In Estonia, authorities summon EOC bishop for explanations on WRPC decision

The EOC Cathedral in honor of Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn. Photo: Madis Veltman

In Estonia, after an extraordinary session of the World Russian People's Council, as a result of which a document entitled "Decree of the XXV World Russian People's Council 'The Present and Future of the Russian World'" was approved and published, the bishop of the EOC was summoned for a conversation in the special department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to err.ee.

"We have summoned the bishop of the Orthodox Church, which is subordinate to Moscow, to the ministry tomorrow. We are waiting for their position, we will listen to what they will tell us, and then we will decide on our further actions. We will not act as before, when we declared our expectations in advance. We will listen to what they say and understand their attitude. And if you ask how to relate to Moscow's message, I will say that this is a very alarming message," said the Minister of Internal Affairs Lauri Laanemets.

He stated that the document adopted at the WRPC meeting could have consequences for the EOC, as it is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, and the ROC "justifies all military crimes and conveys the corresponding message to its flock." An analytical assessment of the activities of the EOC will be carried out by the special department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"The Christian Church should defend completely different values. It should not justify military crimes and aggression behind its back. If our assessment concludes that something needs to be changed, then we will have to assess the likelihood of how appropriate such subordination of the church to Moscow is," believes Riigikogu speaker Lauri Hussar.

As reported by the UOJ, the Department of External Church Relations of the UOC has published a statement regarding the documents adopted at the WRPC: "The Ukrainian Orthodox Church dissociates itself, categorically does not share, and condemns the ideas outlined in this document," the statement underscores.

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