The Easter elation of Western Christians was invaded by news from Moscow of a strange document the World Russian People's Council approved at an extraordinary congress, presided over by Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, Wednesday. The statement refers to Russian aggression and the war in Ukraine as a "holy war."

During the days of World War Two, composer A. V. Alexandrov's patriotic-nationalist song "Holy War," the lyrics of which are by V. I. Lebedev-Kumach, became a hugely popular anthem of defending the fatherland. This hyperpatriotic song was played right after the ringing of the Kremlin's bells that marked the start of the broadcast every day.

Even though dubbing the aggression against Ukraine a "holy war" sounds downright heinous to our ears, in Russia, it sparks nostalgic connections that we – not to mention the rest of the West – no longer know to draw. By reanimating the idea of "holy war," Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill are creating a direct link to the Great Patriotic War and the heroic struggle against fascists.

Propagandist goal

Perhaps the statement "The Present and Future of the Russian World," passed at the World Russian People's Council's congress held at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior's Synod hall on March 27, should not be paid any attention as its goal is purely propagandist.

But what makes the statement serious from a national security point of view is the fact that the World Russian People's Council's congress, general assembly and managing council are not made up of backwater municipal politicians and village priests, but rather influential Russian politicians, high-ranking state officials and intellectuals from various walks of life whose words and actions have a direct effect on Russian policy.

Another fact, relatively unimportant while all the more embarrassing, is that the World Russian People's Council has been an official consultative partner of the UN since 2005.

Those who have kept a close eye on the Kremlin, Russian Orthodox Church, Putin and Kirill had to have known about this rather eye-opening document that makes no secret of the full extent of the Kremlin's ambitions since late last year.

The statement already existed and was discussed at the World Russian People's Council's XXV plenary session in Moscow November 27-28. That gathering was dedicated to the organization's 30th anniversary, with the whole forum concentrating on "The Present and Future of the Russian World."

President Vladimir Putin personally attended the November session via video link. The greeting he aimed at the chairman, Patriarch Kirill, and those gathered was hardly new in terms of rhetoric, while it provided some context for the recent statement. Noteworthy for us is Putin's view of the geographical and cultural extent of the "Russian world" when he explains:

"The Russian World encompasses all our past generations and our successors, those who will live after us. The Russian World stands for ancient Russia, the Moscow Tsarist state, Russian Empire, Soviet Union and modern Russia, which demands the return of, reinforces and expands its sovereignty as a global power. The Russian World unites all who feel a spiritual connection to our homeland, who consider themselves Russian-speakers and bearers of Russian history and culture, irrespective of their nationality and religious persuasion." (Unofficial translation – U. V.)

Patriarch Kirill's reply to Putin's greeting is no less noteworthy. There, the patriarch concentrates on attaching meaning to the concepts of the "Russian World" and "Russian idea." Repeating all of it in the comment at hand would be paying too much attention to this terrible ideology, while Kirill mainly points to a report presented at the assembly, which serves as ideological input for the ominous statement on "The Present and Future of the Russian World."

In Estonia, Patriarch Kirill comes across as aggressor Putin's partner and kindred spirit in executing the great Russian ideology and the imperialistic idea of the "Russian World." What I'm sure we do not fully grasp is the true extent of Kirill's influence over the Russian people.

For a Russian person, Patriarch Kirill is a near-saintly spiritual (and political) authority with no real counterpart in the West. That is why we must not underestimate the effect of his statements on that part of Estonia's Russian-speaking population that is more or less covertly in favor of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine and was prepared to vote for Putin to continue as Russia's leader at the recent election.

Our politicians have not taken this influence too seriously in recent decades, even though census data on Estonians' favorite religious convictions gave reason for it back in 2011.

It became even more obvious in the 2021 census by which time 16 percent of the population or 180,000 people identified as Orthodox. It is telling that while this was just 2.8 percent among ethnic Estonians, it rose to 50 percent among Russians, 58 percent among Belarusians and 48 percent among Ukrainians.

