On March 24, 2022, Patriarch Kirill led a meeting of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at the patriarchal residence in the Danilov monastery in Moscow. Opening the meeting, Kirill addressed the members of the Synod with a welcome speech, in which he presented the agenda. There is no information yet on what issues the Synod is discussing. However, it is important to note that four metropolitans are absent from the Synod: Ukraine, Moldova and Lithuania.
The official message of the press service of the Russian Orthodox Church says the following:
"Due to the international situation, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and all Ukraine, Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and all Moldova, Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilnius and Lithuania, and Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary were unable to attend the meeting."
Some observers regarded the abandonment of these Metropolitans as a political demarche. In particular, Roman Lunkin, doctor of Political Sciences, the sociologist of religion, head of the Center for the Study of Problems of Religion and society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences commented as follows:
"The head of the UOC'MP and his Chancellor are absent from the Synod for obvious reasons, the head of the Moldovan Church, Metropolitan Vladimir, is absent so as not to tease the Moldovan elites, because local politicians have long demanded that he condemn Russia. Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilnius and Lithuania wrote a letter stating that he did not agree with Patriarch Kirill: "We have democracy here in Lithuania, and you do not understand what is happening."