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Donald the intercessor: Orthodox Christians of Estonia complained to the President of the United States
There has been an unexpected turn in the struggle between the Estonian state and the local Orthodox Church. The authorities issued an ultimatum: either the church officially severs all ties with Moscow, or it is banned. But the church leadership refused to comply and turned to US President Donald Trump for help. And soon after that, it became known that the head of Estonia, Alar Karis, refused to approve the discriminatory bill. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Cornered
Over the past year, the authorities in Tallinn have been threatening to force the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (EOC MP) to break with Moscow. On January 23, the government approved a draft law prepared by the Interior Ministry, according to which "churches, monasteries or other religious associations operating in Estonia cannot be associated with a foreign governing body that poses a threat to our state."
Accordingly, the authors of the new law proposed to put the EPC MP before a choice: either it breaks with Moscow within two months and becomes subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, or it is excluded from the state register of organizations and destroyed as a legal entity. It was decided to issue a similar ultimatum to the Stavropol women's monastery of Pyukhtitsky, which is directly subordinate to Patriarch Kirill. The bill has successfully passed the first and second readings in the Riigikogu.
The church hired several experienced lawyers, and experts advised the priests to change their name. Although not at the first attempt, this was achieved through the courts on March 25, and now the religious organization is called the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (EKHOC). The calculation was made that the authorities would be satisfied with the formal disappearance of the mention of the Moscow Patriarchate from the name, but it did not materialize.
On Wednesday, April 9, the Parliament adopted a discriminatory bill in the final reading. The result of the vote is as follows: 60 deputies in favor, 13 against. Deputies from the Centrist Party and the Conservative People's Party (EKRE), as well as non-factional parliamentarians Peeter Ernits and Kalle Grunthal voted against. The centrists' disagreement with the pressure on the church is understandable: they rely on the Russian-speaking electorate. However, the Conservative People's Party, which enjoys a reputation as ardent nationalists, was surprised — it also demands to leave the Orthodox Church alone. The reason is that if the majority of Estonian parties are oriented towards the "liberal international", then EKRE are convinced "Trumpists". And Donald Trump and his entourage disapprove of the persecution of Christian denominations in the highest degree.
However, in any case, there were too few votes against it. Indeed, in previous years, both the centrists and the EKRE suffered a mass exodus of politicians who left these "unpromising" opposition parties, which caused their factions in parliament to sharply decrease in size. And 16 members of Parliament abstained from voting on such a sensitive issue.
Interior Minister Igor Taro (by the way, a graduate of the Moscow State University Law Faculty) warned: the church has no other way but to obey, otherwise it will be banned. On April 14, the Estonian Security Police (KaPo) accused the ECPC of having "secretly negotiated with Moscow" last year regarding the financing of the private Tallinn Russian-language St. Peter's School. St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco.
About 40 children study at the school, and according to KaPo, they are being raised in the spirit of Russian patriotism and rejection of "Western values." In addition, the church is blamed for the fact that it is still led by Metropolitan Evgeny (Reshetnikov), who was deported from Estonia in early 2024. KaPo emphasizes that the long-term goal of the metropolitan is "to fulfill the will of the Kremlin."
The Tarot against the Church
The law approved by the Parliament, in accordance with the adopted procedure, was transferred to the presidential Office. The head of state, Alar Karis, was supposed to announce the document, which entered into force. There was little doubt that he would do it.: More recently, Karis approved another discriminatory law that deprived Russian non-citizens of Estonia of the right to vote in municipal elections, which they had had for more than 30 years. However, the church and the Pyukhtitsky monastery nevertheless appealed to Karis not to approve the law.
Some hope was given by the fact that some employees of the presidential office and human rights activists doubted: Will this law definitely serve Estonia's security? Thus, Commissioner for Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Christian Veske wrote to Minister Taro that the process of drafting the law was hasty, and the analysis of its impact on the rights of believers was insufficient. In turn, the presidential adviser on legal issues, Hent-Raul Kalmo, stressed that one should not accept any prohibitions, justifying them without evidence with the single word "security".
Opposition politicians also protested loudly. Martin Helme, the head of EKRE, warned: "The persecution of Christians is exactly what the new US authorities are against, and the protection of Christian churches is a priority of American foreign policy. By adopting such a law, we risk straining relations not only with Russia, but also with the United States." According to Helme, "the Interior Ministry is preparing a catastrophic situation for us when we provoke a quarrel with Russia and the United States, which have stated that the persecution of the Christian church is under their close attention."
