He is also concerned with the human race's inalienable rights wherever and whenever they are violated - and the well-being and general welfare of the Church."

I seriously doubt that Castro is swearing an oath or that he is some great champion of human rights.

Related, it appears that the United States has a plan to rush massive quantities of aid to Cuba at the death of Castro (There is speculation that he's not looking too well these days). "Washington wants to quickly deploy aid to the Cuban countryside to avoid a massive migration into urban centers or across the Florida Straits to U.S. soil. ." Link

Everyone wants to get a foot hold on that island.