The Moscow Patriarchate did not receive a request for independence from the Latvian Church

The correspondent of “Kommersant” in the Moscow Patriarchate commented on the information that appeared on Friday that the cathedral of the Latvian Orthodox Church (LPC) requested autocephaly. Earlier, a number of media reported on the Council of the LOC held in Riga, where with 160 votes in favor and 1 against, it was decided to turn to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with a request to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Latvian Church.

“At the moment, there have been no official appeals from Riga to the office of the Moscow Patriarchate,” Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, adviser to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, told Kommersant. churches”. “Kommersant” sent a request to the Synod of the LPTs, but did not receive a response. Official telephones also did not answer.

The LOC is a local self-governing church within the Moscow Patriarchate. The President of Latvia, Egils Levits, on September 5 introduced amendments to the republican legislation in parliament, according to which “the fully independent and independent (autocephalous) status of the Latvian Orthodox Church is recognized.” The head of state emphasized the importance of alienation from the Moscow Patriarchate for maintaining national security. On September 8, 2022, the Latvian Parliament supported the President’s initiative. The official website of the Seimas says that “the law does not affect or interfere with the teachings of the Church’s faith and questions of canon law.”

Then the Republican Cabinet of Ministers authorized Minister of Justice Janis Bordans to apply on behalf of the republic to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with a request to issue a tomos of autocephaly to the LOC. The head of the Ministry of Justice, BNS reported, was supposed to inform the head of the Russian Orthodox Church about the adopted amendments that legally define and consolidate the independent status of the LPTs. However, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov said earlier that such an appeal has not yet been received in Moscow.

More about the situation – in the material “Kommersant” “Latvia is changing the ROC to the LOC”.

Pavel Korobov