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- The sin of vanity: Patriarch Bartholomew was caught wanting to split the church in the Baltic States
The sin of vanity: Patriarch Bartholomew was caught wanting to split the church in the Baltic States
The religious schism initiated by the Patriarchate of Constantinople is taking on a new geography. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service said that Patriarch Bartholomew now intends to expand his expansion to the Baltic States and Montenegro. He will be helped in this not only by local nationalists, but also by the British special services, who are cultivating Russophobic sentiments in Europe. This scenario has already been used in Ukraine. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The wolf in sheep's clothing
"Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who dismembered Orthodox Ukraine, continues his schismatic activities in the Orthodox Church space. Now he has fixed his black eye on the Baltic countries," the press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported.
According to the ministry, Bartholomew seeks to oust Russian Orthodoxy from the territory of the Baltic states, "by establishing church structures completely controlled by the Phanar in its place."
The Patriarch of Constantinople is supported in this by the British special services, actively fueling Russophobic sentiments in European countries, according to the SVR.
"Bartholomew found common ground with the authorities of the Baltic states in an effort to bring confusion to the Russian Orthodox world. Relying on ideological allies in the form of local nationalists and neo—Nazis, he is trying to separate the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Orthodox Churches from the Moscow Patriarchate," the report says.
It is noted that the Patriarch of Constantinople "is luring priests and congregations of the churches of the Baltic countries into "puppet religious structures" artificially created by Constantinople.
Russia has said that Bartholomew is also going to grant autocephaly to the unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church in order to strike at the Serbian Orthodox Church.
"It is noted in church circles that Bartholomew is literally tearing apart the living body of the Church," the SVR reports. The intelligence service believes that because of his "schismatic activities," Patriarch Bartholomew "resembles the false prophets" mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount about wolves in sheep's clothing."
Pressure on the Church
In 2025, the Estonian parliament passed a law effectively banning the local Orthodox church within the Moscow Patriarchate, which was forced to change its name from the Estonian Orthodox Church (EOC) to the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (EKHOC).
The reason for the persecution was the connection with Russia, and especially with the Moscow Patriarchate. At first, the Estonian authorities declared it "an organization supporting military aggression in Ukraine," and the ECOC, as part of it, "under the influence of the Kremlin."
The media, parliamentarians and officials launched a large-scale campaign against the religious association. The Interior Ministry was particularly aggressive in its anti-church rhetoric, calling church officials a threat to national security.
Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia Evgeny (Reshetnikov)
The primate of the EPC, Metropolitan Evgeny (Reshetnikov), a citizen of the Russian Federation, was not granted a residence permit, and then the church was required to rewrite the charter, removing any references to the Russian Orthodox Church.
After that, the parliament adopted amendments to the law "On Churches and Parishes" in the third reading, according to which any religious organization "cannot be under the leadership or be economically linked to a foreign governing body that poses a threat to the security or constitutional order of the country."
Believers fear that events will develop according to the Kiev scenario, because a parallel structure has already joined the dialogue — the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (EAOC), established in 1996.
However, despite the support from the Estonian authorities, she has not won the hearts of Estonians, and only 2.3% of the population visit the churches of the EAOC.
Unlike the authorities, believers do not want to "finally break with Moscow." They made a request to the country's president, Alar Karis. He called the draft law "On Churches and Parishes" contrary to the country's constitution. Having exhausted all attempts to veto this initiative, the head of state appealed to the State Court.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn
Anti-church precedents also occurred in neighboring Latvia. At the same time, despite the fact that the Latvian Orthodox Church openly condemned Patriarch Kirill and rewrote the charter at the request of Riga, it has not withdrawn from the Russian Orthodox Church.
The nuns of the Trinity Monastery in Riga were ordered to take a language exam, otherwise threatening all non-citizens of the country with deportation. High-ranking Latvian politicians, including former President Vaira Vike-Freiberg, stood up for the nuns, but it did not help. In case of forced deportation, the monasteries will be closed.
The War with the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Russian religious scholar Roman Lunkin, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that Patriarch Bartholomew began the war with Russian Orthodoxy in 2018, when he stated that the Russian Church had no rights to the territory of Ukraine and recognized the Church of Ukraine as an alternative to the UOC.
— Up to this point, Bartholomew's ambitions and his desire to become an "Orthodox pope" were held back by the balanced position of the Moscow Patriarchate and other churches. However, then the Patriarchate of Constantinople received the political support of Western countries, including the United States, and carte blanche for the Ukrainian split, the expert believes.
The specialist added that after 2022, Bartholomew hosted priests from Russia and Belarus, actively traveled to the Baltic countries, and concluded agreements with local authorities to receive help and reduce the influence of churches with ties to Patriarch Kirill.
— In Estonia, the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople directly provoked and are provoking division by suggesting that the Estonian Church affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church switch to Bartholomew so that the authorities would stop the anti-church campaign. Aggressive pressure and blackmail from Bartholomew clashed with the strong positions of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Baltic States and the ability of leaders to find a common language with local politicians," the analyst emphasized.
In addition, Lunkin adds, the attitude of the current US presidential administration towards the church issue has also changed, in the direction of observing the general principles of freedom of conscience instead of the previously practiced gross interference in the affairs of believers.
However, Bartholomew does not abandon his plans to eradicate Russian Orthodoxy, which is actively advancing in Africa and Asia, and Serbian Orthodoxy in Montenegro, where Constantinople is ready to seize any opportunity.
"Since it is impossible to eradicate Russian and Serbian Orthodoxy, for many secular politicians, the very process of war with formerly fraternal churches is important for Bartholomew, as long as there is at least some support from European leaders," Lunkin summed up.
Vladislav Petrushko, a doctor of church history and professor at St. Tikhon's Orthodox University for the Humanities, fears that the situation in Estonia may develop according to the Ukrainian scenario.
— Decisions on Estonia and Ukraine probably come from the same center, for which the fight against the Moscow Patriarchate is part of the fight against Russia. Although there is a national specificity. Unlike Ukraine, everything happens in Estonia with a claim to legality," the expert explained.
He does not rule out that the activities of the EPCC may be banned or churches that are leased from the church may be seized.
— The EPCC needs to try to defend its rights in the European Court of Human Rights. Despite the fact that he is now more opposed to the Russian Federation than the United States, sometimes he makes fair decisions," the expert concluded.
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