Tallinn, October 26, 2026
Photo: et.orthodox.ee
The chancery building at Pikk 64 in Tallinn that the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (ECOC) is being evicted from was actually built by the Church itself more than 100 years ago.
The Estonian Supreme Court declined to take up the Church’s cassation appeal last week, ending the dispute with the city of Tallinn over the lease on the premises, which were nationialized under Soviet Estonia in 1940, the ECOC explains in a new statement.
The current building was built in 1878-1884 to replace an earlier one, paid for by the Holy Synod and partly the Tallinn Orthodox cathedral parish. The property and the earlier building were bought in 1829 to house the Spiritual Consistory of Estonia, which operated until 1917 and was the predecessor of the current Church administration. The purchase also provided housing for the families of clergy and cathedral staff. Until 1928, the land registry recorded the house as belonging to the Orthodox spiritual administration.
The statement says the site has been tied to Estonian Orthodoxy for nearly 200 years. “For us, this place is connected with Hieromartyr Bishop Platon, who worked here, and with the memorable Patriarch Alexei, who lived in this apartment when he was Metropolitan of Estonia. Also with the work of Metropolitan Cornelius. Now a whole era is ending for us,” His Grace Bishop Daniil of Tartu says.
In 1918, St. Platon of Tallinn, whom the Church canonized in 2000, lived in the house. After his martyrdom in 1919, the bishop’s residence and the Synod were based there.
The building was nationalized in 1940. Since then, the Church and diocesan administration have used the premises as tenants. The Church administration’s offices have been on the second floor continuously through the occupations and the periods of Estonian independence.
The Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which was created in the 1990s, initially made a claim to the chancery building, though it dropped its claim in 2002 when the city gave it free use of another building.
Meanwhile, the ECOC continued to use the premises at Pikk 64 under an open-ended lease, fulfilling all its obligations under the lease.
After the war between Russia and Ukraine began, the ECOC’s canonical connection with the Russian Orthodox Church became grounds for amending Estonia’s Churches and Congregations Act. The Church ended up at the center of political struggles and a media campaign against it. Meanwhile, legal entities connected with the ECOC and its representatives have fully complied, and continue to comply, with Estonian law.
According to the statement, media reports indicate there’s little demand for Old Town premises, and many of them stand empty.
The Church says it very much hopes the new tenants will appreciate the historical and spiritual significance of the premises.
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