ERKKI KOORT ⟩ A representation of holy warriors opposite the Riigikogu

In Russia, the Orthodox Church has always been in the service of the ruler and closely related to the exercise of power. Patriarch Kirill with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Oleg Varov, patriarchia.ru

• The Russian Orthodox Church declared a holy war.
• The Orthodox Church in Moscow has always been an instrument of the authorities.
• The FSB found suitable «evidence» inside icons.

The Russian state power and the Orthodox Church have historically been closely connected. Now the patriarch of Russia has declared a holy war against the West, while holding it in Ukraine, writes Erkki Koort, security expert at Postimees and the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences.

On March 27, 2024, a meeting of the World Russian People's Council was held, where a holy war against the decadent West was declared. There is no doubt that this term also includes Estonia.

According to the decisions of this body, there is no Ukraine, and indeed no Belarus. There is one Russia, consisting of White, Little and Great Russians, of course under the leadership of the latter. The current holy war is not being waged in Ukraine, but in southwestern Russia.

A small suggestion to the coalition agreement negotiators – also consider the location of a representative office that declared a holy war against the West opposite the Riigikogu building.

The World Russian People's Council is an organization that operates under the leadership and direction of the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. This organization also has its own sub-organization in Estonia, which has been given the use of church assets located in Estonia for 50 years based on an agreement concluded in 2002.

With this contract, 18 objects were handed over, and before that, a contract had been signed for the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Pühtitsa (Kuremäe) Convent. These last two objects are under the direct authority of the patriarch of Moscow and the Nevsky Cathedral also houses the official representation of the Moscow Patriarchate. Nevsky Cathedral belongs to the city of Tallinn and the convent to the state. A small suggestion to the coalition agreement negotiators – also consider the location of a representative office that declared a holy war against the West opposite the Riigikogu building.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, listed as an asset of the city of Tallinn, has been given to the Russian Orthodox Church to use and is under the direct authority of Patriarch Kirill, who has declared a holy war. Photo: Taavi Sepp

True, the sub-organization of the Moscow Patriarchate operating in Estonia withdrew from the holy war statement, although its representatives were present at the adoption of it.

It is clear that the Orthodox Church operating in Russia has been inextricably linked to power. Although the organization was terribly persecuted by the Bolsheviks at first, the KGB integrated it into the control of society in the USSR. The current Patriarch Kirill has also had a KGB agent name.

The role of the Orthodox Church in the war will increase

Four months ago, the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences predicted the following in its research report on Russia's future and its impact: «The power vertical in Russia is maintained, among other things, by the Russian Orthodox Church, the leadership of which has unreservedly supported the Kremlin regime. There is no reason to believe that the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church would change its course of action in supporting the war of aggression against Ukraine. Rather, if Russia's military losses increase, they will try to canonize the invasion even more and support recruitment into the army.»

The Russian security service FSB announced on April 2 that it had seized several dozen kilograms of explosives hidden inside Orthodox icons and sent from Ukraine.

That is exactly how it has gone and the role of the Orthodox Church will undoubtedly increase during the coming war years, but words alone are not enough. It is necessary to provide the people with some kind of evidence that would confirm the statement. As ordered, explosives are found in icons that have been smuggled into Russia from the location of the holy war with the help of the «satanic West».

Namely, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday, April 2, that it had confiscated several dozen kilograms of explosives. It is said to have been hidden inside Orthodox icons and sent from Ukraine. According to the special service, the explosive substance had moved through the European Union member states of Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, near the border of which the goods were discovered in the Pskov region.

All in all, the FSB reportedly detained one person with icons containing 70 kilograms of home-mad explosives and explosive devices. Some of the suspects are said to be still on the run.

That someone would send home-made explosives by such a roundabout route is beyond belief. There is no doubt that mixing the components together in Russia would have been much easier than bothering to cross so many borders. No doubt 70 kilograms of explosives can fit in a sufficient number of icons, but there are certainly easier hiding places. The news does not indicate that the shipment was intercepted near the border. Thus, it had reached Russian territory across the border, which is guarded by the FSB itself.

And the final question. Why Latvia? The reason likely is that Latvia has started requesting autocephaly for its Orthodox Church. As a result of this process, the Orthodox Church operating in Latvia should be separated from the composition/subordination of the Moscow Patriarchate. This is apparently also the reason. Lithuania has the same «karma», but Russia does not have a common border with Lithuania. There is only a small enclave to the west, but there would have been no point in taking this shipment to Königsberg.

In summary, a holy war has been declared by the Moscow Church and appropriate «evidence» has also been created to accompany this. This story has all the necessary elements. The explosive comes from Ukraine, that is, from the war zone of «southwestern Russia». It passes through the countries of the European Union. It comes from Latvia, which is seeking separation from the mother church. And on top of that, it is also hidden in Orthodox icons, which must cause even more disgust. All the conditions to justify a holy war are there.