Europe’s Orthodox world is in moral turmoil

Tiina Kaukvere is an award-winning Estonian journalist currently based in Moldova.

An hour’s drive from Moldova’s capital city, in the village of Bozeini, Orthodox priest Tudor Roman lit three candles near the altar of a small countryside church. “I pray for forgiveness for Patriarch Kirill’s sins,” he said.

For many Moldovan priests, it’s become clear that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow — the overall leader of Moldova’s Orthodox Church — has veered onto the path of evil.

In Russia, religion has been used as a tool for justifying the war in Ukraine. And as many become convinced by the church that they’re part of God’s plan, and thus shouldn’t fear being killed while fighting for the “Russian world,” the cost has been tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian lives.

“You should not kill. The Orthodox Church cannot condone murder,” Roman asserted.

But Kirill has been growing increasingly extreme since the war began. In a recent statement, as outlined in an official document from the central church, he stated that Russia is waging a “Holy War” in Ukraine, and that Ukrainian territory should be annexed by Russia.

Presently, the church’s position is that the “special military operation” in Ukraine is a holy war to protect the Russian world from the evil West. “Russia is the creator, pillar, and defender of the Russian World,” noted a document adopted at the end of March.

But Russian Orthodox churches aren’t just found in Russia — they exist worldwide. And much like in Moldova, the church in Estonia is in moral turmoil — and there, the “Holy War” document is becoming the last straw.

Despite being one of the least religious countries in the world today, Orthodoxy remains Estonia’s biggest denomination, due to the country’s significant Russian population, comprising about 16 percent of the nation. The Russian church’s membership is over 100,000, while the Nevsky Cathedral — the main house of worship — is located just across the street from the Estonian Parliament in the heart of Tallinn.

However, authorities are now questioning whether the church in Estonia is acceptable. “The highest spiritual leader of their church has declared a holy war against the West, including Estonia. This amounts to incitement to terrorism — if a similar action were taken by an Islamic cleric, would we tolerate it? Certainly not,” said Estonia’s Minister of Interior Lauri Läänemets.

And he doubts Kirill will retreat from his stance. “On the contrary, they are becoming more aggressive over time, as the Russian people are mobilized behind Putin’s regime’s aggression, which requires justifying the aggression in Ukraine as serving a ‘higher purpose’,” he added.

“This is how an extremist group speaks, but not the leader of the church,” agreed Pavel Borşevschi, another Orthodox priest in Moldova.

Moldova is currently home to almost 1,000 Russian Orthodox churches, with over 90 percent of Moldovans identifying as Orthodox Christians. Indeed, Kirill is still formally the highest spiritual leader of Borşevschi’s St. Dumitru’s church in Chișinău — and yet, “Patriarch Kirill’s name is not mentioned in the church on workdays. People can no longer tolerate the Russian church, which has transformed into a sect,” Borşevschi said.

n Russia, religion has been used as a tool for justifying the war in Ukraine. | Pool photo by Gavriil Grigorov via Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images

Then why, one might ask, is St. Dumitru’s Church still carrying on under Russian religious leadership, along with the entire Metropolis of Moldova?

“We must remain united regardless of everything. This is one of Christ’s teachings,” Borşevschi said. Instead, he hopes the Metropolitan of Moldova will spearhead a merger of the Moldovan Orthodox Church with the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Father Roman, however, has chosen not to wait. “When the war in Ukraine started, we said: That’s it!” he recounted. He rallied villagers to shift their allegiance from Russian religious leadership to the Romanian Patriarchate — a decision met with widespread agreement.

Since the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, over 60 churches in Moldova have made the same transition. And according to Roman, many more long for the shift but are being pressured against it. “For example, they come from the Metropolis of Moldova with papers and announce that you no longer have the right to conduct services, or you are no longer the region’s priest,” he said.

Officially, the Moldovan Orthodox Church is still committed to remaining under the Russian patriarchate, though it does condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Estonian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate is also seeking to distance itself from Kirill’s pro-war statements. And earlier this year, the country’s security service deemed the leader of its Orthodox church, Metropolitan Eugene Reshetnikov, a threat to Estonia’s security, resulting in his residency visa not being extended.

Läänemets thus believes the church can no longer continue under Kirill’s leadership, and the state now plans to take legal steps to make that change.

For this, he outlines two options: Either the Orthodox churches in Estonia separate themselves from the Moscow Patriarchate — as churches in Moldova are currently doing — or the state intervenes for security reasons and terminates the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate as an organization.

In Estonia’s neighboring country Latvia, for example, the local parliament approved a legislative amendment last year, declaring the Latvian Orthodox Church independent of the authority of churches outside Latvia.

However, the fact remains that in the religious realm, such decisions aren’t made by politicians. And as it stands, the Estonian Orthodox Church wants to continue under the Russian Patriarchate despite its pro-war statements.

“We are not responsible for the patriarch’s words,” said the Estonian church’s Vicar Bishop Daniel of Tartu. He dismisses the “Holy War” document as irrelevant.

According to Daniel, Kirill’s just “making a mistake, like people do.” And in his mind, “shifting one’s church allegiance for every mistake isn’t the solution.”

However, there’s another option to consider.

In 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople granted self-governance to the unified Orthodox Church of Ukraine. And Speaker of Estonia’s Parliament Lauri Hussar sees this as a possible solution for the churches of Estonia — to come under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

“Ultimately, this issue will be resolved when Ukraine wins this war, prompting local Estonian churches to reconsider their affiliations,” he said.