Patriarch Bartholomew plans to organize a “chaplaincy mission” in Latvia

On September 12-13, the head of the Phanar will visit Latvia. The purpose of the visit is to participate in a conference at the University of Latvia on “The Church in the Modern Ecological Crisis: Science, Morality, Joint Action.” At the same time, Latvian media report that the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to Riga is connected with the fact that the first hierarch wants to establish a “chaplaincy mission” in the country’s armed forces. An article by Anna Appelberg on this topic is available at the link.

“Until now, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has not been able to gain a foothold in Latvia. Hegumen Victor Kontuzorov, who received a fictitious consecration as “Bishop of Daugavpils,” registered the “Latvian Orthodox Autonomous Church of the Jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople” back in 2019. It is claimed that the LPAOC was registered with the knowledge of Constantinople. During his services, Kontuzorov commemorated Patriarch Bartholomew as his primate until the end of his life and actively maintained contacts with Constantinople. We still remember his recent appearances on Latvian TV, when he “brotherly” demanded “10 parishes” from the Latvian Church and swore that his photo would be in the next calendar of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. But Kontuzorov died in 2022 without ever getting official recognition from the Phanar,” – the author says.

According to the author, the Phanar took into account the unsuccessful experience of the Lithuanian Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, so they don’t plan to create a jurisdiction parallel to the Latvian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Bartholomew decided to establish a “chaplaincy mission” based in the Latvian armed forces, which, in the future, could be developed into a controlled structure. In addition, the “mission” could become the basis for the transition of the clergy of the Latvian Orthodox Church to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

“Now Patriarch Bartholomew is going to the Latvian authorities with a new project: a chaplaincy service under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Latvian armed forces. The creation of an exarchate of Constantinople in Latvia is not profitable, as can be clearly seen from the example of neighboring Lithuania. There, the exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate remains weak and helpless. The project requires resources, but it has not yet succeeded in changing the religious situation in Lithuania. But the chaplaincy service is a convenient tool that does not oblige anything,” – the author of the article adds.

Earlier, we reported that Ukrainian schismatics had formed a “chaplaincy mission” on the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The actual parish of the OCU in the Czech Republic will operate in the city of Brno, and the first religious event was held on August 23, 2025. The OCU is not deterred by the fact that the opening of parishes abroad is directly prohibited by the “Tomos of Autocephaly,” which provides for the organization to operate only within Ukraine.