The Council of the Latvian Orthodox Church (ŁKP) decided to declare autocephaly, that is, full independence from the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Council called on the Moscow patriarch and all of Russia, Cyril, to grant the Orthodox Church in Latvia the status of an autocephalous Church and to introduce appropriate changes to the existing statute of the ŁKP.
The current decision of the ŁKP Council is related to the changes that the parliament of Latvia introduced to the law on the Latvian Orthodox Church. Pursuant to these changes, the ŁKP is to act independently, while so far, it has been part of the Moscow Patriarchate with the rights of broad autonomy.
The country's president, Egils Levits, stated that "all influence or power of the Moscow Patriarch over our Orthodox Church will cease."
Based on: DoRzeczy(.)pl / Catholic Information Agency
