CHIEF OF LATVIAN SECURITY SERVICE CLAIMS THAT RUSSIA USES RPTsMP FOR PRESSURE ON LATVIA
Portal-credo.ru, 12 January 2015
Recently, the Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate has intensified its work in Latvia, the chief of security police of the country, Normund Mezhvietis, declared in an interview on the program "Neka Personiga" on Latvian television TV3. He believes that Russia may use the church as one of its levers of influence on the Russia-speaking population of Latvia, the publication "Delfi" reports.
Mezhvietis says that in Russia the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate [RPTsMP] is closely fused with governmental authority. "The tie of the leaders of the Orthodox Church with the regime ruling in Russia in recent years has become especially close in the context of the crisis in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church thinks that all Orthodox persons who support religion form a single community. It is closely linked with Russia and reproduces the unique role of Russia in world civilization. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Latvian Orthodox Church definitely have, as does any religious confession, the potential for influence on at least a portion of society," the head of the security police declared.
Mezhvietis agreed with a reporter's suggestion to the effect that Russia could use the church as one of the levers of influence on residents of Latvia. "Recently we have seen that the Latvian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate has become ever more active. It is developing cooperation with children and youth and actively works with Latvians also. In view of the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church is very closely tied to state authority, there automatically forms a loyalty to Russia and to the conception of the Russia World and the notion of the unique mission of Russia in a world context," Mezhvietis declared. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 January 2015)
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