The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia declared that the changes made to the charter of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to break ties with Moscow were insufficient.
This is according to the European Pravda, referring to ERR.
The ministry officially informed the EOC MP that the changes to the statutes adopted by the church to distance itself from the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill are insufficient, and that the new name proposed by its leadership cannot be approved either.
“The influence of the Moscow Patriarchate on the EOC MP does not decrease as a result of changing the name or removing the mention of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the patriarch from the statutes… The influence of the MP remains the same, both in the administrative and canonical sense,” Minister of Internal Affairs Tarmo Miilits said, responding to the church leadership.
One of the arguments is that in the updated statute there is a reference to the tomos of 1993, which directly enshrines the subordination of the Estonian church to the Moscow Patriarchate.
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs expects you to review the statute again, taking into account the observations expressed in this letter, and adopt it in such a form that it will completely exclude affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate and Russian Orthodox Church,” he said.
In addition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared the impossibility of re-registering the church with the name “Estonian Orthodox Church”, as it is too similar to the already registered Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, and it will also falsely create the impression that it is an organization that unites all Orthodox Christians of Estonia.
In addition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs expressed comments regarding the interpretation of certain historical facts in the statute.
Back in August, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Estonia expressed doubt that the new name of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate could be registered, and that its changes to the charter would be sufficient to remove all issues.
It should be recalled that in May, the Parliament of Estonia adopted a statement condemning the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate and declaring it an institution that supports the aggression of the Russian Federation.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia invited representatives of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate for a meeting after the Russian Orthodox Church declared the war in Ukraine “sacred”.
