"Conscience does not close my eyes": The Orthodox Church in Lithuania in the Context of the War in Ukraine

• In Event: Post-Communist Russian Influence in the Baltic States

Abstract

The paper discusses origins and provide insights on possible consequences of the conflict among Orthodox clergy and Orthodox believers in Lithuania inspired by the decision of Patriarch of Moscow Kirill to support President Vladimir Putin in starting the war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Although metropolitan of Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese Inokentiy condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and asked for greater independence from Patriarchate of Moscow, some part of Orthodox clergy and Orthodox community in Lithuania refused to pray for patriarch Kirill during the mass and called for full separation with Patriarchate of Moscow and change of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in favor of Patriarchate of Constantinople. The paper aims to answer some important questions. What an impact of the conflict has on relations within the Orthodox Church in Lithuania? How it deals with the position of Lithuania’s government and immigration of Orthodox believers from Ukraine? The research is based on qualitative analysis of discourse constructed in most popular Lithuanian online newspapers (delfi.lt, lrt.lt, bernardinai.lt, etc.) as well as in media sources of Orthodox Church. In this paper media is considered as a significant platform for developing discussion on issues of identity of Orthodox community. The social-constructivist approach which regards mass media as an integral part of society and as a tool people have always used for communication is applied in the paper.

Short Bio

Andrius Marcinkevičius is the head and senior researcher of the Institute of Sociology at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences. His scientific interests include research on ethnic (ethno-religious) identity, social integration of ethnic groups (minorities); representation of ethnic groups (minorities) in public discourse. A special attention has been paid on changes in the identity of the Russian ethnic group and the Russian Orthodox believers in Lithuania in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Author

• Andrius Marcinkevičius, Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences