TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- Only the crackle of candles and the
shuffling of worshipers break the silence in the Alexander Nevsky
church. But the icon-covered sanctuary is at the center of a
thundering international battle of power and faith.
        A long-simmering dispute involving Orthodox faithful in several
countries exploded last week when the top Orthodox authority agreed
to take control of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, which
for five decades had been under the jurisdiction of the Russian
Orthodox Church.
        The Patriarchate of Constantinople said it was righting
historical wrongs by restoring the status of the Estonian church,
which was purged and forcibly placed under the Russian church's
control after the Soviet army occupied the Baltic nation in 1940.
        Russian faithful counter that it was a power-grab by a church
that has hardly any Estonian members left. They want to remain
under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church.
        ``We're shocked,'' said Pavel Mashkov, curator at the Nevsky
church, with its all-Russian congregation. ``We can't believe this
is happening.''
        Added Mashkov, whispering in a dark corner of the cathedral:
``You know, this is all a very dangerous game.''
        If Moscow's fury is any measure, Mashkov might well be right.
        The Russian church blasted its mother church in Istanbul, Turkey
and broke off relations. A statement from the Russian church said
the Patriarchate of Constantinople had ``shattered ages-long
Orthodox unity, which has become a tragedy for millions of Orthodox
believers.''
        Constantinople shot back, accusing Moscow of intransigence.
        ``You have not wanted to comprehend the truly peacemaking
intentions of the Most Holy Mother Church,'' it said in a
statement. ``Instead, you accuse the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
transgressing the Holy Canons and hurl uncharacteristic threats at
it and us.''
        The feud is another legacy of the Soviet Union's collapse.
        Since winning independence in 1991, Estonia has moved to erase
the consequences of Soviet rule.
        Many Estonians, who are mainly Lutheran, say Moscow has used the
Russian Orthodox Church to maintain a foothold in their country.
        ``The mission of the Russian Orthodox Church has always been to
protect Russian power in neighboring countries,'' Estonia's LUUP
magazine wrote this week. ``That is more true today than ever.''
        The Estonians also maintain that the pro-Moscow wing of the
Estonian church is infiltrated with old KGB agents -- a claim the
rival faction denies.
        But if the Estonians insist they could never find salvation
under Moscow's domain, Russians say they can never find salvation
outside it.
        ``We feel our mother church is in Moscow,' said Mashkov, the
curator. ``And you can't change your mother, can you?''
        After the Soviet takeover, the number of ethnic Estonian
believers dwindled from 200,000 to 10,000. Thanks to Soviet-era
immigration, the tally of ethnic Russian believers has grown to
more than 100,000.
        That, pro-Moscow Russians argue, has changed the equation.
        The pro-Russian faction is especially furious that church
property expropriated by the Soviets is now being handed over
almost exclusively to the Estonian-dominated wing of the church.
        Courts have ruled that the Estonian branch, whose leadership
went into exile in Sweden after the Soviet takeover, is the sole
legal heir to scores of Orthodox churches and buildings across the
Baltic nation.
        Estonians say it's a straightforward question of law, and they
insist that no Russian congregations will be evicted from any
property or churches.
        Russians say the property dispute is an example of outright
 anti-Russian discrimination.
        For his part, the curator at the pro-Moscow Nevsky church
refuses to pin the blame for his congregation's troubles on either
the Estonian government or Constantinople.
        ``These things have befallen us because we haven't been good
enough,'' said Mashkov. ``It's all simply a message from God. We'll
just have to pray more.''