Estonia's Minister of Internal Affairs, Lauri Läänemets, has demanded that the Estonian Orthodox Church sever its ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and declare Patriarch Kirill a heretic, according to ERR news agency.

Läänemets informed reporters about a recent meeting held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs with three bishops from the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. The meeting, mediated by Urmas Viilma, the Metropolitan of the Apostolic Orthodox Church and President of the Estonian Council of Churches, was part of ongoing discussions between the church council and the government.

"We reiterated the security concerns that Estonia finds unacceptable and explained the outcomes we expect. We also listened to representatives from the Moscow church and discussed various solutions and canonical rules within the Orthodox Church. According to their canon, in cases of heresy or false teachings, parishes can take independent steps and are not bound to their previous commitments," stated Läänemets.

The minister expressed frustration that local representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have not yet accused Patriarch Kirill of heresy. "The aim is to end both legal and religious ties of subordination to Moscow," he explained.

The Russian Orthodox Church responded with bewilderment to the minister's statements. Vladimir Legoyda, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and Media, remarked that the Estonian interior minister seems to be living in a parallel reality.

"Estonia's Interior Minister lives in a parallel reality where he imagines himself either as a grand inquisitor or as a commissioner for religious affairs resurrected from the communist past of this country," Legoyda wrote on his Telegram channel.

Previously, the Estonian parliament declared the Russian Orthodox Church an "institution justifying aggression." Minister Läänemets has also proposed recognizing the Moscow Patriarchate as a terrorist organization to ultimately ban its activities in Estonia. The Estonian Orthodox Church has stated that it does not intend to break canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, citing historical connections.