The Church of the War. Another important step of Latvia

Can Parliament make a decision on the status of a religious community? But deputies specifically emphasize that they do not interfere with church affairs, do not discuss canonical and autocephaly. Their task is to protect the Latvian Orthodox from the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). And, as President of Latvia emphasized, it is a matter of national security, - writes Vitaliy Portnikov for Svoboda.

In the explanatory note to the bill, President Egil Levitus referred to the decision of the Moscow Patriarch Tikhon, adopted in 1926. Of course, it was not yet a complete autocephaly - the Russian Church was then paralyzed by the Bolshevik authorities, the patriarch could not convene any cathedral. But he recognized the independence of the Latvian Orthodox Church and was approved by the relevant decision of the Latvia Government.

And what started with this church in Latvia after the country's occupation by the Soviet Union in 1940 may not be perceived by the country's leadership as legitimate decisions. Both the Soviet authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church were guided in their decisions on Latvia and its inhabitants by the "right of force. " And this applies to both the state and religious organizations.

But it is not a canonical, but a legal independence why President of Latvia has decided to initiate such a sensational bill, does not need to be explained for a long time. The Latvian Orthodox Church is by no means the largest religious community of the country. But many residents of the Latvian capital of Riga are Orthodox - primarily ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. And they, of course, go to the temples of the Latvian Orthodox Church.

In addition, a significant number of Orthodox is concentrated in one of Latvia's most complex regions - Latgaly. Many inhabitants of this region use the Latgal dialect of Latin, even consider it an independent literary language. And unlike the rest of Latvia - mostly Protestant - Catholicism and Orthodoxy are widespread here.

And the question of what the parishioners of the Latvian church are heard in the region, which is located near the Belarusian border is a really question of the national future. Literally. While traveling to Latgaly, I could see my own eyes how many people who look at the reality of their eyes are not even Russian television, but a Russian priest.

And how the outlook of those who attend the Boris-Glibi Cathedral in Duvhapils differ from the outlook of those who are in the famous Catholic basil in Agglon. Did the Latvian Orthodox Church be autocephalous, canonical, independent after the decision of the Parliament? Of course - no. The question of autocephaly should be resolved by the Patriarchate of Constantinople after receiving the appropriate appeal of this church and the mother-mother. That is, the Russian Orthodox Church? Yes and no.

Even before the Second World War, the Latvian Orthodox dioceses passed under the jurisdiction of Constantinople, and after the occupation of the country maintained this connection in emigration. If the Patriarch of Constantinople wants to go the "Ukrainian way", he can recognize the territory of Latvia with its canonical territory and issue Tomos about the autocephaly of the Latvian Orthodox Church as he did with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU). Without the consent of the ROC.

But for this, as we know, both the desire of the church itself and the support of the state are also needed. But so far, the status of LOCs - if the amendment to the Statute is approved by its clergy - can be compared with the status of another Orthodox community, the UOC (Moscow Patriarchate). At its last cathedral, this religious organization declared independence from Moscow. But it is not canonical, but legal independence.

In the case of the Latvian Church, it can be said that the state has done the work for this church, which the UOC (MP) performed independently. And in the future, the Latvian church will have to go to canonical independence. So far, thanks to the initiative of President of Latvia, this Latvian Orthodox Church has been able to get rid of the political and propaganda influence of the "Church of War" - the Moscow Patriarchate. And this is a lot.