We are demanded to break our canonical ties with the ROC for the sake of Constantinople - Pyukhtitsa Monastery

The Pühtitsa Stavropegic Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church, located in Estonia, has published a new open appeal to the Estonian Parliament. The abbess and nuns of the monastery draw attention to the fact that the new anti-church law, which is currently being considered by the Riigikogu, forces the monastery to break canonical ties with the Russian Church and join the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This is reported by the ROC DECR Communication Service.

“For more than a century, or rather 134 years ago, it was founded in Kuremeya, on the Holy Mountain, and since then, no matter what storms raged around it, no matter how wars and revolutions shook the world and no matter how the authorities changed, it has never ceased to shine with love for God. And no matter what darkness covered the world, everything was illuminated by the light of man’s love for God, the Most Merciful. Prayer never stopped in the monastery for a single day. And now, suddenly, something is happening that does not fit into our consciousness and resonates with acute pain in our hearts. We are being asked to break our canonical connection with the Russian Orthodox Church for the sake of Constantinople. And this is not only a violation of church canons; it is like forcing a person to abandon his own mother. She raised him, cherished him all the days of his life, and now to abandon him? Is this the kind of sin we should burden our souls with? And for what purpose? For the sake of our peace and well-being?”, — the statement reads.

The monastery drew the attention of the Estonian government to the fact that the monastery has never been involved in political activity and called for the abolition of the law that would force the nuns to leave the Pühtitsa monastery.

“We retired to our cells from the world, the passions, disputes and clashes that the world lives in, from its fascination with the evils of the day. In the space of our monastic life, only the Lord exists, and prayer and work form the basis of it. Needless to say, any intrusion of the world into monastic life causes us pain and makes us look to the future with fear. The only nunnery in the Russian Orthodox Church that survived the Soviet era is the Pyukhtitsa Monastery. We have never forgotten this, and always prayed with gratitude at our daily services and continue to pray for the country of Estonia, for the authorities and its noble people. We hope that the authorities will finally hear us and that the Republic of Estonia will understand our concern. There is no law that would force innocent, law-abiding Chornorizians to abandon the precepts of Christ to satisfy the momentary desires of politicians. We, the inhabitants of the monastery, are being placed without our consent in a space where ignorance and new deities have settled, affirming truth outside of Christ. We, the Pyukhtitsy, will repeat with spiritual joy the silent words of the great Christian: “I would rather remain with Christ than with the truth outside of Christ,” — the monastery concluded in a statement.

Earlier, we reported that the Estonian Ministry of the Interior responded to the nuns of the Pühtitsa Stavropegic Convent. The ministry stated that the proposed legislative norms on restricting the rights of the Estonian Orthodox Church and the monastery in Pühtitsa are not pressure on faith, and the monastery itself should historically be part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.