Šimonytė urges politicians not to signal support for Moscow Patriarchate

Former prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė has criticised politicians for attending events linked to the Moscow Patriarchate or otherwise signalling support for it, LRT reported. She said institutions should also review the work of education providers connected to the Patriarchate in light of threats identified by the State Security Department (VSD).

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after a press conference organised by the religious freedom research centre Libertas Fidei, Šimonytė said politicians should avoid sending favourable signals to the Patriarchate. The conference presented research on the use of religion as a tool of influence affecting security in Lithuania and Europe.

“I see some politicians attending events or presentations linked to the Moscow Patriarchate, or sending positive political signals. I do not think they should do that, given what is written in the VSD report,” she said.

Šimonytė said the VSD’s decision to identify the Moscow Patriarchate as a threat for the first time in its report this year should inform decisions involving education institutions. The VSD and the Second Department of Operational Services, she said, do not make such assessments lightly, and institutions should consider related decisions, including whether to grant licences to education providers.

She said authorities should establish whether such institutions are being used to exert harmful influence on Lithuanian society. The Patriarchate’s influence in Lithuania, she added, could be sustained through organisations and education providers even when they do not publicly repeat views expressed by Patriarch Kirill that are unacceptable to the public.

After Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, five Lithuanian clergy members belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church, which is under the Moscow Patriarchate, were defrocked in summer 2022 after criticising Kirill for supporting Russia’s aggression. The Lithuanian Orthodox Church said at the time that the priests had been punished for breaking their oath, making false statements and other reasons. LRT said this was the first such disciplinary action against Orthodox clergy in independent Lithuania.

An Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Constantinople was re-established in Lithuania in early 2024. Lithuania’s intelligence services have warned that the Vilnius and Lithuanian Orthodox dioceses remain dependent on the Moscow Patriarchate, despite their efforts to become self-governing. The VSD and the Second Department of Operational Services say the Kremlin uses the dioceses to spread its ideology and strengthen its influence abroad.