Estonian Interior Ministry demands from the EOC to evaluate the statements of Patriarch Kirill

The Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs has asked the Estonian Orthodox Church to evaluate the statements made by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during his sermon on the Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Then the Patriarch called the capitals of the former Soviet Union republics “important spiritual centers of the united Holy Russia”. About it reports the edition ERR.EE.

“Despite the emergence of political borders in the so-called post-Soviet space, for the Russian Orthodox Church there are none, because we are the Church of All Russia, and for me Kiev, Minsk and other capitals of the republics are important spiritual centers of united Holy Russia,” — said Patriarch Kirill.

The Estonian Interior Ministry, in turn, considered such statements of the Patriarch incorrect and said that Tallinn does not belong to the “spiritual centers of Russia.”

“In the Patriarch’s speech, the capitals of the republics that were part of the former Soviet Union are called “important spiritual centers of the united Holy Russia.” Tallinn, in our deep conviction, is certainly not!”, — Tarmo Miilits reacted.

Recall that on August 20, 2024, the Council adopted a new version of the statute of the Church, which enshrines independence in church-administrative, church-economic, church-educational and church-civil affairs. The name of the Church was also changed to “Estonian Orthodox Church”, granted by the Tomos of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II.