The Ministry of Justice of Latvia registered the Latvian Autonomous Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, although the law allows one denomination of one religious organization to be represented.
The Latvian Ministry of Justice has officially registered the Latvian Autonomous Orthodox Church (LAPC) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, religious scholar Ilya Bey said on his Facebook page with a link to the relevant state register.
Before that, the Orthodox in Latvia were part of the Moscow Patriarchate, and there was a norm in the country that only one religious structure could represent one denomination. Thus, the existence of two different Orthodox structures was impossible. Representatives of the LAPC have been trying to get registration since the 90s of the last century, however, all court cases were lost, until the moment when it came to the Constitutional Court of Latvia, which recognized the illegality of the principle – “one denomination – one church”.
Orthodoxy spread through the territory of modern Latvia in the XI century. Then these lands were subordinated to the Kiev Metropolis. However, Orthodoxy was gradually supplanted by Protestants and Catholics, although some parishes continued their activities. The second period of the development of Orthodoxy occurred after the accession of this territory to the Russian Empire. In 1863, the Riga Vicariate was created.
After gaining independence in 1917, the Orthodox decided to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In 1936, Latvians received the Tomos of autonomy within the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, after the annexation of the Baltic countries in 1940, this autonomy was liquidated, and the Church of Latvia was annexed to the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Autonomous Orthodox Church of Latvia considers itself the successor of the LOC as a part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and does not recognize the subordination to the ROC.