Patriarch plans Lithuania branch in blow to Moscow

In what is seen as a blow to Moscow, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios stated on Tuesday that he will cooperate with Lithuanian authorities to establish a new branch in the Baltic country to ensure that people of faith are no longer only under the supervision of the Russian church.

The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians outraged Moscow in 2019 when he recognized the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine as Ukraine's official branch. Formerly, the Ukrainian church was under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Speaking to reporters in Vilnius after meeting with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Vartholomaios said, "Today a new perspective opens before us along with the possibility to work together for the establishment of [a branch] of the Ecumenical Patriarchate [of Constantinople] in Lithuania."

"The Ecumenical...