The bill to amend the Churches and Congregations Act, which focuses on the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia and its links to the Moscow Patriarchate, had originally passed in spring but President Alar Karis in late April returned the bill to the Riigikogu unsigned, saying it was unconstitutional.

The Riigikogu's Legal Affairs Committee last week revised the bill by removing a broad reference to individuals with significant foreign influence, a change supported by the head of state. The committee also extended the transition period from two to six months, as proposed by the Center Party. The new version states that religious organizations cannot be affiliated — through statutes, documents, or economic activities — with foreign spiritual or governing entities that threaten Estonia's national security or constitutional order.

Madis Timpson (Reform), chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, told "Aktuaalne kaamera": "Next week, either Wednesday or Thursday, will be the third reading, and then it will be adopted. I emphasize once again that this bill does not prohibit any faith, does not restrict freedom of religion, will not close any church or congregation. It is simply an abstract state-level norm, which provides a value-based assessment that: Perhaps such influencing activity is not good, and influencing activity occurring under the guise of religious freedom and canonical connection is not quite acceptable in the Republic of Estonia."

The factions of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Center Party Riigikogu factions proposed a filibuster of the bill's second reading Wednesday. Fourteen MPs voted in favor of this bill versus 62 against, so the proposal did not carry.

President Alar Karis had opted not to give his assent to the law in its original version, saying it was open to multiple interpretations and that vague wording could lead to legal disputes and broader impacts on all associations, including political parties. Karis also stressed that existing laws already provide tools to address security threats and called for more precise, constitutionally sound measures instead of broad bans.

Substantive amendments are possible ahead of the second reading of a bill.

This bill's revised wording states that religious organizations may not be connected to a spiritual center, governing body, religious association, or spiritual leader located in a foreign country and which poses a threat to the security of the Estonian state or to constitutional or public order.

Only cosmetic changes may be made to bills between their second and third reading and, again, the bill would need to be promulgated by President Alar Karis before entering into law.

In March, the former Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Moskva Patriarhaadi Eesti Õigeusu Kirik, MPEÕK) won the legal right to change its name to the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (Eesti Kristlik Õigeusu Kirik, EKÕK), which is the name it is now known as. This does not represent a formal separation of ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, however.

Both the church and the Pühtitsa Convent in Kuremäe, Ida-Viru County, had protested the Riigikogu's labeling the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia a supporter of Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine, but the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

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