Synod of Estonian Church condemns RF war in Ukraine

On 6 October 2022, the Estonian Orthodox Church (EOC) expressed its support for the peaceful resolution of any conflicts and against any war. This was said in a statement by the Synod of the EOC MP, posted on orthodox.ee.

"Our Estonian Orthodox Church is being accused of calling for continued conflict and violence, but nothing of the kind has happened or could happen during the war. Our Church is against all wars and is for peace and the peaceful resolution of all conflicts," the document says.

The appeal also emphasized that the Church "supported the statement of the Council of Churches of Estonia of March 19, 2022, condemning Russia's military actions in Ukraine".

The appeal of the Synod of the EOC stated that "calls continue to be made for the Church to give a political assessment of the events taking place and to make constant political statements". However, according to the EOO hierarchs, the Church should not get involved in political disputes, because then it would not be able to give "calm to the troubled soul of man".

"The Church is called to preach peace in Christ – this is Her calling. Such a sermon is heard in the churches of the EOC MP," the EPC Synod stressed, adding that "they still call for prayer, for prayer for Ukraine and for our Church, so that we can continue our ministry of peace unhindered."

The Orthodox hierarchs also reminded "all those who make political decisions", as well as the media, of "restraint and discretion in words". "We see how easily peace can be broken and how difficult it can be to restore it afterwards. Let us seek peace in our hearts, in our families and in our society," the appeal urged.

As a reminder, the Primate of the EOC, Metropolitan Eugene of Tallinn, was summoned to the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs and demanded that he state his position regarding the Russian Orthodox Church, which, according to the Estonian authorities, supports the SMO. Metropolitan Eugene is also threatened with the revocation of his residence permit.

As reported, the President of Latvia has submitted a bill on the separation of the LOC from the Russian Orthodox Church to the Seimas.