The Primate of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church called on the authorities to refrain from expropriating church property

The Primate of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church (LOC MP) Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilnius and Lithuania has officially appealed to Lithuania’s top leadership, urging them to prevent the adoption of bills that would confiscate church property and strip the LOC of its status as a traditional religious community. The hierarch emphasized that such initiatives contradict the country’s constitutional norms.

According to the press service of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church, the relevant appeals were sent to President Gitanas Nausėda, Seimas Chairman Juozas Olekas, and Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius. The cause for concern is two bills aimed at seizing the Holy Spirit Monastery and a number of ancient churches of great historical and spiritual significance from the Church.

The monastic community of the Holy Spirit Monastery and the parishioners of the Vilnius Church of St. Paraskeva of Friday have already spoken out against the possible transfer of property to another jurisdiction. In their appeals to the Seimas, the faithful declared their categorical refusal to change jurisdiction and described the authorities’ actions as unacceptable pressure on religious communities. A similar position was expressed by parishioners of the Cathedral of the Purification, the Vilnius Church of St. Nicholas, and the Church of the Dormition in Vevis.

As a reminder, the Council of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church (LOC MP) had previously held an emergency meeting at which it voiced a strong protest against initiatives to seize historic religious sites. Church leaders fear that the adoption of these bills will violate the constitutional rights of believers and provoke interreligious conflict in the country.