Lithuania proposes to include Patriarch Kirill in the EU sanctions list
Lithuania has proposed adding Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the EU sanctions list because of Ukraine, 15min.lt reports citing Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. The relevant document has already been sent to the European Union.
“Yes, there is such a proposal (for the European Union to include Patriarch Kirill in the sanctions lists), as long as there are discussions about a general agreement, we do not have final decisions on whether this can be done,” Landsbergis said.
Landsbergis said some members of the Orthodox Church in Lithuania advocate a break with the Moscow Patriarchate.
“Without a doubt, if there is such a public decision to follow the example of Ukraine or at least partially follow the example of Ukraine, when the entire community has joined the Church of Constantinople, it will be welcomed and the authorities will listen to it,” the Foreign Minister noted.
The structure called the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) was formed at the end of 2018 on the initiative of the ex-president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in opposition to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate. In January 2019, the Patriarchate of Constantinople granted the OCU a “tomos of autocephaly”. However, the OCU is in fact subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and most of the 15 local Orthodox churches in the world do not recognize it as canonical.
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