Lithuania’s ministry of the interior this week announced that the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Kirill, has been barred from entry into the Baltic country, ostensibly due to his support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to media reports from the country, the Russian Patriarch was included on the list of personae non grata, which was compiled on June 23, and based on a proposal of the Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Based on the same decision, His Holiness is banned from visiting Lithuania at least until June 2027.
The Lithuanian government had tabled a proposal with the European Union last spring to include Patriarch Kirill on a so-called “black list” of top Russian personalities to be banned from entry into the Union, although the Primate was eventually excluded from such a list following an objection by the Hungarian government.