Welcoming speech by the President of the Republic at a dinner held in honour of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Your Holiness,

distinguished guests,

I am happy to welcome you once again to Estonia and congratulate you on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the autonomy of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.

Thanks to your many visits, you know our country very well  as one to whose progress Your Holiness has personally contributed in building up the Orthodox Church in Estonia.

This reinforced the message of Estonian Bishop and Martyr Platon on the year of the establishment of independent Republic of Estonia: “/---/ I, as well as the head of the Estonian Orthodox Church and hence the spiritual leader of one-fifth of the Estonian people, support with all my might the firm undertaking of the Estonian people: to arrive at its complete independence.”

That’s right – complete independence. The kind of self-determination that respects the people of this country and their freedoms. Many Estonian people have suffered under foreign rule for standing up for this freedom; this is also what cost Martyr and Bishop Platon his life.

Dear friends!

We can say with certainty that the restoration of the autonomy of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, and thus the elimination of historical injustice, played an important moral role in the journey towards the re-establishment of our independence.

I would hereby like to recall the words of one the great founders of our country, Jaan Tõnisson, 10 years before the establishment of free Estonia: “A nation that bases its endeavours in life on morality thrives and grows, even if it is small.”

You, as the ecumenical patriarch of the Orthodox Church, and we, as a small nation, understand well that morality is our strongest weapon. We cannot rely on loudness. However, if our views are ethical and logical and our thoughts precise and intelligent, they cannot go unnoticed in the world.

It is this morality that does not allow us to remain indifferent in the face of injustice and you, Your Holiness, have not remained indifferent.

You have not remained indifferent in the face of the pain that Russia’s war causes in Ukraine. You have supported the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. You have kept in your thoughts and prayers the millions of Ukrainians who have had to flee from war, the homes of thousands of families that have been destroyed or razed to the ground and the thousands of people whose lives have been taken, including more than 500 children, and the tens of thousands more who have been deported to Russia and Belarus.

War is the most atrocious manifestation of human society and we must all do everything in our power to stop it so that Ukraine is able retain its freedom and take back its land and people.

For years, you have been committed to ensuring that the world acknowledges the growing environmental problems, the loss of biodiversity and the need to keep our planet habitable for future generations.

I have considerable affinity with your view that our attempts to protect the natural environment must be interdisciplinary. A single scientific discipline or stakeholder should not have a monopoly on a vision for a better future. It must be our meaningful joint effort.

Only in this way can we find solutions that reduce the number of challenges accompanying major societal changes as much as possible. Fair solutions exist and are supported by research and innovation. It is essential for us all to have one clear goal: a habitable environment on a sustainable planet.

Your Holiness,

I thank you for the moral resolve with which you have built bridges between the heart and the mind and kept the world from remaining indifferent. Your visit to Estonia is a token not only of consideration and respect for our nation and culture, but also of our shared history. We are happy to welcome you in free and democratic Estonia on this anniversary year of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.

I wish you peace, health, wisdom and prosperity!