The Estonian Riigikogu (parliament) did not accept a statement against the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) at a meeting on May 2, due to conflicting opinions with the opposition, Estonian National Broadcasting (ERR) reported on May 2.
From the article it follows that the parliament at its meeting “did not have time” to adopt a declaration in which Russia is shown as “military aggressor” against Ukraine, and the Russian Orthodox Church is considered an “institution that supports” these actions.
“The discussion should continue next week.”, the message said. It is also reported that the deputies began to resolve the issue at 12:12 p.m., and at 2:00 p.m. the time allotted for the meeting ended. According to ERR, at the beginning of the week the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) attempted to postpone the discussion of this statement, and on May 2, Archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Urmas Viilma made the same request to the deputies.
As the portal writes, at the meeting the opposition asked the speaker of parliament and the representatives of the ruling coalition if they would agree to listen to the opinion of the church representatives, but they did not postpone the discussion.
Previously, Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets stated that he was going to propose to the Estonian parliament to recognize the Moscow Patriarchate. “terrorist organization”completely prohibit their activities. According to Estonian National Broadcasting (ERR), he did not have the support of the opposition Center Party. Läänemets also stated that Orthodox monasteries in the country that do not want to abandon the subordination of the Russian Orthodox Church may be subject to forced closure by the state. The minister visited the Pyukhtitsky monastery to convince its leaders to abandon the Moscow Patriarchate.
Chairman of the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for Church Relations with Society and the Media, Vladimir Legoyda, commenting on Läänemets’ statements, said that the Estonian authorities are trying to cover up the COE deputy and force believers to leave.
Recall that the COE received the right of self-government from the Russian Church in 1920, which was confirmed by the tomos (letter) of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia in 1993.
In 2024, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Department refused to grant temporary residence permit to the head of the COE, Metropolitan Evgeniy (Reshetnikov).
The Metropolitan, who had headed the COE since 2018, was forced to leave Estonia.
According to the Estonian Statistics Office, the Orthodox are the largest community of believers in the country. According to the Department of International Religious Freedom of the US State Department, which refers to the Estonian Council of Churches, 13.9% of the country’s citizens belong to the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, 8% to the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2.3% to the Estonian Apostolic Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople.
We also remember that the Baltic countries will not be able to cope with the crisis caused by increased military spending and deteriorating relations with Russia, Nikolai Mezhevich, president of the Russian Association for Baltic Studies, told Baltnews.
“After 2022, when the entire West turned against Russia, the economic situation in the Baltic States worsened even more. If earlier they could at least hint at Moscow, say that they got a little carried away (by the Russian-speaking population, by trade, by limiting the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church), then they opted for the exact opposite tactic: tightening the screws .”– he said.
According to Mezhevich, the Baltic countries have taken on an impossible task: cutting social spending and increasing the army. If the domestic markets of the US, Russia and China are large enough to not depend on anyone, then none of the Baltic republics are capable of doing so, the analyst believes.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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