Raik says Narva prayer breakfast mixes church and politics

Former Narva mayor Katri Raik has criticised a prayer breakfast planned at Narva Town Hall on October 15, saying the event mixes religion and politics, ERR reported. The event is organised by three churches in cooperation with the city’s governing Plaan B and Centre parties, she said.

The organisers are Dmitri Andrejev, pastor of the Christian Congregation of Narva; Artur Põld, senior pastor of the Jõhvi congregation of the Estonian Methodist Church; and Lazar, also known as Aleksandr Gurkin, bishop of Narva and Peipsiveere in the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church.

Raik, who leads the Respekt opposition faction on Narva City Council, called the event political and said the city authorities appeared to be distancing themselves from it after the city coat of arms appeared on an announcement. She said she had no objection to cooperation between churches, but argued that the event had a political tone and could increase tensions. Raik said she would not attend.

An organiser said Mayor Jaan Toots of the Centre Party and council chair Urbo Vaarmann of Plaan B had initially considered covering the costs from the city budget. Vaarmann acknowledged proposing the event, saying similar gatherings had worked well in Tartu and elsewhere in Estonia. He said the city was not involved in organising or financing it.

Vaarmann said the council office forwarded invitations to all city councillors as part of its usual practice of distributing information about local events. He plans to attend and said each councillor could decide whether to go.

The Estonian Christian Orthodox Church was formerly known as the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It began changing its name in September 2024 and received final approval to adopt the new name in March 2025.