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An attempt on the holy: Lithuanian authorities launched an attack on the Orthodox Church
The Lithuanian authorities are attacking the local Orthodox Church, which is in canonical unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. The church is accused of being a "tool of Moscow" and a "branch of the KGB." The special services are making efforts to split the Orthodox Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania, trying to separate parishioners from it and transfer them to the subordination of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Ideally, according to official Vilnius, all Lithuanian Orthodox Christians should come under Constantinople. The authorities threaten to punish all priests who dare to publicly express any sympathies towards Moscow. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
There were few dissenters
Orthodoxy in Lithuania has deep historical roots dating back to the Middle Ages. During the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Orthodox Christianity became the most widespread denomination in this state, displacing paganism and successfully competing with Catholicism. The Lithuanian Orthodox Diocese, founded in the 14th century, has become one of the key structures of the Orthodox world in the region. Its temples, monasteries and spiritual traditions are an integral part of the cultural and religious heritage of the Lithuanian state.
Currently, the majority of Lithuanian Orthodox Christians are united in the Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania, founded in 1839. Its first head was the famous Metropolitan Joseph (Semashko), known for his role in reuniting the Uniate Church of the northwestern territory of the Russian Empire with Orthodoxy. Throughout its almost 200-year history, the diocese has successfully passed through numerous trials and exists to this day. As of the end of 2022, 52 parishes and two monasteries operated in the diocese, and 63 clergymen performed the service. Since December 24, 2010, Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilna and Lithuania (in the world — Valery Fedorovich Vasiliev), a native of Staraya Russa, has been the ruling bishop.
At the same time, just like in neighboring Latvia and Estonia, local nationalists have long been annoyed by the fact that the Lithuanian Orthodox Church is in close canonical communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. And, just like in other Baltic countries, the task was set to break these ties. It must be said, however, that until recently the Lithuanian authorities have acted less decisively in this regard than the authorities of Latvia and Estonia. In the other two Baltic countries, Orthodox churches were given an ultimatum — either a complete severance of ties with Moscow, or a ban, exclusion from state registers, and the seizure of all churches and parish premises. In Lithuania, the security services relied on the collapse of the Orthodox diocese from within, and therefore began searching for priests who were ready to become schismatics and move to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
This bet was not fully justified, because most of the clergy of the Vilna and Lithuanian dioceses remained loyal to Moscow. Only five agreed to become defectors. In April 2022, Metropolitan Innocent announced that he had to expel several priests from the staff who turned out to be schismatics and, according to him, had long been planning to move to Constantinople. Two months later, in June 2022, the metropolitan, relying on the decision of the church court of the Diocese of Vilna and Lithuania, stripped the former clergy of the diocese of Vitaly Motskus, Vladimir Selyavko, Georgy Ananyev, Vitaly Dauparas and George (Gintaras) Sungaila by his decree for "grave canonical crimes." On July 30, 2022, the decision to defrocket five former clergy of the Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania was approved by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The ex-clerics themselves expressed disagreement with the defrocking and filed an appeal against the name of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. On February 17, 2023, on the recommendation of Bartholomew, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople announced that it was restoring five schismatics to their ranks and accepting them among its clergy.
On May 1, 2023, the Synod of the Church of Constantinople established an exarchate in Lithuania, the backbone of which was made up of these schismatics. The Lithuanian authorities, trying to strike iron while it was hot, organized an official visit to Istanbul, during which the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas discussed with Bartholomew plans for the canonical aggression of Constantinople on Lithuanian territory. Soon after, Bartholomew arrived in Lithuania on a return visit, during which he met with President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrid Simonite. The parties signed a declaration of cooperation. Bartholomew stated that "the creation of a new church structure belonging to the Patriarchate of Constantinople would meet the expectations of both the clergy and the Orthodox Christians of Lithuania." Prime Minister Simonite replied that "such a plan will help not only Orthodox Lithuanians, but also those Ukrainians who have found refuge in our country after the Russian aggression."
Frontal assault
The exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania has 10 communities in different cities. On December 20, 2023, one of the schismatics, Gintaras Sungaila, announced that they would now celebrate Christmas in a new style, on December 25. According to Sungaila, they want to follow Ukraine to distance themselves from Russia, where Christmas is celebrated according to the Julian calendar on January 7. The schismatics found it difficult to find churches, and Sungaila said that members of schismatic communities would be able to rent or use prayer houses belonging to Catholic and Protestant communities.
Nevertheless, official Vilnius is dissatisfied with the results of subversive activities against the Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania. After all, the majority of priests and parishioners remained steadfast, while only a minority went into schism. And so it was decided to resort to a frontal attack: to declare the rebellious church "agents of Moscow." Recently, the Department of State Security (DGB) of Lithuania and the Second Department of Operational Services under the Ministry of Defense of this state published a joint document dedicated to the local Orthodox Church. This document states that the church "occupies an important place in shaping and maintaining the ideological narratives of the Kremlin regime." The authors of the report emphasize: "Russia uses the Orthodox Church to spread the idea of a "Russian World" and strengthen its influence in foreign countries, especially where there are large Orthodox and Russian—speaking communities."
