Estonian Orthodox Church changes its name for the second time

On January 10, 2025, the third session of the Council of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was held in Tallinn in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Quickly Hearing”. The session addressed the future of the EOC in the context of the Estonian government’s demand to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. One of the decisions was the second change of the Church’s name in the last year and a half. This is reported by the website of the EOC.

It is reported that the main item on the agenda of the third session of the Council was to eliminate the shortcomings in the version of the Statute of the Estonian Orthodox Church, adopted by the Council on August 20, 2024, which were pointed out in its decision by the registration department of the Tartu District Court. In particular, the court stated that another name should be chosen instead of Eesti Õigeusu Kirik (Estonian Orthodox Church), and that some clarifications should be made to the text of the Charter.

As a result, a compromise decision was made by a majority vote. Eesti Kristlik Õigeusu Kirik (Estonian Christian Orthodox Church) was chosen as the new name of the Church. On January 16, 2025, the revised Statute and all the necessary documents were submitted electronically to the registration department of the Tartu District Court to make changes to the register.

Earlier, we reported that the head of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior proposed a bill to the government of the republic, according to which religious organizations associated with institutions that support military aggression should not operate in the country. According to the minister, the change in the law is due to the fact that the Estonian Orthodox Church itself has not taken significant steps to break away from the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.