“Of particular concern is the one-sided coverage of our Church's activities in the media,” the hierarch of the Estonian Church

The hierarch of the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (EOC MP), Bishop Daniel of Tartu, vicar of the Diocese of Tallinn, complained that the situation around the EOC is covered in the Estonian information space in a one-sided and mostly negative way. Despite this, according to the bishop, believers are much more interested in the Estonian Church than in the local branch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This is reported by the publication “Postimees”.

“Of particular concern is the one-sided coverage of the activities of our Church that prevails in the media space. Public discussions are dominated by unfounded accusations and judgments of people who have no idea about the real life of our parishes or the very nature of the Church. Those rare courageous voices that tried to present a more balanced point of view or stand up for us were drowned in the general media noise or deliberately drowned out. Despite the fact that the image of our Church both in the media and in the public space is predominantly negative, even now people of different nationalities — Russians, Estonians, Ukrainians and others — come and want to join our Church,” — said the bishop.

The hierarch noted that the surveys conducted by the GOC showed the reluctance of the clergy and laity to change jurisdictional affiliation. He added that the Church does not violate any state laws, so all the accusations against it are absolutely groundless.

“When we surveyed parishes last year whether they would like to change jurisdiction, we received a response that all parishes want to remain in their current church. In a democratic state, everyone should have the right to follow their conscience and faith without state interference in this fundamental right. It is important to note that our Church is currently acting in full compliance with the legislation of the Republic of Estonia and in accordance with its constitutional order — we have not violated any applicable legal norms. However, if the amendments to the law on churches and parishes are adopted, we will suddenly find ourselves outlawed, even though our actual activities and principles will remain unchanged. Such a legislative approach calls into question compliance with the principles of the rule of law,” — he added.