But authorities are now questioning whether the Estonian church will be accepted. “The highest spiritual leaders of their churches have declared holy war against Western countries, including Estonia. This amounts to incitement to terrorism. If similar actions were carried out by Islamic clerics, we would Do you condone that? Certainly not,” said Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Ränemetz.
And he doubts that Kirill will withdraw from the position. “On the contrary, it has become more aggressive over time as the Russian people have mobilized behind the Putin regime’s aggression, justifying the invasion of Ukraine as serving a ‘higher purpose.’ “We need to become more accredited,” he added.
“This is the way extremist groups talk, but not the church leaders,” agreed Pavel Borszewski, another Orthodox priest in Moldova.
There are currently approximately 1,000 Russian Orthodox churches in Moldova, and more than 90 percent of Moldovans identify as Orthodox believers. In fact, although Kirill is still officially the highest spiritual leader of the Church of St. Dumitru of Borszewski in Chisinau, “the name of Patriarch Kirill is never mentioned in church on working days.” People We can no longer tolerate the Russian Church, which has become a sect,” Borszewski said.
One might ask, then, why does the Church of St. Dumitru, along with the entire Moldova metropolis, continue to operate under Russian religious direction?
“We must remain united no matter what. This is one of the teachings of Christ,” Borszewski said. Instead, he wants the Moldova Metropolitan Region to take the lead in the merger of the Moldovan and Romanian Orthodox Churches.