The abbess of Filaret: « We are forced to be an apple of contention »
Today, March 20, a press conference was held in the walls of the Pyukhtitsky Assumption Stavropigial Monastery, dedicated to discussing the changes proposed by the Estonian authorities in the law on churches and parishes, which can affect the future of the monastery and even lead to its closure.
The press conference was attended not only by journalists of Russian-speaking and estonical media, but also representatives of the local authorities of the Alutaguse of the Ida-Viruma district, where the monastery, lawyers representing the interests of the Pyukhtitsky Monastery at meetings of the Riigikogu Legal Commission are located.
Such a meeting with representatives of the media takes place in the monastery for the first time and is dictated by new circumstances. Last week, it became known that the EPC MP and the Pyukhtitsky Monastery could not achieve the recognition of the Riigikogogu, which declared the Moscow Patriarchate by an organization supporting the military aggression of the Russian Federation illegal, in court. On Monday, the bill on amendments to the law on churches and parishes was to consider the legal commission of the Riigikoga and decide whether to send it to the second reading to the Great Hall. Earlier, on February 19, 2025, the bill passed the first reading in Riigikoga.
During the press conference, which lasted more than two hours, the abbess of Filaret, answering the questions of journalists, repeatedly emphasized that the sisters completely devoted their lives to prayer and serving God, consciously remaining outside the politics. She also explained that the monastery does not have the authority to solve the issues of monitoring of the abode and expressed hope for understanding and support from the authorities.
“We invited you to our own to talk about our faith, our lives and show how our days are in the monastery-what we think about and what we feel in a situation where we want to subordinate us to the Estonian Apostolic-Orthodox Church (Patriarchate of Constantinople),” said the abbess. – Now we are forced to make a canonical crime. This is a spiritual murder for us. ”
On behalf of the nuns, the abbess of the monastery expressed the hope that they will be heard and understood and will be able to continue their ministry in the monastery, which is an integral part of Estonia’s spiritual and cultural heritage.
Journalists of the Narva Newspaper will tell you about the press conference on the site and in the issue on March 27.
A tour of the monastery was also organized for journalists.
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