Media: Latvian Church Сouncil approves petition to ROC for autocephaly

The Council of the Latvian Orthodox Church held at All Saints’ Cathedral in Riga on October 20, with two items on the agenda: a petition to Patriarch Kirill to grant the LOC the status of an autocephalous Church, and amendments to the Church's Statute, reports bb.lv.

According to the new law on the Latvian Orthodox Church, initiated by Latvian President Egil Levits and approved by the Saeima, the LOC must make the necessary amendments to the Statute until October 31, 2022.

The Council was attended by 161 delegates, including both the laity and clergymen. What specific amendments were made to the Statute of the LOC is currently unknown, but according to the expectations of the authorities they will "restore its historical status and exclude any authority of the Moscow Patriarchate over it".

As reported, on September 8, 2022, the Latvian Saeima, at the initiative of President Egils Levits, proclaimed the independence of the Latvian Orthodox Church and demanded that the LOC make changes to its Statute by October 31. The Russian Orthodox Church called this a gross interference by secular authorities in church affairs.

As the UOJ wrote, the Latvian Church considered that the changes  to the law relating to the legal status of the Church.