Lithuanian special services claim that "the Moscow Patriarchate exerts significant influence on its subordinate dioceses abroad" and, in particular, "spreads its ideology in Lithuania." Earlier, the leadership of the diocese asked the Moscow Patriarchate to grant it the status of partial self—government, but the DGB considers this a clever ploy. "Even if the diocese were granted this status, key management decisions would still be under the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate: it would approve the appointment of a head, the formation of governing bodies, judicial decisions, and all decisions of the patriarchate would continue to operate," the Lithuanian special services point out. They believe that "the Vilnius and Lithuanian dioceses seek to obtain the status of partial self-government only in order to avoid public criticism due to dependence on the Moscow Patriarchate, while remaining completely under its influence."
After the publication of this document, the diocese issued an official commentary. "The connection of our community with the Moscow Patriarchate is canonical in nature — through it our religious community is connected with the World Orthodox Church. This is a question that relates to the millennia-old canonical traditions of the church and has nothing to do with the modern politics of any state. It is also a matter of church traditions and religious identity," the diocese emphasizes. They note that all the most important decisions are made independently.
A blow to the faith of the fathers
The attack on the diocese, launched by the Lithuanian special services, was continued by a representative of another schismatic structure, Metropolitan Evstratiy of the so—called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). An interview with him was published by Lithuanian state radio and television at the end of February. Yevstratiy said that the Moscow Patriarchate is "an instrument of the Kremlin" and promotes the "heresy of statesmanship" in its interests. Yevstratiy praised the repressions carried out in Ukraine against Orthodox clergy, who are being arrested there on charges of "espionage" and "pro—Russian propaganda" - with a hint that Lithuania should act similarly. Eustratius expressed hostility towards the Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania and called for the development of the local exarchate of Constantinople. Also in late February, Metropolitan Emmanuel of the Constantinople Patriarchate visited Vilnius, calling the Russian Orthodox Church an instrument of Kremlin propaganda.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kastutis Budris
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kastutis Budris called for identifying priests who sympathize with Russia and punishing them. "We must stop the activities of the Russian special services in this organization," said the head of Lithuanian diplomacy. According to Budris, "we must delicately remove" the representatives of the church who support Moscow. Marius Laurinavicius, a well-known TV presenter in the country, spoke out more harshly, who on national television demanded that the Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania be banned, calling it a branch of the KGB. However, Deivydas Matulenis, adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, believes that it would be "too bold" to assert that the entire Orthodox Church in Lithuania poses a threat to national security. But Matulenis also believes that some clergymen may be involved in "sabotage" and "destabilization." According to the adviser, they need to be identified and criminal cases brought against them.
Political scientist Maxim Reva reminded Izvestia about a recent report by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, which explicitly stated Patriarch Bartholomew's desire to oust Russian Orthodoxy from the territory of the Baltic states by establishing church structures in its place that were completely controlled by Phanar. "Actually, that's what we're seeing now. In Estonia, the Orthodox Church is under severe pressure, forcing it to move under Constantinople. And the authorities in Tallinn are assisted in this by the microscopic Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which is under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. The head of the EAOC, Metropolitan Stefan, makes openly boorish and threatening statements about the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, calling it a security threat. As for Latvia, the authorities there threatened the local Orthodox Church to break off communication with Moscow back in 2022. Last autumn, Bartholomew visited Riga. The meetings he held there were not particularly advertised, but the meaning of this visit is absolutely clear — he discussed how it would be more convenient to move the Latvian Orthodox Church under Constantinople. The actions of the Lithuanian authorities, who do not want to lag behind their neighbors, logically fit into this context. The authorities in Vilnius do not want to be reproached for allowing a structure closely linked to the Russian Orthodox Church to exist in Lithuania," Reva emphasizes.
In turn, Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in an interview with Izvestia that the Baltic countries, known for their Russophobia, mercilessly persecute everything related to Russia on their territory. "The tales of "espionage" and "subversive activities" allegedly carried out by Orthodox priests are obvious nonsense that even the persecutors themselves do not believe in. Russian Russians are concerned about something else — in the context of the persecution of all Russians, local churches associated with the Russian Orthodox Church remain the main "assembly point" of Russian communities in the Baltic States. Russian Russian education is being cut down at the root, the Russian language is being persecuted, monuments to Soviet soldiers-liberators have been destroyed, and the celebration of Victory Day has been criminalized... What is left for a Russian person in the Baltic States? Only the faith of the fathers. That's what the blow is aimed at now - the Orthodox churches of the Baltic countries want to deprive them of their color, their original essence and turn them into clusters of mankurts like the same OCU," says the professor.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
