Patriarch Kirill Reports Increasing Pressure on the Russian Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Rus’ has announced a rise in persecutions against the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in Eastern Europe. Speaking at an Easter reception at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he warned of growing pressure on the Moscow Patriarchate’s structures in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Moldova. This information was reported by the official ROC website.

According to the Patriarch, the situation in Estonia has especially worsened after the country’s parliament adopted legislative amendments on April 9, 2025, which effectively prohibit the activities of the ROC. Although President Alar Karis refused to sign the law due to concerns over its constitutionality, the threat of its eventual approval remains. “There is a violation of religious rights and freedoms, and the country’s Constitution. And what? Absolute silence,” Kirill emphasized.

He stressed that the Orthodox tradition in Estonia is closely tied to the Moscow Patriarchate, and attempts to push it out of the country’s spiritual space are serious violations of believers’ rights. “Generation after generation of Orthodox people have been raised within this value system, coming to the churches of the Russian Church. And now this community is being erased from the spiritual map of the country,” he said.

Similar processes, according to the Patriarch, are occurring in Latvia, where the authorities declared the autocephaly of the local Orthodox jurisdiction without agreement with the Church, which he believes contradicts church canons, the principle of separation of Church and State, and the right to freedom of religion. In Lithuania, Kirill noted, the government is also preparing to implement an “Estonian scenario” against local Orthodox communities.

In Moldova, Kirill said, pressure on Moscow Patriarchate representatives is increasing with the support of political forces aligned with the Romanian Patriarchate. He cited an example when Archbishop Markell of Balti and Falesti was not allowed to fly to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire during Holy Week. “Clergy are demonstratively subjected to humiliating searches and interrogations at the border,” he stated.

The ROC Primate called on the international community to pay attention to these cases of discrimination and provide a fair assessment. “This is a blatant violation of human rights, religious freedoms, and national legislation aimed at suppressing the largest religious community,” Patriarch Kirill declared.

It is worth noting that representatives of the Constantinople Patriarchate’s diocese operating in Lithuania have once again complained about the activities of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. The Fanar’s Lithuanian Exarchate claims that the LOC MP misleads Ukrainian believers who “do not understand the ideological affiliation.”