On August 13, 2023, Archimandrite John (Lipšans) was ordained Bishop of Valmiera, the website of the Latvian Orthodox Church reports. The ceremony was performed by Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia, co-served by Archbishop Alexander of Daugavpils and Rezekne and Bishop John of Jelgava.

The reason was the statement by the Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church about “the long overdue need to have a bishop, a Latvian by nationality, for the spiritual guidance of the Latvian Orthodox flock.”

“Taking into account the historical vicissitudes and difficulties of the existence of Holy Orthodoxy in Latvia, in accordance with the long-standing wishes of the Latvian Orthodox population and the need to meet their spiritual needs, understanding today’s historical realities, in order to strengthen, preserve and strengthen Holy Orthodoxy in Latvia and preserve the hierarchical succession of the Holy Mother Church , the Synod decided by its unanimous decision: Archimandrite John (Lipshans) to be Bishop of Valmiera, Vicar of the Metropolitan of Riga and All Latvia,” the press service of the Church of Latvia said in a statement.

“What is important for all of us is that the new Archpastor John (Lipsāns) has become the first Latvian Archpastor in modern times… We ask all our parishioners to pray for the new bishop of the Latvian Orthodox Church, whose hierarchy has been replenished today with a new bishop, which may serve to further strengthen our Holy Latvian Church,” added the press service of the Church of Latvia.

It is known that the Church of Latvia, as a self-governing one, is part of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church. But paragraph 9 of paragraph XII says that “the bishops of the Self-Governing Church are elected by the Synod from candidates approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ and the Holy Synod.” Therefore, there is no information on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate that such an election or approval took place.