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TheDiocese of Vilnius and Lithuania (Lithuanian:Vilniaus ir Lietuvos vyskupija;Russian:Виленская и Литовская епархия,romanized: Vilenskaya i Litovskaya yeparkhiya), also known as theLithuanian Orthodox Church (Lithuanian:Lietuvos stačiatikių bažnyčia;Russian:Литовская православная церковь,romanized: Litovskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov), is a diocese of theRussian Orthodox Church whose territory comprises the country ofLithuania, established in 1839[1] after theSynod of Polotsk when theUniate Eparchy of Vilnius was united to the Orthodox Church. Its ruling bishop is appointed by the Holy Synod of theMoscow Patriarchate. Its headquarters is at theHoly Spirit Monastery in Vilnius, though nominally its cathedral is theDormition Cathedral in Vilnius. Since 2010, its current head is Metropolitan Innocent (Vasilyev).[2][3]
The diocese includes five deaneries, based in municipal Vilnius, regional Vilnius,Kaunas,Klaipėda, andVisaginas, with 52 parishes and two monasteries.[4] The majority of parishioners come from the resident Slavic minorities.[5]
Orthodox Christianity first entered Lithuania in significant numbers in the 13th century with the conversion of some of its early nobles from paganism. Among these were the Three Martyrs of Vilnius,Anthony, John, and Eustathius, martyred in 1347 under the Grand DukeAlgirdas.[6]
Formally established Orthodox parishes in Lithuania and in the surrounding region ultimately derive from the short-lived fourteenth-centuryMetropolis of Lithuania and its successor jurisdictions (based largely inKyiv), which had been under theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the seventeenth century, the institutional presence of Orthodox Christianity was effectively erased from Lithuania as a result of theUnion of Brest, when Lithuania was part of thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At that time, all the Orthodox parishes in Lithuania left the Orthodox Church and joined the Catholic Church.[7]
In the late 18th century, with thePartitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Lithuania became part of theRussian Empire. The modern Russian Orthodox diocese was founded in 1839 with the incorporation of theUniate eparchy of Vilnius under MetropolitanJoseph Semashko into the Russian church at theSynod of Polotsk. Among the more notable hierarchs of Lithuania in the later imperial period was St.Tikhon (Bellavin), who served in the post 1913–1917.
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The diocese functioned within the Russian empire until Lithuaniabecame independent in 1918. At that time, a number of the churches that had been taken from the Catholic Church were returned, and certain Orthodox churches, such asArchangel Michael Church in Kaunas, were also given to the Catholic Church.[5][8] Most of the Orthodox parishes that exist today in Lithuania were built during the imperial period (1795–1918).[4]
In the wake of World War I, part of Lithuania was controlled by Poland, including the capital Vilnius. During that time, with theautocephaly of thePolish Orthodox Church in 1924, the parishes in that region were part of the Polish church.
As a result of World War II, Lithuania again became subjugated to Russia, this time as part of theSoviet Union, which transferred Vilnius into theLithuanian SSR and moved the parishes that had been part of the Polish church back to the Moscow Patriarchate. While religion was persecuted in Soviet Lithuania just as it was elsewhere in the Soviet Union, the Orthodox diocese was generally tolerated more than the Roman Catholic Church (to which the great majority of Lithuanians belonged), because its seat of authority was inside the Soviet Union.
In 1990, Lithuania againregained independence. The head of the diocese at the time, Archbishop Chrysostom (Martishkin), openly supported Lithuanian independence.[9] He was succeeded in 2010 by MetropolitanInnocent (Vasilyev).
After the full-scaleRussian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022,Patriarch Kirill of Moscow publicly declared his full support of the Russian military aggression, calling it a holy war. The Orthodox clergy and laity in Lithuania responded negatively, and was initially united in its support for Ukraine.[10] In a letter to the Orthodox Christian community on 17 March 2022, Metropolitan Innocent (Inokentiy, proper name Vasilyev) of Vilnius stated: "As you probably have already noticed, Patriarch Kirill and I have different political views and perception of current events. His political statements on the war in Ukraine are his personal opinion. We in Lithuania do not agree with it. I would like to openly state here that we, the Orthodox in Lithuania, having the opportunity to independently solve our intra-church affairs, will continue to strive for even greater church independence, believing that the Lord grants such in His own time."[10] He appealed to Moscow to grant the Archdiocese of Vilnius and Lithuania the status of a self-governing church.[10]
In April 2022, two priests contacted the Archdiocese, saying they could no longer commemorate Patriach Kirill's name during the divine liturgy, as that went against their conscience.[10] In May 2022, Metropolitan Innocent suspended them and three other priests "for breaking their oath".[10] Meanwhile, MayorRemigijus Šimašius of Vilnius publicly supported the dissidents and proposed to return jurisdiction over the Lithuanian Orthodox Church from Moscow back to Constantinople, as it was before 1686.[10] In May 2022, Prime MinisterIngrida Šimonytė of Lithuania wrote a letter directly to Ecumenical Patriach Bartholomew of Constantinople in support of the five suspended priests, saying "They have the right to practice their faithwithout a conflict of conscience."[10] In June 2022, the Church Court dismissed the five dissident priests from the priesthood.[10]
The five priests turned to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, asking to either be reinstated, or to switch jurisdiction from the Moscow Patriachate to the Ecumenical Patriachate of Constantinople.[10] In August 2022, the five dissident priests and their supporters established the Centre for Initiatives of Orthodox Christians (KOIC), a non-governmental organisation to oppose Patriarch Kirill. It stated: "KOIC unites Orthodox believers, who do not accept the politicization of the Moscow Patriarchate. The community includes local believers of various nationalities, Ukrainian refugees, Belarusian and Russian dissidents."[10] Patriach Kirill defrocked[when?] the five priests from the diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania for engaging in numerous violations, including but not limited to organizing with another church's jurisdiction.[citation needed] On 6 November 2022, a dissident Orthodox community service organised by KOIC was held in Vilnius, with the participation of like-minded believers from Klaipeda, opposing the Moscow Patriarchate and reiterating the request to transfer jurisdiction to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.[11]
On 17 February 2023, the Ecumenical Patriach reinstated the five dissidents in their priestly ministry, granting them permission to resume leading the liturgy on 3 March.[10] In response, Metropolitan Innocent announced he would not accept the priests' restoration; he did, however, allow the parish of St Parasceve in Vilnius "to celebrate a mass for refugees from Ukraine, without mentioning the name of the Moscow Patriarch Kirill."[10] In March 2023, Patriarch Bartholomew paid an official visit to Lithuania, signing a cooperation agreement with the Prime Minister of Lithuania on closer relations and cooperation.[10] The Patriarch also met with the five restored priests and provided for the creation of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the country.[10] The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate established theExarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania on 1 May 2023.[10]
In January 2024, Justinus Kiviloo, a priest of theEstonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, was appointed as the Exarch of Lithuania.[12] On 7 February 2024, theMinistry of Justice of Lithuania granted official recognition to the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania as an independent organisation in the Register of Legal Entities.[13] Archpriest Vitalijus Mockus (acting Exarch since 2025) estimated that about 15 to 20% of the clergy and laity of the Russian Archdiocese had left to join the Constantinople-aligned Exarchate.[13] As of May 2024, the Exarchate of Lithuania included 10 parishes (communities) and 10 priests, serving the liturgy in the Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian languages.[10][12] The Russian Archdiocese of Vilnius and Lithuania still had 5 deaneries, 50 parishes, 62 clergy, 1 male and 1 female monastery.[10]