Orthodox church in Vilnius pasted with 'blood-stained' stickers of Putin, Patriarch Kirill

Lithuanian Orthodox Christians have turned to police after stickers with “blood-stained” images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow were found on an Orthodox church in Vilnius on Thursday morning.

According to the Chancery of the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese, the stickers were found affixed to the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady in Vilnius and nearby pillars.

Parishioners found the stickers when they came to the church for the morning service, it said.

“The deacon reported to the police that the stickers read in Cyrillic, “Patriarch Kirill is a liar and a sinner”, and depicted Putin and Kirill splashed with blood,” Loreta Kairienė, spokeswoman for the Vilnius District Police, told BNS.

The capital’s police are investigating the incident and are considering initiating administrative proceedings, according to the spokeswoman.

Several hundred Orthodox Christians took part in a procession in Vilnius, calling to preserve the unity of the church and to end the “fratricidal war” in Ukraine. | E. Blažio / LRT nuotr.

In a similar incident, a sheet of paper with Russian swear words was found on the wall of an Orthodox church in Lithuania’s second city Kaunas earlier this month.

“Such terror and intimidation against our parishioners are totally unacceptable, and we call on the authorities to take decisive measures to ensure their protection,” Metropolitan Innokentiy, the head of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church, said in a statement on Thursday.

Last week, Innokentiy suspended five Orthodox priests from their duties and referred the case of Gintaras Sungaila, one of them, to the Moscow Patriarchate to decide whether to strip the priest of his rank.

Metropolitan Inokentiy, head of the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese | BNS nuotr.

The priests have criticised the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow for their support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Lithuanian Orthodox Church denies that the priests were suspended because of their position on the war and says it condemns Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

The Orhodox Church, one of Lithuania’s nine traditional religious communities, is a metropolitanate within the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.

Some Lithuanian Orthodox priests have asked the patriarch of Constantinople to allow them to switch jurisdictions.