Tallinn, December 6, 2024
The building in Tallinn where the Estonian Church’s chancellery is located. Photo: Kesklinna valitsus
Starting this month, the Estonian Orthodox Church has to pay more than double the previous rent for the premises housing its administration in the Kesklinn District of Tallinn.
Estonia is pressuring the Estonian Church to break ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and join the Constantinople Patriarchate, which has its own presence in the country. While the Estonian Church has opposed the war and authorities confess they have found no evidence of wrongdoing, the government expelled His Eminence Metropolitan Evgeny of Tallinn in February and is demanding that the Church unilaterally end its connection to the Moscow Patriarchate, despite its autonomy in administration.
In October, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets proposed to prohibit the activities of any parish connected to the Moscow Patriarchate.
And on a local level, the Kesklinn District Administration sent the Church a letter in April terminating the lease agreement for the premises on Pikk Street. The building was to be vacated by July 21, but the Church challenged the termination in court, which has yet to issue a decision.
In response, the district administration has bumped the monthly rent from $865 (820 euros) to $1,800 (1,707 euros), reports err.ee.
“The legal dispute over this matter isn’t resolved yet, and while the Church continues to use these premises for its activities, the district administration will issue monthly damage compensation bills,” said Sander Andla, head of the Kesklinn District administration.
“I consider it unjustified that a tenant whose contract the city terminated continues operating in city-owned spaces while paying significantly below market value. Therefore, we set the damage compensation amount at market rate. And I still believe that the EOC-MP should vacate the office space in the Old Town,” said Andla.
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