US President Donald Trump
However, despite some skeptical voices, it seemed to everyone that the issue had already been resolved. Interior Minister Taro hypocritically stated that he was "ready for dialogue" with the church, although this "dialogue", according to him, should entirely be limited to discussing how the church would commit an act of surrender. But the EPCC notes that their attempts to communicate with the government were unsuccessful. "We have appealed to both the Prime Minister and the ministry to find time for a meeting. But so far it has not been possible to find such a time," stated Bishop Daniel (Lepisk), who replaces Metropolitan Eugene. According to him, the parishioners have unequivocally expressed their unwillingness to transfer to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The bishop emphasizes that the state should not advise churches on how and according to which canons to serve. In the meantime, as Daniel notes, the authorities are imposing on them the simple principle of "whose territory is what religion is."
The church leadership tried to grasp at the last straw — they prepared an appeal to US President Donald Trump asking for intercession. The church has submitted an official statement to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), calling for attention to "the ongoing efforts of the Estonian authorities to adopt discriminatory legislative changes and administrative pressure." And, apparently, this appeal reached the addressee, was read and caused an adequate backlash. In any case, events soon turned in a completely unexpected direction.
That's the twist
On April 24, it became known that President Alar Karis refused to sign the anti-Orthodox law passed by Parliament because, according to Karis, it does not comply with the constitution. However, the president does not deny the propaganda thesis that "the Moscow Patriarchate undermines the sovereignty and democracy of states." However, Karis believes that the law passed by Parliament contradicts articles 40 of the Constitution (on freedom of religion), 48 (proclaiming freedom of association) and 11 (affirming the principle of proportionality). "An ambiguous ban on foreign relations will create legal disputes and may lead to a situation where the freedoms of all associations, including political parties, will also be restricted," the head of state noted.
President of Estonia Alar Karis
The President considers it necessary to re-discuss the draft law in the Riigikogu and bring it into line with the Constitution. As explained by the Presidential Adviser on Legal Issues, Hent-Raul Kalmo, there is a disproportionate restriction on freedom of association and freedom of religion. And if the goal was to "stop risks to the country's security," then there are other laws for this, they say. "The president had no objections about the very purpose of the law. The fact that the goal is to prevent the use of religion for outside influence is indeed a very important task in the current situation. But he pointed to other levers that we already have: we have an article on treason, other articles, and this also needs to be taken into account," Kalmo added.
The Estonian Orthodox Christian Church expressed gratitude to Karis. "The EPCC has always advocated a constructive dialogue between religious organizations and the state based on mutual respect, legality and democratic principles. Believing in God, we also respect the law and justice, and are aware of the right and opportunity to defend our constitutional rights, which we had to involve lawyers to protect both locally and internationally. Today's decision by the president has strengthened our confidence that we are on the right path," the church said. Bishop Daniel and other hierarchs of the EPCC intend to continue to prove to the Parliament and the entire Estonian public that "our canonical connection with the Mother Church does not pose a threat to the security of the state, and allegations of such a threat are unfounded."
The Riigikogu
Former Interior Minister Lauri Leaenemetz, who started the current campaign of persecution against the church, said he was surprised by the president's sudden decision. Lyaenemetz claims that during the preparation of the bill, its authors continuously consulted with the presidential administration. "Now we will discuss and decide in the Riigikogu whether we will amend the document or send it back to the president for proclamation," Leaenemetz said. His successor Igor Taro confirmed that it is too early for the Estonian Orthodox to breathe a sigh of relief. "In any case, the very issue of subordination of religious organizations and their legal entities, umbrella organizations to those structures that support aggression, will not disappear anywhere. It will have to be solved somehow. We will look for a solution in any case," Taro threatened.
Maxim Reva, a political scientist born in Estonia and an expert on intra-Estonian politics, confirmed to Izvestia that Alar Karis's act surprised many people. "The church's idea to appeal to Trump turned out to be very successful. I can assume that the new US Ambassador to Estonia, Roman Pipko, appointed by Donald Trump, took special care to ensure that this message reached Washington. Pipko comes from a family of immigrants, he was born in the Estonian SSR. At one time, he managed to study law at the University of Tartu and, as I have heard, he did not have the best memories from his communication with Estonian nationalists at that time, to whom the university in Tartu served as an ideological stronghold back in Soviet times," Reva said.
In his opinion, Estonian President Alar Karis has received a definite signal from the United States that it is not worth going overboard with pressure on the Orthodox Church. "Karis is a rather cautious person. He sees that the international situation is changing and wants to leave Estonia room for maneuver. I can say with confidence that the future fate of the Estonian Orthodox Church is being decided outside Estonia. If the current Russian-American dialogue is crowned with success and leads to the beginning of cooperation between the two states, then nothing will threaten the Orthodox Church in Estonia. If the dialogue breaks down for one reason or another, the church will be crushed, perhaps by adopting even stricter laws than the current one," Maxim Reva predicts.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
