In October, Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets (SDE) proposed to the government an amendment to the law that would prohibit a church or congregation associated with an organization supporting military aggression from operating in Estonia. According to Läänemets, the biggest lever of influence in Estonia for Russia and the Kremlin is the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK), which is subordinate to them.

"Considering they have a very big influence there in terms of putting people in their positions and approving decisions, and this is done directly from Moscow, this influence has to be stopped. That is the main problem. This is also a way Russia is pursuing its goals by exploiting religious organizations," said Läänemets.

"We have seen this in many countries, and I can say that there is not even the slightest doubt that it has also been done in Estonia and will continue to be done in the future," he added.

Vadim Belobrovtsev, deputy chairman of the Center Party's Riigikogu group, said he had not heard from the minister specifically what the MPEÕK had done wrong.

"Regarding whether the Orthodox Church had broken the law or incited people to break the law, or if there had been some incident where it could have been said that the law had been broken in one way or another. The answer was a definitive no – there is no such evidence," Belobrovtsev said.

Läänemets said that the MPEÕK 's actions are ones of influence, whereby it is not possible to directly show where agitation has taken place.

"But through words, a lot can be changed," said Läänemets.

Läänemets said the MPEÕK needed to change its constitution and end all ties with Moscow, as well as remove the reference to the 1993 Tomos.

"So far, there has been no desire to do this and so far the MPEÕK  is still directly subordinate to Moscow," Läänemets said.

"As far as we know, there has been cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior and the church for several months. In the course of this cooperation, the statute has already been amended and all administrative ties with the Moscow Patriarchate have been removed from the statute," Belobrovtsev said.

According to Beloborvtsev, the church submitted sham amendments to its constitution. "There is still a reference to being guided by Tomos, and it states that it is subordinate to Moscow," said Läänemets.

According to the draft amendment, the church's statutes would have to be brought into line with the law within two months of the law entering into force.

"If this has not been done, the Estonian state will have to enforce the law in a way whereby the Minister of the Interior will have to go to court and request that these organizations cease their activities. I stress, this does not mean stopping the activities of congregations and church buildings, but only the activities of umbrella organizations. People can continue to devote themselves to their faith," Läänemets said.

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