Estonian Orthodox Church ends year in budget deficit

Over the past financial year, the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK) received income totalling €303,557 but ended the year in the red, to the tune of €10,520.
The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate receives income from both secure funding sources as well as donations from congregations, legal entities and individuals.
The Estonian Council of Churches contributed €30,792 to the MPEÕK's activities in 2021. This funding was used to restore parishes, publish a collection of resources for an international online conference honoring the 100th anniversary of the autonomy of the Estonian Orthodox Church, and translate those materials into Estonian.
The MPEÕK's expenses include office rent on Pikk Street in Tallinn, as well as energy, phone and internet bills, transportation and subsistence costs, church supplies, and publication costs. Staff costs amounted to €140,152.
Metropolitan spends another €120 monthly, taxed as a private benefit, for communal meal preparation.
In addition, the Orthodox Church continues to fund-raise for the renovation of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God (Kazan icon) in Tallinn, raising a total of €13,362 and spending €16,500 in 2021.
In addition to this, MPEÕK donated €20,396 for the restoration of the Kopli Chapel, of which €11,773 came from the Estonian Council of Churches.
The MPEÕK's daily public worship services and a monthly publication, as well as Orthodox-themed Christmas and Easter exhibits and a children's Christmas tree event at the Russian Cultural Center, are among the most important open to public charitable activities.
In 2020, the MPEÕK had a revenue of nearly €465,000 and a profit of €40,133.
The church is wholly distinct from the Estonian Orthodox Church, which is part of the Constantinople Patriarchate.
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Editor: Kristina Kersa