The Moscow Patriarchate reacts to the law banning the Estonian Church adopted in Estonia

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has issued a statement in connection with the adoption of a law in Estonia aimed at banning the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church. The ROC called the decision of the Estonian parliament discriminatory and violating the right to freedom of religion. About it reports the site Patriarchy.ru.

Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the adoption of the law aimed at banning the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church

On April 9, 2025, the Estonian Parliament adopted in the third reading the bill No. 2-5/25-00033 «On Amendments to the Act of the Republic of Estonia «On Churches and Parishes», actually aimed at banning the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church — a self-governing Church, part of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The new law forces believers to sever canonical ties with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. This decision contradicts the repeatedly expressed will of the clergy, monastics and laity of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church, who are faithful to their Priesthood. It discriminates against 250,000 believing Estonian citizens, depriving them of their freedom of religion.

As justification for the need to adopt this law, a false claim was made that the canonical connection of the Orthodox in Estonia with the Moscow Patriarchate posed a threat to the security of the Estonian state and to the constitutional and public order in the country. This completely ignored the fact that the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church does not participate in political life and interstate relations. So far, not a single case of its structures or believers creating any threats to state and public security has been recorded.

However, this has not stopped Estonian political forces from taking a course of action against Russian Orthodoxy, which has been part of the cultural heritage of the Estonian people for centuries. One of the main targets of persecution was the Pyukhtitsa Monastery, a shrine of world Orthodoxy and a place of pilgrimage for believers from different countries.

The actions of the Estonian authorities today reproduce the methods that were used in the struggle against the Church in the times of atheistic god-fighting.

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church declares its full support for His Eminence Metropolitan Eugene of Tallinn and All Estonia, the archpastors, clergy and faithful members of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church in the face of increasing oppression against it, urging them to remain faithful to the sacred canons. Orthodoxy was brought to Estonia by Russian missionaries a thousand years ago. Its history is rich in vivid examples of courageous standing in the faith, beginning with the holy martyr Isidore of Yurievo and those who suffered with him, to the martyrdom of St. Platon, Bishop of Revel, and other new martyrs of the land of Estonia. We believe that through their prayerful intercession the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church will worthily withstand the trials that have befallen it.

We call on the international community to condemn the facts of violence against the conscience of Orthodox Christians and the illegal interference of the Estonian authorities in the internal affairs of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church, which clearly ignores the internationally accepted principles of religious freedom.

As a reminder, on April 9, 2025, the Estonian Parliament voted in the third and final reading to amend the Churches and Parishes Act, the ultimate goal of which is to restrict the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church. Once this law enters into force, the EOCC will be induced to sever relations with the Russian Orthodox Church and unite with the local diocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Estonia.