Earlier we reported that on the eve of the Estonian Parliament’s consideration of the law restricting the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), the court of the Republic allowed the EOC MP to change its name. Now the Estonian Orthodox Church will bear the official name “Estonian Christian Orthodox Church”.
Law banning Estonian Orthodox Church passes second reading in Parliament
On March 26, 2025, amendments to the Estonian law “On Churches and Parishes”, designed to restrict the activities of the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (formerly the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate), passed the second reading in the country’s Parliament. The final discussion of these changes and the third reading are scheduled for April 9 in the Riigikogu. This is reported by ERR.EE.
It is reported that a total of 17 amendments were submitted to the law, most of which came from the Ministry of the Interior. The EKRE and the Center Party factions proposed to interrupt the second reading of the bill, but this initiative was not supported in parliament. Fifteen MPs voted in favor of suspending the consideration, while 69 voted against.
“The main problem is that there is no analysis of the consequences of adopting this law. There is also no assessment of its compliance with the Constitution. But the most important thing for us is that the document introduces responsibility not for our own actions, but for the processes that take place abroad and do not depend on us,” — commented Artur Knyazev, a representative of the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church and the Pühtõti Convent, lawyer.
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