Tallinn, March 26, 2025
Photo: orthodox.ee
The Estonian Orthodox Church won a legal victory on Monday. According to the latest ruling, the state may accept the new name recently adopted by the Estonian Orthodox Church.
At the same time, Parliament is set to vote today on amendments to the Law on Churches and Congregations that would effectively ban the Estonian Church. The EOC primate, His Eminence Metropolitan Evgeny, called on all clergy and the faithful to add the reading of the Holy Gospel and the Psalter to their prayers today.
In response to these government threats to ban the Church because of its canonical ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, which Estonian Parliament has branded a supporter of aggression, the EOC has twice amended its statutes to more fully reflect its complete autonomy in all administrative matters, including changing its name (the EOC has appealed its characterization as a supporter of aggression, as it has repeatedly expressed its stance against the war in Ukraine, though the courts have simply dismissed its appeals).
On September 19, the Estonian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate submitted an application to the Registration Department to change its statutes and name to simply the Estonian Orthodox Church. The department referred to the matter to the courts, and despite the state demands that it change its name, the courts then rejected the change, claiming the new name to be “misleading and inadmissible, as it allegedly erroneously covers all Orthodox Christians in Estonia.”
The court, interjecting into canonical matters, referred to the fact that there have been two Orthodox jurisdictions in Estonia since the Patriarchate of Constantinople established a structure parallel to the already existing Church under the Moscow Patriarchate in 1996. Constantinople’s Estonian Church supports the ban on the Estonian Orthodox Church.
Given the court’s decision, the EOC then submitted a new name, the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church, but the Registration Department rejected this option as well.
However, on Monday, March 24, the Tartu County Court found that this new name is, in fact, not misleading. According to its ruling, the new name complies with the law and is not misleading in terms of the purpose, scope, or legal form of the Church’s activities, the EOC reports.
According to the court, in conditions of freedom of religion, it can’t be concluded that any Church could include all believers.
The court’s position is final and binding for the Registration Department, which must, guided by these principles, reconsider the application of the EOC-MP for amendments to the register.
“With the new name and statutes, our Church emphasizes its self-governing status. Last year, we were forced to endure hostile attitudes due to our canonical ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, whose name began the title of our Church. The new name and charter reflect our independence in administrative, economic, educational, and civil matters,” explained His Grace Bishop Daniel of Tartu, vicar of the Tallinn Diocese.
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