Church of Latvia does not support ecumenical service with Pat. Bartholomew

Patriarch Bartholomew and representatives of other churches in Latvia. Photo: t.me/pravlatvia

On September 13, 2025, on the second day of his stay in Latvia, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople participated in an ecumenical service at the Lutheran Riga Cathedral.

Praying with him were the newly elected Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Rinalds Grants and his predecessor – honorary Archbishop Janis Vanags, the head of the Latvian Roman Catholic Church Archbishop-Metropolitan Zbigniew Stankevics, Baptist community pastor Kaspars Sterns, and other representatives of Christian denominations.

Representatives of the Latvian Orthodox Church did not attend the service, reports the Telegram channel Voice of Orthodoxy LV.

It is also reported that there were very few laypeople in the cathedral – "the worshippers could be counted on fingers".

The day before, during a meeting with the Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mierina, Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized that his visit "is of great importance for discussing the situation of the Orthodox community in Latvia and renewing historical ties with the Patriarchate of Constantinople".

In turn, Ms. Mierina recalled that the Latvian Orthodox Church is legally separated from the Russian Orthodox Church, and the law prohibits cooperation with it.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Patriarch of Constantinople met with the world's first openly gay president in Riga.

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