Tallinn, April 11, 2025
Pükhtitsa Monastery. Photo: puhtitsa.ee
Representatives of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church and the Holy Dormition-Pükhtitsa Monastery submitted an official appeal to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) yesterday, calling for a response to the religious persecution being carried out by the state.
Estonian Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Churches and Congregations 
Parliament adopts law on banning Estonian Orthodox Christian ChurchThe Riigikogu, Estonian Parliament, has adopted the law aimed at banning the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church.
“>on Wednesday that ban the Estonian Church for its canonical connection to the Moscow Patriarchate. From a legal point of view, the Church’s administration is entirely centered in Tallinn, and the state has failed to demonstrate that the Church poses any kind of threat to national security. Nevertheless, given that the Parliament has waded into canonical matters, after two months the authorities can begin opening cases against the Church if it doesn’t fully separate from the Moscow Patriarchate.
Politicians have argued that they aren’t requiring the Church to change its faith, only to change its jurisdiction, by joining the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s overlapping structure, the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. However, to join Constantinople would be to enter into communion with the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which is indeed a question of the faith, and would Estonian Orthodox Church condemns Constantinople’s interference in UkraineThe Holy Synod of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has published a statement on its official website expressing “its deep concern over the dangerous development of the Church situation in Ukraine caused by the unilateral actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.”
“>violate the Estonian Synod’s own decisions.
The Church’s attorneys explained the reason for the appeal:
On behalf of the Church and monastery that have become targets of the amendments to the law on churches and parishes, we’ve been writing in recent weeks to both the Prime Minister and the new Minister of Internal Affairs. We wanted to meet and find a reasonable compromise within the state before the amendments were adopted and before broader involvement of international institutions. We were not given the opportunity for such a meeting, and yesterday the law was passed. At the same time, we continue to hear from the Minister of Internal Affairs unfounded references to the Pükhtitsa nuns as victims of Moscow’s influence operations. This clearly demonstrates the goal of stigmatization, and it’s impossible not to respond to this.
The statement explains that Estonia’s new law violates religious freedom by targeting the Church and monastery solely due to their canonical ties with the Russian Church, despite their compliance with Estonian law and opposition to the war in Ukraine.
The complainants identify several concerning issues, including discriminatory legislation, threats to deport foreign clergy, and state efforts to portray the punitive law as protective.
The Church’s attorneys note that the hastily adopted law undermines transparent governance and fundamental rights, prompting them to seek international support through both the European Court of Human Rights and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
They also draw parallels to similar religious restrictions in Ukraine that have raised international concerns and affirm their commitment to defend their religious communities through all legal means.
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Source: Orthodox Christianity
