Estonian Orthodox bodies appeal to European Court over Moscow-link law

The Estonian Christian Orthodox Church and the Pühtitsa Convent in Kuremäe have filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights, challenging a law that obliges them to sever administrative links with the Moscow Patriarchate and to name a new metropolitan by Dec. 28, or risk compulsory dissolution by the interior minister. The Supreme Court, sitting en banc on June 8, upheld the law’s interpretation as targeting administrative ties, though six judges, including the chief justice, dissented over its legal certainty.

Lawyers Artur Knjazev and Steven-Hristo Evestus argue the measure violates the absolute right to religious freedom protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, noting the interior ministry’s demand effectively forces believers to abandon their historic faith. The churches point out that no criminal conduct has been alleged and that the monastery houses about 90 nuns, most over 60, who have prayed for Estonia for more than a century.

The interior ministry has not offered a separate meeting with the convent, and the churches intend to continue dialogue while pursuing the European court case. The law, part of the Churches and Congregations Act amendments that took effect on June 27, 2026, follows the church’s 2025 name change after dropping “Moscow Patriarchate” from its title.