"They assured us that the patriarch's earlier messages, or his recent nakaz that declared the conflict a holy war in an even more brutal fashion, have not affected their activities in Estonia. That they have not carried the message in their dealings with other organizations, in their religious activities, at their sermons or among their congregation, nor do they plan to start. They told us they have sufficient autonomy to operate within the confines of Estonian laws and norms. That is what they assured us of," Küüt said. "They also said that holy war has nothing to do with the Bible and true belief, and that a cleric cannot really do something like that. It came up in many ways and at different times during our conversation."

The undersecretary added that he found the meeting constructive and that the bishops have a better understanding of their role now that Metropolitan Eugene, whose residence permit was not extended, is no longer in Estonia. "That they need to take a broader view, develop a feel for the subject matter and also speak up," Küüt noted.

The meeting was attended by MPEÕK Narva and Peipsiveere Bishop Lazar (real name Aleksandr Gurkin), Maardu Bishop Sergi (Oleg Telihh) and Tartu Bishop Daniil (Daniel Lepisk).

State to keep an eye on the Russian church's activities

Raivo Küüt said that Estonia will keep an eye on whether the bishops' words will match their actions.

"We listened to what they had to say and must now make sure they stand by it because we cannot allow such an ideology to split Estonia. We need to keep an eye on what these bishops and the clergy will do moving forward, whether what they said will turn out to be the truth and whether the ideology really will be kept out of their activities," Küüt said.

He said that the ministry will monitor MPEÕK's messages and ask security services for their assessment.

The undersecretary said that summoning the leaders of MPEÕK for a conversation is the least Estonia can do whenever the patriarch makes statements that incite hatred.

"We have said it before, that for as long as a canonical link exists between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and when the patriarch as the latter's leader makes a statement, it is inevitable that we will summon [MPEÕK representatives] and listen to [their] explanations. /.../ We can see the patriarch's messages becoming stronger. Declaring Russia's aggression against Ukraine a holy war at this stage – it's an escalation of a full degree," he said.

Küüt explained that one of the roles of the Ministry of the Interior is also to ensure religious freedom, both at the individual level as the right to believe and belong to a certain denomination, and on the other hand, to protect people within that denomination from possible hostile or violent propaganda and ideology.

"And moving closer to the issue, the Russian Orthodox Church, its patriarch or leader has clearly and on numerous occasions justified and glorified Russia's aggression, its war against Ukraine. And it is obviously a security threat," Küüt remarked, adding that since MPEÕK is part of the Russian Orthodox Church – even if it has a measure of autonomy – if such statements are made, it is clearly the ministry's task to make sure the message is not spread to faithful in Estonia.

Responsibility lies with both individuals and organizations

Küüt said that responsibility for breaking Estonian law can be both individual and concern an entire organization.

"Talking about responsibility, it is clear that everyone who commits an offense is responsible personally, talking about incitement of hatred, terrorism, extremism – whether they're an ordinary person, deacon, priest or bishop. But collegial responsibility is also possible if an organization's leadership, the clergy of a church spreads such messages in an organized and systemic fashion. Compulsory dissolution remains a possibility in this case under the Churches and Congregations Act."

"Therefore, this responsibility is regulated, which is what we told them during our conversation," Küüt remarked.

The Ministry of the Interior urges people to be vigilant and asks everyone who spots attempts to incite hatred in the public space to call the 112 emergency hotline.

Last week, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church said that Russia's war against Ukraine and the Western powers that support it has entered a new phase and supporting it is the duty of all Orthodox faithful. A document approved at a conference [of the World Russian People's Council] that has also been published on the church's website notes that from a spiritual and moral aspect, what is happening in Ukraine is a holy war in which Russia and its people are defending the shared spiritual space of Holy Russia while also protecting the world from falling to globalism and Satanism. Next, it states that the entire Ukrainian territory must remain in Russia's undisputed sphere of influence.

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