Estonia refused on Thursday to extend the residence permit of the head of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, a citizen of Russia, on the grounds that he poses a threat to national security, reports France Presse.

“The Estonian state does not extend the residence permit of the head of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Evgenii, whose official name is Valerii Rechetnikov, because his actions pose a risk to the security of Estonia,” the police said. The council announced the Estonian border in a statement.

The 66-year-old Rechetnikov’s residence permit expires on February 6, the police reports.

“He did not change his behavior, although he was warned”

“The state decided to deny him the extension of his residence permit, because Rechetnikov supports the attacker with his public actions and speeches and did not change his behavior, although he was warned,” explained the head of the Border Police Department of the Northern Prefecture. Indrek Aru.

Aru insisted that this decision concerns a specific person and not the Estonian Orthodox community of the Moscow Patriarchate or other clergy.

Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs spoke to Rechetnikov several times, explaining to him that he should stop justifying Russia’s war in Ukraine, the police added.

Rechetnikov’s expulsion from Estonia was demanded for a year

Estonian politicians called for Rechetnikov to be expelled from Estonia from January 2023 after the church announced a prayer “for peace” with the pro-Kremlin political movement Koos (Together).

One of the leaders of Koos, Ivo Peterson, was arrested after a trip to the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, and he is being investigated for treason.

Orthodox Christians make up about 16% of the population of Estonia. About 150,000 of them belong to the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and about 270,000 to the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.

Both churches consider themselves the legitimate heirs of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which operated between 1920 and 1945, before the country’s annexation by the Soviet Union.

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