The EPC of the Moscow Patriarchate can receive the temples belonging to it for rent

The transfer of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (EPC MP) 15 cult buildings was proposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia, ITAR-TASS reports. The relevant documents were sent to the heads of both churches acting in Estonia.

Now the buildings are at the disposal of the Moscow Patriarchate, but formally are the property of another religious organization - the Estonian Apostolic and Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople .

It is assumed that the lease term will be 50 years, and the symbolic monthly fee will be determined in the amount of 1 Estonian crown, that is, 0.06 dollars.

It depends on the reaction of the clergy to the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whether Patriarch Alexy II will come to Estonia this year. The visit "is unlikely to take place before the final resolution of the issue of church property," said Metropolitan Cornelius, head of the EPC MP.

The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was registered by the Estonian authorities in April this year. Prior to this, the Church, which has existed here since the appearance of Orthodoxy in Estonia, has actually been outside the field of Estonian legislation for more than eight years.