These figures tell us that people who openly associate with the Orthodox faith make up a massive part of Estonian society, whereas we would probably be correct to assume that those who are connected to the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church are a clear minority therein.

Estonia's indifference concerns the religious roots and Russian Orthodox identity of the local Russian-speaking population has left Russians, Belarusians and a lot of Ukrainians who lived here before the war in the consciously coordinated influence sphere of the great Russian ideology and the "Russian World."

Our Russian schools have more than a few teachers whose understanding of Russian culture and identity is strongly influenced by the "Russian World" idea as promoted by the Russian Orthodox Church. While Estonian schools usually do not offer religious studies, it is not even necessary in Russian-speaking ones as the entire education environment is based on and shaped by the Russian Orthodox cultural identity.

The local pro-Russian population is still connected to that world through a kind of mycelium and the "Russian World" essence that the latter helps spread could be having a fatal effect on Estonia's national security by now.

The result is not the secularization and the happy discovery of Western values of ordinary people living in a Russian-speaking "bubble," as what has happened to Estonians, but rather their continued mental and cultural connection to the "motherland," or Russia, and the "mother church," or the Russian Orthodox Church. The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK) is canonically tied to the latter.

Security threat for Estonia

I believe it is high time for Estonia to stop treating the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as a state within a state the activities of which are merely monitored from a distance and its leaders individually called to order from time to time. In all other aspects, the church has been left to its own devices.

As long as representatives of the church perceive that they are an inconvenience for Estonia, aliens and something the Estonian state is simply forced to tolerate because it has failed to clearly phrase its expectations for how the church should serve the spiritual needs of the Russian-speaking population, they will continue to look toward where their umbilical cord attaches, or in the direction of Moscow.

Our politicians and officials need to propose a positive program for the inclusion of the Russian Orthodox Church's Estonian branch's leaders, clerics, workers and members in Estonian everyday life. The state must encourage and help MPEÕK leaders and members to disconnect from the "Russian World" mentality and ideology to find their place on the ecumenical landscape in Estonia and the world. The aforementioned statement could serve as the impulse needed.

Representatives of the MPEÕK can formally distance themselves from the March 27 statement of the World Russian People's Council because the latter is not an organ of the Russian Orthodox Church. Still, in a situation where the official press release reveals that delegates present for the passing of the "holy war statement" included numerous Russian Orthodox Church bishops and priests, including Patriarch Kirill as the Council chair, the MPEÕK, which is a canonical branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, is morally tied to the statement.

It is enough to read the first part of the statement's chapter on foreign policy to pick up on Russia's undisguised imperialistic ambition, which the Russian Orthodox Church endorses through its patriarch and other top hierarchies. It reads:

"Russia must become one of the centers of a multipolar world, managing integration processes and ensuring security and stability in the entire Post-Soviet area. As the geopolitical center of Eurasia, located at the crossroads of the global east-west and north-south axes, Russia must regulate the balance of strategic interests and function as a defensive wall for security and a just world order in the new multipolar world. Reuniting the Russian people must become a foreign policy priority for Russia. (Unofficial translation – U. V.)

Reading the statement here in Estonia, or in the "Post-Soviet area," and thinking about the "reunification of the Russian people" who live here, I feel not only personally affected, but attacked.

All of it leaves me greatly concerned as an Estonian, a citizen of the sovereign Republic of Estonia and as someone whose ancestors have included victims of the leaders, organizers and perpetrators of the "Russian World" and a past "holy war."

Looking at the very real and violent execution of the "Russian World " idea in Ukraine under the auspices of a "holy war," the statement at hand should cause all churches and Christians in Estonia, including the members and leadership of MPEÕK, to be deeply concerned and pray without pause for the survival of Estonian independence, the fate of the peoples of Estonia and the safety and future of their own members.

If in the "Russian World" idea the territory of the Republic of Estonia and its population fall in the sphere of influence of modern Russia simply as former Tsarist and Soviet Union lands, condoning such a cast of mind even tacitly amounts to a national security threat and will prove fatal for the unspoken church one way or another.

Urmas Viilma is the archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK). The comment reflects his personal views.

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