Lithuanian Orthodox Church defies order to reinstate priests

The Lithuanian Orthodox Church says if the five formerly defrocked priests return to serve, they would be committing a sin. The comment comes following the decision by the Patriarchate of Constantinople to reinstate the five priests who were fired from the church allegedly for their opposition to the war in Ukraine.

"It seems that Patriarch Bartholomew was misinformed and he did not have full information about the priests' actions in Lithuania [...] and what canonical crimes they have committed against the church,” Bishop Ambrose of Trakai told a press conference on Saturday. “In an attempt to justify it, they have accused our church of supporting the war. They are completely wrong."

"We disagree with this decision and the defrocking of the former priests is final," he added.

Bishop Ambrose, who presented the position of the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese, said that additional information could be provided to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, if necessary.

Bishop Ambrose also assured that the church shares the same view of the war in Ukraine as the priests.

"We pray every day for Lithuania, for its army and all its people, and we pray every day for the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, we pray for peace and, God forbid, for that war not to start on our soil,” he said.

If the defrocked priests return to serve, they will sin, the bishop said.

"If they return to serve as priests, it will be a sin for them as well as for the people who would go to them," Bishop Ambrose stressed.

Last week, the Patriarchate of Constantinople reinstated five Lithuanian Orthodox priests who were defrocked last summer under the decrees of Metropolitan Innokentiy who leads the Lithuanian Orthodox Church, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate.

The priests then appealed to Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

The Lithuanian Orthodox Church is one of nine traditional religious communities in Lithuania. It has the title of a metropolia and is part of the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia.