On 8 September Latvia’s parliament passed in the final reading amendments proposed by the President of Latvia Egils Levits to the Latvian Orthodox Church Law, which change the status of the church in the country, stating that it is to operate completely independently.
Until now Latvian Orthodox Church operated under the Moscow Patriarchate, which supports the ruling regime in Russia and the country’s military aggression against Ukraine.
According to Levits, amendments restore the historical status of Latvian Orthodox Church and exclude any power the Moscow Patriarchate may have over the church in Latvia.
73 members of the Saeima voted in favour of the law, three voted against and one deputy abstained.
The law states Latvian Orthodox Church, all of its dioceses, congregations and institutions are to be completely independent from any church outside of Latvia.
The law establishes the church’s autocephalous status and that the church is managed by the church’s head, who is independent of power of any church located outside of Latvia.
It is also decided that the church is to inform the State President’s Chancellery of appointment or removal from office of the head of the church, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops.
After that the State President’s Chancellery will report on changes in the official journal and will send information regarding religious organisations to responsible institutions.
The annotation to approved amendments mentions that new regulations would offer the opportunity to ascertain the person appointed to posts in the church meets requirements of all regulations and national security interests.
The church will need to report information about the existing head of the church, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops to the State President’s Chancellery by 1 October.
By 31 October the church will need to reorganize its statutes in accordance with law amendments regarding the church’s status.
The annotation to the law amendments mentions that for a long time and especially following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian Orthodox Church on a management level and priest level has justified Russian war, aggression and violence against the Ukrainian people and has glorified the war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
For a long time the rhetoric of Russian Orthodox Church, according to authors of amendments, has been in support of Kremlin propaganda, which puts into question the statehood of Ukraine, its independence and autonomy. Similar positions were voiced about other countries bordering Russia, which directly impacts Latvia’s national security interests, the annotation continues.
Authors of amendments also believe changes will not affect or interfere with the church’s doctrine of faith or other aspects of its canons.
The Orthodox Church is informed of law amendments. The church has yet to provide any public comments on this initiative from politicians.
The law states the church is an independent and is not dependent on power of any other church outside of Latvia, Latvia’s president explains.
«Cutting ties with Moscow Patriarchate is a major issue for our Christian residents, Latvia’s society and our national security.»
Orthodox Christians in an independent and democratic Latvia require their own and independent church, says Levits. This was accomplished in the first period of Latvia’s independence, the president reminded.
As previously noted by Levits, the autocephalous status of Latvian Orthodox Church was historically de facto established in 1921 with the agreement on the status of the Orthodox Church by Patriarch Tikhon Tomos of Moscow and all of Russia and Archbishop John Pommers and Cabinet Regulations of 1926 on the State of the Orthodox Church.
Levits stressed that Latvian Orthodox Church and metropolitan Alexander can count on full support from Latvian state.
When asked if Latvian Orthodox Church is allowed to continue communicating with Russian Orthodox Church, Levits mentioned «canonical ties». At the same time, the president said Latvian Orthodox Church will not have any commitments before the Russian church. Latvian church as an independent church can communicate with all churches around the world, added the president.