The Orthodox Archdiocese of Vilnius and Lithuania, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, will let Ukrainian refugees pray without mentioning Moscow Patriarch Kirill.
The Ukrainian believers will pray with parishioners of the Church of Saint Paraskeva in Vilnius, Marija Jakubovskaja, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, told a press conference on Thursday.
“In this parish, Kirill’s name is not mentioned during services in the Lithuanian language. As of this Sunday, his name will not be mentioned during future services in Ukrainian,” she said.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow regularly justifies, supports, and blesses Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in his speeches. He has been banned from entering Lithuania.
However, other Orthodox parishes in Lithuania will continue to mention Patriarch Kirill, Jakuboskaja said, as “the Church cannot act autonomously, cannot declare itself independent”.
Church services in Lithuania will be also led by a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who fled to Lithuania following Russia’s invasion.
The Orthodox Archdiocese of Vilnius and Lithuania is currently seeking greater autonomy and says it is getting closer to becoming an independent church. Jakubovskaja said she did not know when this issue would move forward.
Although Orthodox Christians in Lithuania are currently part of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Vilnius and Lithuania, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, there are also plans to establish a Church structure under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The patriarch of Constantinople, who visited Lithuania last week, also spoke about such plans.
Orthodox Christians are one of nine traditional religious communities in Lithuania.
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