The Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (EOCC) has appealed to the US government, asking it to intervene against a plan by the Estonian government to ban it.
The Estonian President is currently reviewing legislation that brands EOCC and the Puhtitsa Convent as existential threats to the country on the grounds that they are puppets of the Russian government, something the church denies.
EOCC has sent a report to the US Commission on Religious Freedom (USCRIF). According to the report, the Estonian government has plans to “dismantle and eradicate the Church … and forcibly disperse over 180,000 orthodox Christians in its flock”.
Such action would bring an end to a centuries-old church and leave many Christians without a spiritual home, they said.
Estonia’s government has already said it is considering deporting clergy members of the EOCC. EOCC is apparently being targeted because it operates under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been supportive of Russia’s escalation of its conflict with Ukraine.
The EOCC has defended itself, noting its “self-governing status in Estonia, its adherence to Estonian laws and denunciations of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and the Convent’s separation from the secular world, which maintains its apolitical nature”.
The Church even went so far as to change its name and statute, in a move designed to emphasise its differences with the Russian Church on the issue of the war.
The EOCC has asked the US government to designate Estonia a “Country of Particular Concern” and have it placed on a Special Watch List. Such actions could disqualify Estonia from receiving international loans, arms sales and other forms of international assistance.
According to the Church, it has enough evidence in its submission to USCRIF to “demonstrate that based on USCIRF’s established standards and precedents, Estonia’s egregious violations of religious freedom warrant its designation as a Country of Particular Concern”.
