Cross income

The Duma stands up for the property of the Orthodox Church of Estonia

On the eve of the visit to Ukraine of the head of the Roman Catholic Church, State Duma deputies considered it necessary to publicly demonstrate that Russian legislators do not forget about the protection of Orthodox Christians in the near abroad. The Committee on International Affairs has prepared a draft special statement on the situation in Estonia, whose authorities are refusing to register the Orthodox Church belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate. The document, which calls on the Russian government not to invite Estonian leaders to the country, and also to slow down consideration of the issue of granting this republic most favored nation treatment in trade and economic relations, should be included in the agenda of the plenary meeting today. “Discrimination against the Estonian Orthodox Church,” it says, “and attempts to impede its activities are aimed at humiliating Orthodox believers, causing division and mutual hostility in society.”

The reason for such a statement was the recent refusal of the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs to register the Estonian Orthodox Church. The authorities of the Baltic republic believe that this is impossible without the consent of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which was registered shortly after the collapse of the USSR. Despite the similar name, the EAOC is “another diocese.” It belongs to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and has long been arguing with the EOC about the right to be considered the heir of the Canonical Orthodox Church that has existed in Estonia since the 11th century, as well as the property it has acquired over many centuries. If the name is changed and the EOC is registered “from scratch,” the church loses all rights to monasteries and historical buildings and other property.

In this conflict, both the ecclesiastical and secular authorities of Russia are clearly on the side of the Estonian Orthodox Church. The Russian Ambassador to Estonia has already met with the Minister of Internal Affairs Tarmo Loodus, the refusal to register the EPC was discussed in early June at a special meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry. Today deputies will join the fight for the rights of Orthodox compatriots.

Moreover, legislators diligently pretend that they are acting independently, and not at the request of the Moscow Patriarchate. In any case, the International Affairs Committee assured the Vremya Novostei newspaper correspondent that the statement was initiated after numerous appeals from “Estonian Russians” who complained to the State Duma about harassment. The Russian Orthodox Church hopes to resolve the conflict through internal church channels. “We hope,” said Patriarch Alexy II, who began his ministry in Estonia, in a recent statement, “that an agreement will be signed between the metropolitans of the two jurisdictions and that the church structure under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople will renounce its claims to the property of Estonian Orthodox parishes Church of the Moscow Patriarchate".

Irina BELASHEVA