Estonian government, Orthodox Church agree to separate from Moscow Patriarchate

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The Estonian government has agreed with the country's Orthodox Church to gain "full independence and autonomy" from the Moscow Patriarchate, an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church.

Already, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church separated from the Moscow Patriarchate, which is considered the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The decision was made in May 2022 in protest of Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill's support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

The Interior Ministry and the Estonian Orthodox Church have decided to reduce and eventually eliminate the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Orthodox Daily reported on Friday.

The ministry reaffirmed the government's position that the church must be completely separate from the Moscow Patriarchate, both canonically and legally, said the major pan-Orthodox news outlet.

Raivo Kuut, a senior official at the ministry, said, “The state must protect the population of Estonia from the effects of a hostile regime.”

In the next step, the daily said, the church will submit specific proposals for amending the statutes, as well as a detailed implementation timetable, to the ministry by the end of this month. Then the ministry will respond with its position by the end of September.​​​​​​​