It also expressed resentment at being named in a recent national security report as a threat.
In a statement released by the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese, the council said canonical affiliation is not linked to politics but is instead a long-standing element of religious identity that enjoys constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience and religion.
The council emphasised that the church’s pursuit of greater autonomy from Moscow – a move it has been pressured to make since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – would be carried out strictly within the framework of canon law.
“Canonical dependence on the Moscow Patriarchate, expressed through the mention of the patriarch’s name during services, has not prevented us from being law-abiding citizens and patriots of Lithuania,” the statement said.
At the same time, the council voiced concern over references to the church in the annual national security report of the State Security Department and statements by some officials.
“Such remarks create a negative perception of the country’s second-largest religious community, which has for many years operated in full compliance with Lithuanian law,” the council said.
The appeal stressed that the Orthodox Church is an integral part of Lithuanian society and contributed to the country’s independence, calling for trust between state institutions and religious communities to be maintained.
Lithuanian intelligence assessments have said the Orthodox Church plays a role in promoting “narratives” aligned with the Russian government, though church leadership has publicly condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine and repeatedly expressed its intention to seek greater independence from Moscow.
The archdiocese has requested a form of partial self-governance from the Moscow Patriarchate, but no decision has been made.
Following the intelligence report, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys last week called for those linked to Russian intelligence services to be “delicately removed” from the church.
The archdiocese, however, has said it is not a branch of any foreign religious organisation and maintains that its ties to the Moscow Patriarchate are purely canonical.
Separately, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople reestablished its exarchate in Lithuania in 2023 after nearly 300 years, following a dispute between part of the clergy and church leadership.