President Grybauskaitė meets leaders of Lithuania’s Christian communities

“We had a very positive conversation about the need to work together in seeking unity in our society, by also looking what is going on in terms of international political affairs and the situation in Lithuania,” Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius Gintaras Grušas, president of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, told journalists.

Asked whether leaders of Christian communities share a common view on evens in Ukraine and Crimea’s occupation, Grušas said they had a more general conversation with the president about peace.

“We spoke generally about various situations in the world, war situations, the president’s strong position, our support of NATO in terms of threats Lithuania may face. But the most important thing is that we spoke about refugees, migrants and aid to people. We really share the same position that we need to help people, especially those fleeing war,” the archbishop said.

Archbishop Inokentij, head of the Orthodox Church in Lithuania, told journalists he expressed his gratitude during the meeting for the state and local authorities’ attention to members of his religious community. He also said he’s praying for peace.

“We not only want peace but we constantly pray for peace around the world,” he said.

The presidential press service said in a statement following the meeting that President Grybauskaitė spoke with the clergy about religious communities’ contribution to building unity as well as their initiatives in resolving burning social issues as well as dealing with problems like alcohol abuse, violence, suicide and corruption.