Estonia: Bill submitted to ban churches tied to the Moscow Patriarchate

Tallinn, October 25, 2024

Photo: uleoparda.ru Photo: uleoparda.ru     

The Estonian Ministry of the Interior has seriously ramped up its pressure on the Estonian Orthodox Church as Minister Lauri Läänemets has proposed new legislation to ban religious organizations connected to the Moscow Patriarchate.

The move directly targets the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate because, according to Läänemets, it has not taken serious enough steps to separate itself from the Patriarchate, which the Minister described as “clearly another weapon in the arsenal of Russian influence,” reports err.ee.

The Church amended its statutes in August, in response to state demands, removing all references to subordination to the statutes of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Ministry then sent the Synod a letter arguing that this wasn’t enough. His Grace Bishop Daniil of Tartu responded that the state should stop pretending to have competency in canonical matters.

Lauri Läänemets. Photo: sotsid.ee Lauri Läänemets. Photo: sotsid.ee     

Speaking before Parliament, Läänemets argued that the country can’t tolerate the Estonian Church’s continued affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate, which was previously declared by Parliament to be an organization supporting terrorist warfare—a charge the Estonian Church has repeatedly rejected and formally appealed.

This legislative push follows the February 2024 expulsion of Metropolitan Evgeny of Tallinn and All Estonia, the head of the EOC-MP since 2018, after authorities refused to extend his residence permit. Officials have openly acknowledged more than once that they have detected no actual threat from the Church, but argued that the Metropolitan failed to condemn the war in Ukraine. However, Met. Evgeny was, in fact, signatory to a March 2022 statement from the Estonian Council of Churches that denounced the war.

The Ministry of the Interior’s proposed amendments to the Law on Churches and Congregations would prohibit any religious organization in Estonia from maintaining ties with foreign organizations that threaten public order, support military aggression, or incite terrorism. Additionally, the law would bar individuals from serving as clergy or board members if they have proven connections to religious organizations acting against Estonian state interests.

“With this legal change, Estonia unequivocally declares that religious freedom goes hand in hand with constitutional order… Those who don’t meet these criteria or don’t wish to meet them have no place in Estonian religious life,” Läänemets stated, while emphasizing that the government’s aim is not to shut down any parishes or monasteries. Instead, he indicated that religious organizations will be given the opportunity to bring their activities into compliance with the new law, should it pass.

The Minister stressed that while the immediate focus is on the Moscow Patriarchate’s influence, the law would also prevent future situations where local religious organizations could be controlled by malicious foreign spiritual leaders.

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10/25/2024

See also
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The history of Orthodoxy in Estonia dates back to Russian missionaries of the 10th-12th centuries. Constantinople’s parallel jurisdiction was established in 1996. Estonia’s Pukhtitsa Monastery: If the state wants us to change jurisdiction, it can make its own appeal to the Patriarch Estonia’s Pukhtitsa Monastery: If the state wants us to change jurisdiction, it can make its own appeal to the Patriarch Estonia’s Pukhtitsa Monastery: If the state wants us to change jurisdiction, it can make its own appeal to the Patriarch Estonia’s Pukhtitsa Monastery: If the state wants us to change jurisdiction, it can make its own appeal to the Patriarch
If the government of the Republic of Estonia, represented by the Minister of Internal Affairs, insists on changing the jurisdiction of the monastery, then as the initiator of the process, the government itself may approach Patriarch Kirill with a proposal to cancel the stavropegial status of Pukhtitsa Monastery. Abbess Philareta noted that such a course is canonically legitimate for the convent’s residents.

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