The Estonian Orthodox Church has canceled the collective prayer planned for February, stating that it has become a victim of political provocation, writes ERR News.
The collective prayer together with the non-governmental organization Koos/Vmeste was planned for the 22nd of February. Koos/Vmeste members also take part in the Riigikogu elections and run from the United Left Party of Estonia (EÜVP). In the statement published on the 31st of January, the church informed about the cancellation of the prayer and announced that it had become a victim of a deliberate political provocation.
According to Estonian Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets, Koos/Vmeste has repeatedly used pro-Kremlin statements.
The Estonian Orthodox Church said in a statement:
“It is with great regret that we have to announce that our church has been the victim of political provocation. We thought that we had been approached by active citizens, who wanted to send a message, to call to pray for peace, with the best of intentions.»
The church has indicated that in all its congregations, churchgoers will have the opportunity to pray for the end of bloodshed and the restoration of peace in the much-suffered land of Ukraine.
In the video recorded in Russian, distributed by one of the leaders of Koos/Vmeste, the impression was created that there will be not only prayers, but a wider action, food, and hot drinks will be available, transportation to the event and an opportunity to speak about co-living with refugees from Ukraine. The Estonian Orthodox Church stated that nothing of that was coordinated with it, and said that it was a deliberate political provocation. On the morning of the 22nd of February, the doors of the Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral in Tallinn will also be closed to avoid possible provocations.
The church’s statement also emphasized that it does not interfere in politics.
On the morning of the 31st of January, Metropolitan Eugene was called to the Ministry of the Interior to give explanations about the plan to participate in the Koos/Vmeste campaign.
Läänemets stated that he is categorically against the involvement of any church, religious community, or religious leader in secular politics, and considers it fundamentally immoral. Previously, the Ministry of the Interior approached Metropolitan Eugene in October to ask him to explain his position regarding the war in Ukraine.
Interior Minister told ERR News that he was satisfied with the church’s decision to cancel the prayer, but added that if the prayer had taken place, it could have been grounds for the expulsion of Metropolitan Eugene from Estonia. Läänemets stated that the church has heard the opinion of the ministry and made conclusions.
When asked about the possible expulsion of Metropolitan Eugene, who is a citizen of Russia, Läänemets answered that the pre-determined principles regarding the operation of the church still apply: «If the head of the Russian Orthodox Church crosses the red lines that we have set, where he somehow justifies the war in Ukraine or approves of the political positions of the Russian Orthodox Church, which have been expressed in Moscow or does something else, for example, such as organizing this kind of political event together with this same pro-Kremlin party, then (his potential expulsion) would have been completely on the agenda.»
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