Ringo Ringvee, research fellow at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, said the MPEÕK faithful and the church as an institution need to be clearly separated. There are plenty of those among ordinary congregation members who are critical of the war of aggression and the Kremlin's policy. However, the church as an institution has plenty of ways to spread the messages of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kremlin.

"We are talking about an official newspaper and the media in general, giving interviews. Coming to congregations, it may be sermons, pastoral care, or various events. The so-called holy war subject matter has been in the air over the past week, while we are also talking about the 'Russian World' (Russkiy Mir) and its messages. It cannot be underestimated in the Estonian context. These messages must not be ignored. There are people in Estonia who care about these messages, while studies will have to determine their effect and the conclusions we draw," Ringvee said.

"The church is not a place for war or similar kind of direct propaganda. Rather, we're talking about spreading values and attitudes among people. And people who have been attending the church for years or decades are quite susceptible to such message," ethnologist Aimar Ventsel said.

"I would not compare Estonia and Russia here because the general background is very different in the latter. It is part of public propaganda there to be Orthodox, to be a Christian, with Sergey Lavrov emphasizing it years ago. That general background goes a long way in boosting the church's authority [in Russia]."

Father Daniel, MPEÕK bishop for the Tartu area, said that on the rare occasion, the church has found it necessary to chime in on everyday matters, it has been on the topics of religious life and decency. "The war has been raging for over two years, and we haven't been found to be engaging in anything of the sort in all that time," he said.

MPEÕK also has ties to various educational institutions and members of the clergy cooperate with municipal schools.

"[It is a question of] the values, worldview the clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate's church spread here. We're talking about more than just the St. John's School. We also have the St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco School in Tallinn," Ringo Ringvee said, adding that aspects of how history is understood, the Russkiy Mir subject matter, whether Estonia was part of the Soviet Union and should be part of Russia or not all come into it.

Census data suggests Orthodox faithful are the biggest religious group in Estonia. However, experts believe this does not mean the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is the most influential church in Estonia. On the one hand, Estonia is such a secular country that even the largest religious group's influence is rather limited. Secondly, those who identify as Orthodox are quite fragmented and not just between MPEÕK and the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. There are plenty of people who identify as Orthodox but do not go to church or recognize the authority of the churches.

Looking if only at Ida-Viru County, being the only one and largest in the region is largely an image the church has created for itself. Looking at census data, not everyone living in Ida-Viru County or Virumaa (comprising of Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties – ed.) and identifying as Russian or Ukrainian is an Orthodox faithful. There are several smaller Christian denominations represented," Ringvee said.

"Any direct threat of destabilization remains unlikely. As far as I've visited the church in Estonia, a considerable part of the congregation is retired and consists of people who will not be throwing stones at tanks. There are those who could be considered a threat to security among members, while the threat they pose has more to do with their preexisting pro-Kremlin and pro-Russia sympathies, and they go to church because it is a platform connecting them to the Russian world," Aivar Ventsel noted.

"I dare say that church matters at the level of Moscow and the patriarch are not on ordinary people's minds or something they keep a close eye on. For example, I can say about myself that the World Russian People's Council has never been something that interests me," Father Daniel said.

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