Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte addressed the Ecumenical and Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew with a letter in which she supported the desire of part of the Orthodox in her country to secede from the Moscow Patriarchate, Delfi reports.. Simonyte is convinced that the desire of the Lithuanian Orthodox is humane and natural, since the Moscow Patriarch Kirill publicly supports the Russian attack on Ukraine.

According to Simonyte, in a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch, she not only expressed support for the Orthodox in Lithuania, but also confirmed her readiness to discuss the possible role of the government in restoring the activities of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania, “both, if possible, when meeting with Patriarch I, and at the working level through.

It is reported that some of the Lithuanian Orthodox clergy are asking Bartholomew to allow the Orthodox in Lithuania to restore canonical submission to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. After all, today they are subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, and its Patriarch Kirill openly supports the Russian war in Ukraine.

Thus, on May 18, Lithuanian Ambassador to Turkey Richardas Degutis visited the Patriarchate of Constantinople and presented a letter from the Prime Minister to Patriarch Bartholomew I. According to the press secretary of the Lithuanian Prime Minister Rasa Jakilaitiene, the letter emphasizes that Orthodoxy is the second largest traditional religious community in Lithuania.. In addition, the Orthodox community in the country is growing rapidly, as there are now more than 50 thousand. refugees from Ukraine.

“We draw attention to the fact that the decision to restore the parish(s) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania can only be taken by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople – this is the business of the Church and the faithful. The Government of Lithuania will participate in this process to the extent necessary to ensure freedom of religion, conscience and belief, enshrined in Article 26 of the Constitution, for all residents of Lithuania,” said the Press Secretary of the Prime Minister.

The Lithuanian Orthodox Church is one of the nine traditional religious communities in Lithuania. It has the title of metropolis and belongs to the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.

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Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania called on the European Union to impose sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who supported the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. According to the head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, Patriarch Kirill, instead of pastoring, is engaged in “the destruction of souls, supporting the war and all the horrors taking place in Ukraine”.