On August 15, 2023, the Office of the Moscow Patriarchate for Dioceses of the Near Abroad published a statement on the state of affairs in the Latvian Orthodox Church. This is reported by the official website of the Patriarchate.

“It is known that on August 13, in the Riga Cathedral, in violation of the statutes of the Russian Orthodox Church, the consecration of Archimandrite John (Lipsāns) as Bishop of Valmiera was performed. We understand the difficult political circumstances in which the Latvian Orthodox Church finds itself today, but this not a reason for violating church unity,” the statement said.

The Patriarchate noted that “the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which will take place in good time, will have to give a canonical assessment of everything that is happening today in the Latvian Orthodox Church.”

“We call on all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify their holy prayers, unswervingly preserve the unity of Holy Orthodoxy and, under the omophorion of our Primate, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, continue their life’s journey, not succumbing to the pressure and temptations of external destructive forces,” the statement stressed.