In a statement posted on its website, the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church announced that the nine-member commission would be headed by its primate, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
The petition for the change was submitted by elements of the Lithuanian church who were unhappy with Cyril’s support for the invasion launched by Russia on 24 February.
“A decision was made to create a commission to consider the issue of amending the charter of the Vilnius-Lithuanian diocese,” the results of which will be submitted “for consideration by the Holy Synod,” the report says.
The Lithuanian diocese belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate and unites parishes and monasteries on the territory of Lithuania, the Russian TASS agency reports.
One of the members of the commission, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Vladislav Tsypin, said that transferring the diocese to the jurisdiction of Constantinople was out of the question.
Tsypin acknowledged that the Lithuanian Church could be granted autonomous status within the Russian Orthodox Church, as in the case of Estonia and Latvia.
In these two Baltic countries, he explained to TASS, from 20 to 30% of the country’s population professes Orthodoxy, and in Lithuania Belarusians and Russians are Orthodox.
“There was no particular logic to the diocese having the status of an autonomous church,” Tsypin said.
The request to change the canonical affiliation was supported by Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte in a letter sent to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
“The public support of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow for Russia’s war against Ukraine is unacceptable for a part of Lithuanian Orthodox Christians, therefore, according to the Prime Minister, it is natural and humane […] have the right to practice their faith without a conflict of conscience,” spokeswoman Simonyte told the BNS news agency, quoted by The Baltic Times.
In the letter, according to the spokeswoman, Simonyte said she was ready to meet with Bartolomeu to discuss the possible role of the government in restoring the activities of the “mother church” in Lithuania.
Simonyte’s letter states that Eastern Orthodoxy is the second largest traditional religion in Lithuania, and that its community has grown with the arrival of more than 50,000 Ukrainian refugees.
The spokeswoman stated that “the decision to restore the parish or parishes of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Lithuania can only be taken by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.”
“The Government of Lithuania will participate in this process to the extent necessary to ensure freedom of belief, conscience and religion, enshrined in Article 26 of the Constitution, for all citizens of Lithuania,” he added.
According to the newspaper, the Lithuanian Prime Minister’s letter was delivered to Bartholomew by Lithuanian Ambassador to Turkey Rikardas Degutis on 18 May.
The move did not receive support from the head of the Lithuanian Orthodox diocese, Inocencio, who criticized the government for supporting the request without his knowledge.
According to Innokenty, the vast majority of Lithuanian Orthodox do not think about changing jurisdiction.
The head of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church previously fired five priests who criticized the invasion of Ukraine and Russian Orthodox support for the Kremlin.
Innocent accused the Orthodox clergy, who called for the transfer to the jurisdiction of Constantinople, of having embarked on a “path of split” that threatened the stability of Lithuanian society.
The Lithuanian Orthodox Church, one of the nine traditional religious communities in Lithuania, has about 5% of followers among the Baltic nation’s 2.7 million, mostly Catholics.
Kirill, who has a close relationship with the Kremlin, urged Russians in his sermons to rally with the Kremlin and the Russian army in their holy war against the “Antichrist,” referring to the Ukrainian government and Western sponsors.
The Russian Patriarch promoted the idea of a “Russian world”, which should cover places where they speak Russian and profess the Orthodox faith, and become a zone of Moscow’s influence regardless of international borders, in a messianic mission to protect Russians and Russians, their traditional values.
Also today, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) announced a break with the Moscow Patriarchate due to its open support for the Russian “special forces operation” in Ukraine.
“We express our disagreement with the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on the war in Ukraine,” the message on the UPTS website says.
That is why the UPTS Council today decided to proclaim “full autonomy and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”
“The Council calls on the authorities of Ukraine and Russia to continue the negotiation process and the search for a strong and reasonable word that can stop the bloodshed,” he adds.