At Question Time, the Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets affirmed, in response to the questions of Varro Vooglaid, that the Bill on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act was not directed at closing any churches or convents.

Varro Vooglaid demanded to know why there were plans to punish the Orthodox Church of Estonia of the Moscow Patriarchate and Pühtitsa Convent for alleged actions that these have not committed.

“So far, despite my repeated queries, you have not presented a single fact to show that they have done anything that has actually jeopardised Estonia’s security—the only argument is that they might turn into a security threat in the future. And the planned sanction is the harshest possible that can be applied to a legal person—compulsory dissolution,” Vooglaid reproached the Minister.

In his reply, Lauri Läänemets pointed out that the Government’s intent was not to close down a church or a convent. The idea behind the Bill was to eliminate external threats. The Minister referred to the links between this Church and Convent with the Kremlin.

“Our intention is not to close them; the only wish and request and proposal that we have repeatedly discussed with them and made on behalf of the Government is to cut those ties and connections,” the Minister of the Interior said. Läänemets explained that the Bill was drafted on the basis of information on influencing activities carried out by the Moscow Patriarchate in places like Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, Moldova, Czechia, and Ukraine.

“We believe that every Estonian resident must be able to dedicate themselves to their religious beliefs freely and without concerns, just the way they prefer. But this must not be politically influenced. And in this case, we are talking about Russian politics, which is extremely hostile to Estonia: our people, our future, and our freedom,” Läänemets said.

Läänemets emphasised that there was no such thing as Russian Orthodoxy in Estonia. “There is a Patriarch in Moscow and a Patriarch in Constantinople, but there is no Russian Orthodoxy, instead there is simply Orthodoxy in Estonia. Everyone must be able to dedicate themselves to their religious practices, and that freedom, that constitutional right is what the Government of the Republic is protecting with this Bill as well,” the Minister of the Interior stated.

The Minister also responded to a question by Lauri Laats about the political situation.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Minister of Culture Heidy Purga also participated at Question Time. Prime Minister answered a question by Martin Helme about a minister harming allied relations; Helir-Valdor Seeder asked about the government coalition policies, Lauri Laats about political responsibility, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart about government decisions, and Helle-Moonika Helme about the domestic state of affairs.

The verbatim record of Question Time (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maiki Vaikla
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