In fact, there is only one Diocese of Vilnius-Lithuania of the Moscow Patriarchate in Lithuania, which calls itself the Lithuanian Orthodox Church in the media. However, such a church structure does not exist, and the number of its believers is overestimated.
Fr Vladimir Seliavko provided this information in an interview with RISU. Fr Vladimir is a former archpriest of the diocese who served as its secretary for external relations for 20 years.
In June 2022, the diocesan court defrocked him for his anti-war stance and criticism of Patriarch Kirill for his support of Russian aggression in Ukraine. He is now a clergyman of the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania.
“There is no such church structure as the Lithuanian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. At least, this is what they call themselves in the media. There is only an ordinary diocese of the MP. Although a request has been submitted to Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev and the Holy Synod to upgrade the status to the so-called “small autonomy,” this has nothing to do with independence. They will have a little more opportunity to solve their internal, current issues without coordination, which is already partially working. Basically, the facade will be the only thing to change. The diocesan council will be called a synod, so only the ‘signage’ and titles will change. This is all a mere formality aimed at deceiving Lithuanian society, which does not understand the intricacies of the canonical structure of the Russian Orthodox Church,” he said.
At the same time, the priest emphasized that the destructive contribution of the ROC to Lithuanian society is minimal. Although statistics suggest that out of 2.8 million people in Lithuania, Orthodox Christians may account for 100,000 people, not even 10% of this number attend ROC churches in the country.
“Working in the diocesan office for twenty years, I received annual attendance reports from parishes, so I am describing the actual situation, not assumptions. In general, about three thousand people attend the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the rest either do not do this at all or come occasionally to light a candle. Those people might not even be baptized. It was simply decided during the census that they were Orthodox because they were Russian-speaking.”
He also considers this part of the “Russian world” propaganda in the country: “Not all of them delve into propaganda. Therefore, the destructive contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church to Lithuanian society is minimal.”
According to Fr. Vladimir Seliavko, although there are many different opinions in the parishes of the Lithuanian Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate, support for Russia is very considerable, and the language of Russian propaganda is spoken there:
“Russia has never attacked anyone,” “It is the war with the ‘godless West’, which dreams of capturing Russia and seizing its resources,” “the West does not tolerate Russia because it is Orthodox,” “Russian culture is the greatest in the world,” “we are the people who gave birth to Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky and other geniuses, so everyone envies us,” “the West artificially divided the united people of Holy Rus into Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians” these are some of the slogans of the Kremlin’s so-called soft power,” Fr. Vladimir notes, drawing attention to the fact that there are ethnic Ukrainians among the adherents of the “Russian world”.
He also emphasizes that such information activities are carried out very carefully. Lithuanian society is sensitive to Russian propaganda because it remembers “all the ‘joys’ of the Soviet regime.” Therefore, in the Lithuanian diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, propaganda is conducted mainly on two levels.
“The first is the level of worship, where so-called prayers (read propaganda) are read “for peace in Ukraine” or “for the persecuted UOC”. Though the texts are neatly composed, they contain the very topic that implicitly refers the listener to the war that, according to Russian propaganda, the collective West has unleashed against the Orthodox peoples of the “Russian world,” says Fr. Vladimir. Various events, such as religious processions, complemented these prayers.
The second level is personal conversations, confessions, and discussions after services in a narrow circle of like-minded people.
“There they speak more openly about how they, ‘the bearers of the spirituality of Holy Rus, are oppressed by Western adherents of the world’s backstage, who are afraid of their great spirituality. I understand that this sounds primitive, but It would be funny if it weren’t so sad because, for many, this is their world. Let me emphasize again that they believe in this nonsense not because they are stupid but because they like to think of themselves that way. After all, in this paradigm, they play the role of “persecuted for faith and truth,” not of banal invaders and imperialists,” Fr. Vladimir emphasizes.
Also, the propaganda of the “Russian world” in the communities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Lithuania (and beyond) works through the preaching of the so-called “traditional values.” “This phrase itself refers to the ideology of the ‘Russian world,’” the ex-ROC clergyman said in an interview. “They use the Julian calendar with its nonsense like’ old, new year ‘and other holidays for propaganda -’ not with everyone, but exclusively with the ROC MP. The language of worship and the old incomprehensible translations of liturgical texts, which are simply mumbled like incantations without any comprehension for many hours, are considered a sign of piety and election. Hysterics about the “persecution” of the Russian language, which does not actually exist in Lithuania. And, of course, May 9. For them, this day is like Easter for Christians. For many in the Russian Orthodox Church, it is a religious holiday. A celebration of their inner pride and dominance in the region.”
In general, Fr. Vladimir Seliavko believes that the state system, the work of the relevant services and the strict observance of laws protect Lithuania as a state from the destructive influence of the ROC in Lithuanian society. Therefore, there is no need to legally ban the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church in Lithuania. In his opinion, much will depend on the outcome of the war in Ukraine and internal processes in Russia. And for those Orthodox believers who do not want to be part of the MP in Lithuania, there is already an alternative - the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.