Doc. 9167

4 July 2001

Situation of the Orthodox Church believers in Estonia

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mr Slutsky and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The Assembly notes that over a period of years the Estonian authorities have been refusing to register the Charter of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy with which the overwhelming majority (more than 100 thousand) of Orthodox believers affiliate themselves.

2.       Moreover, the Estonian Parliament has recently adopted a new Law on Churches and Parishes which contains provisions discriminatory to several churches prohibiting, in particular, the registration of churches whose decisions are to be approved by church authorities outside Estonia. A number of Estonian political parties have already appealed to the President of Estonia not to sign the law.

3.       The refusal to register the Estonian Orthodox Church hinders its legitimate activity in Estonia and hurts the feelings of its followers. It also leads to unnecessary dispute over church property and can cause further division in Estonian society and confrontation between the different groups of believers. Unfortunately, this situation is closely intertwined with the unresolved issues of national minorities’ rights.

4.       The Assembly believes that such an attitude is in contradiction with the standards of freedom of religion set out in international documents and the resolutions adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and runs counter to the interests of the consolidation of society and the honouring of minorities’ rights.

5.       The Assembly urges the Estonian authorities to register the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy, to amend the Law on Churches and Parishes in order to make it non-discriminatory towards the various churches and to take practical steps to ensure respect for the religious rights of all national groups living in Estonia.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed : ¹

Slutsky, Russia, SOC

Bilovol, Ukraine, EDG

Cilevics, Latvia, SOC

Dmitrijevas, Lithuania, SOC

Elo, Finland, SOC

Gaber, Ukraine, SOC

Gamzatova, Russia, UEL

Gostev, Russia, UEL

Grachev, Russia, EPP/CD

Hovhannisyan, Armenia, UEL

Ivanov S., Estonia, SOC

Iwinski, Poland, SOC

Kanelli, Greece, UEL

Luhtanen, Finland, SOC

Maltsev, Russia, UEL

Manukyan, Armenia, UEL

Marmazov, Ukraine, UEL

Oliynyk, Ukraine, UEL

Popescu, Ukraine, SOC

Poroshenko, Ukraine, SOC

Rogozin, Russia, EDG

Shaklein, Russia, UEL

Simonenko, Ukraine, UEL

Tevdoradze, Georgia, EDG

Ustiugov, Russia, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group