Estonia’s Supreme Court to review president’s complaint over law on churches
President of Estonia Alar Karis. Photo: SIPA/Scanpix
Estonian President Alar Karis will challenge the anti-church law in the Constitutional Court, Religion Pravda reports.
The hearing is scheduled for February 3, 2026, in Tartu. The session has invited the Minister of Justice, representatives of parliament, the government, the Orthodox Church, the Pühtitsa Stavropegial Convent, and the Estonian Council of Churches.
It should be recalled that on April 10, 2025, the Estonian parliament adopted a law obliging religious organizations to amend their charters if they depend on foreign religious centers recognized as a potential threat to national security. Government representatives do not conceal that this law is directed primarily against the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church, which maintains canonical unity with the Russian Orthodox Church.
On October 3, 2025, President Alar Karis submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court requesting that the amendments to the Law on Churches and Religious Associations adopted by parliament be declared unconstitutional.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the United Nations had expressed concern over pressure on the Estonian Orthodox Church.
Read also
TRC detains multi-child father and UOC deacon in Lutsk
Deacon Andriy Virny of the Three Holy Hierarchs Church had an official deferment and three children, however TRC employees detained him, insulting him for his affiliation with the UOC.
Usyk: Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra proves the antiquity of the Ukrainian nation
Speaking in the United States, the world champion described the Kyiv monastery as evidence that the Ukrainian nation has lived on its land for thousands of years.
UOC priest wounded in drone strike in Bilopillia
Priest Maksym Andrukhov sustained shrapnel wounds to his arm, head and leg; his mother Valentyna was also injured.
Culture Ministry allows possibility of handing Lavra’s “Afghan” church to OCU
The Ministry of Culture is ready to consider handing over to the OCU the Resurrection Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, known as the “Afghan” church.
In Cyprus, enthronement of new Metropolitan of Paphos held amid protests
The enthronement of the new Paphos hierarch was performed by Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus at St. Theodore’s Cathedral.
Official complains that believers are defending monastery in Kremenets
The director of the Kremenets Reserve complained that a large number of believers gathered at the monastery to support the monastic community during an attempted inspection.