Daily Journal:

The actions of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church MP essentially continue one line: ousting the Patriarchate of Constantinople from its leading position and positioning itself as the main partner in negotiations with the Roman Catholic Church. The situation with Orthodox parishes in Estonia is more than confusing, and both sides have their own arguments. In the modern Western world, built on democratic principles, there is nothing wrong with the fact that competing communities exist on the same territory. However, the position of the Russian Orthodox Church MP from the very beginning was characterized by harshness and refusal of any compromises, which ultimately led to the current conflict. The matter is complicated by the fact that the current head of the Russian Orthodox Church MP is a native of Estonia, for which reason church diplomacy does not want to concede on this issue. They say that Estonia is a “original Russian land”, for example the city of Tartu has the ancient Russian name Yuryev, etc. However, if we think like this, then Lithuania is the same Russian land, Russians and Ukrainians have lived there for a long time. It seems that the point is not in “antiquity”, but in competition. The Moscow Patriarchate claims to redistribute spheres of influence and wants to pursue a more active ecumenical policy. And until now, the leader of the ecumenical movement on the Orthodox side has remained precisely the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which occupies a traditionally pro-Western position.

So the current affront must be understood in the sense that Catholics are being asked to decide who is more important to them - the old partner Constantinople or the Russian Orthodox Church MP, which is increasingly declaring itself as a player in the foreground.