Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, as the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, traveled to Lithuania, where he met on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, with the Prime Minister of the country, Ingrida Šimonytė.
The Metropolitan was accompanied by the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania, Hieromonk Justin Kiviloo, who recently officially assumed his duties.
Their cordial discussion focused on issues related to the ministry of the Patriarchate’s Exarchate in the country, as well as broader issues of mutual interest.
During his visit to Lithuania, the Metropolitan also met with the clergy of the Exarchate, to whom he conveyed the Ecumenical Patriarch’s blessing and his undiminished personal interest in their ministry and the work they do for the benefit of their flock and Lithuanian society in general.
It is recalled that in March 2023, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew paid an official visit to the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, at the invitation of the Government of Lithuania, when he announced the intention of the Mother Church of Constantinople to establish a Patriarchal Exarchate there.
Photo: Website of the Government of Lithuania / Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou