The Patriarchate of Constantinople has reinstated five defrocked Lithuanian Orthodox priests, according to Gintaras Sungaila, one of the affected priests.
"It has accepted our appeal and overturned the previous rulings of the ecclesiastical court," Sungaila said on Friday, adding that the Patriarchate of Constantinople is the "highest instance of appeal".
Sungaila and four other priests – Vitalijus Mockus, Vitalis Dauparas, Georgij Ananjev and Vladimir Seliavko – were defrocked last summer under the decrees of Metropolitan Innokentiy who leads the Lithuanian Orthodox Church and is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate.
The priests then appealed with Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
Previously, the five priests alleged they were defrocked due to their public opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Read more: Lithuanian Orthodox Church dismisses PM’s criticism of its stance on war in Ukraine
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