Tallinn to stop renting office space to Russian church
Tallinn has decided to stop renting office space to the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK). The MPEÕK will have to vacate its offices on Pikk tänav at the end of July.
"On April 17, the Tallinn city government notified the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate of the termination of the lease agreement for Pikk tänav 64/1-4. The premises must be vacated by July 21, 2024," Sander Andla, a senior city councilor, told ERR on Tuesday.
The office of the MPEÕK is located on Pikk tänav in the Old Town.
The church had a lease agreement with the Tallinn city government based on the decision of 2005. The leased area is 270.3 m2 and the church pays €819.48 per month.
"The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, a non-profit organization, uses the basement and commercial space on the first and second floors of Pikk tänav 64 as office space," a city government spokesperson told ERR in April.
In addition to the building at Pikk tänav, Tallinn also leased the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral building at Lossi plats 10 to the MPEÕK in 2001, and in 2006 signed a 99-year lease agreement for the Church of the "Quick to Hearken" Icon of the Mother of God in Tallinn at Loopealse puiestee 8, in Lasnamäe.
The state leases three church buildings and one parish house in Tallinn to the MPEÕK.
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Editor: Kristina Kersa
