Orthodoxy in Estonia
Encyclopedia
Orthodoxy in Estonia is practiced by 12.8% of the population, making it the second most identified religion in this majority-secular state after Lutheran Christianity
with 13.6%. Orthodoxy, or more specifically Eastern Orthodox Christianity
, is mostly practiced within Estonia
's Russian
ethnic minority. According to the 2000 Estonian census, 72.9% of those who identified as Orthodox Christians were of Russian descent.
Today, there are two branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church operating in Estonia: the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, an autonomous church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
, and the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
, a semi-autonomous diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church
.
Orthodoxy
was most likely first introduced in the 10th through 12th centuries by missionaries from Novgorod and Pskov
active among the Estonia
ns in the southeast regions of the area close to Pskov. The first mention of an Orthodox congregation in Estonia dates from 1030. Around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) the Estonians established the town Tarbatu (modern Tartu
). In 1030, the Kievan prince, Yaroslav the Wise
, raided Tarbatu and built his own fort called Yuryev, as well as, allegedly, a congregation in a cathedral dedicated to his patron saint, St. George. The congregation may have survived until 1061, when, according to chronicles, Yuryev was burned to the ground and the Orthodox Christians expelled.
As a result of the Baltic Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century, northern Estonia was conquered by Denmark
and the southern part of the country by the Teutonic Order and later by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
, and thus all of present-day Estonia fell under the control of Western Christianity
. However, Russian merchants from Novgorod and Pskov
were later able to set up small Orthodox congregations in several Estonian towns. One such congregation was expelled from the town of Dorpat (Tartu
) by the Germans in 1472, who martyred their priest
, Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on January 8).
Little is known about the history of the church in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many Old Believers
fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms
introduced by Patriarch Nikon
of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was part of the Imperial Russian Empire
, having been ceded
by the Swedish Empire
in 1721 following its defeat in the Great Northern War
. During the 1800s, a significant number of Estonian peasants converted to the emperor's Orthodox faith in the (unfulfilled) hope of being rewarded with land. This led to the establishment of the diocese
of Riga
(in modern Latvia
) by the Russian Orthodox Church
in 1850. In the late 19th century, a wave of Russification
was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by the local Estonian clergy. The Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa Convent
in Kuremäe
were built around this time.
grew steadily through the 19th century, the Estonian clergy also aspired for greater independence, starting with an Estonian diocese
having a see
in Tallinn headed by an Estonian
bishop. In 1917 a plenary council chose Paul Kulbusch, a priest of the St. Petersburg Estonian Orthodox community, to become Bishop Platon of Tallinn. A staunch advocate of independence, he was executed two years later by the Red Army
during the Estonian War of Independence.
Following the Russian recognition
of an independent Estonian state, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Tikhon
, in 1920 recognized the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC) as autonomous in economic, administrative and educational concerns, and granted it temporary autocephaly
. Archbishop Alexander Paulus was elected and ordained Metropolitan Alexander of Tallinn and All Estonia, head of the EAOC.
Prior to this, Soviet Russia
had adopted a Marxist–Leninist ideology which held as an ideological goal the elimination of religion and its replacement with state atheism
. In response, Patriarch Tikhon had excommunicated
the Soviet leadership in 1918, leading to a period of intense persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church
. In April 1922, Tikhon was imprisoned, and the Estonian clergy lost contact with the Moscow Patriarchate. In September 1922 the Council of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church petitioned the Patriarch of Constantinople, Meletius IV
, to (1) transfer control of the Estonian church from the Russian Orthodox Church to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and (2) clarify the Estonian church's canonical status. In 1923 the Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a tomos (ecclesiastical edict) which brought the EAOC under Constantinople's jurisdiction and granted it autonomy, but not full autocephaly
.
In 1935 the church legally registered its statute with the state under the name Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. This would have important legal ramifications later.
The Estonian church remained a subject of the Constantinople Patriarchate until World War II
. By that time, roughly one fifth of the total Estonian population were Orthodox Christians, including Konstantin Päts
, Estonia's first President
. There were over 210,000 adherents (mostly ethnic Estonians), three bishops, 156 parishes, 131 priests, 19 deacons, and a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu
. Notable Orthodox institutions included the Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery in Petseri
, two convent
s—in Narva
and Kuremäe
, a priory
in Tallinn and a seminary
in Petseri.
, as part of a secret territory-dividing agreement in the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact of August 1939. During the Soviet occupation, the Estonian church's decision to break with Moscow in favor of Constantinople was ruled illegal. Consequently, the church lost its autonomy and was merged into the Russian Orthodox Church on 28 February 1941. More than half of the Estonian Orthodox clergy resigned in protest.
This arrangement proved to be short-lived, as Nazi Germany
invaded Estonia in July 1941. This triggered the first schism
in the history of Estonian Orthodoxy; in 1942 the church declared its autonomy and renewed relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate, but the Estonian diocese
of Narva
, mostly populated by ethnic Russians, maintained its connection to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In time, Germany's fortunes changed. By early 1944, Russia's Red Army
had pushed the invading German troops back to the Estonian border. With Soviet reoccupation imminent, an estimated 100,000 people fled Estonia. Among these were Metropolitan Alexander, who along with roughly 20 priests established the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Exile at Stockholm
. There, the EAOC in Exile served about 10,000 Estonian Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Despite stiff resistance from retreating German troops and Estonian nationalists, the Soviet Union reasserted control
over Estonia by autumn of 1944. In 1945, the Moscow Patriarchate liquidated the EAOC, dismissing the remaining clergy and bringing all Estonian congregations into a single diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Estonian Orthodox church remained split as long as Estonia was an annexed state
of the Soviet Union, nearly half a century. Before his death in 1953, Metropolitan Alexander established his congregation as an exarchate under Constantinople. A synod
was organized in Sweden in 1958 to maintain the continuity of the church in exile. Within Estonia, the church continued as a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1978, at the request of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ruled the 1923 autonomy-granting tomos "inoperable", meaning Constantinople acknowledged the impossibility of an autonomous Orthodox church operating within Soviet Estonia.
from a disintegrating Soviet Union
, restoring the pre-1940 parliamentary government
. Divisions within the Orthodox community soon arose; some wanted to remain under the Moscow Patriarchate, while others wished to reinstate the autonomous church in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
There was a legal aspect to the question as well. Once independent, Estonia began a program of property reform - that is, restoring property expropriated
by the Soviets during the occupation. But which church - the one in exile, under Constantinople, or the one in Estonia, under Moscow - was the rightful Estonian Orthodox Church?
Early in 1993, the Estonian parliament passed the Churches and Congregations Act, which required all religious institutions to re-register with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In August of the same year, the church in exile registered the 1935 statute, meaning it considered itself the continuation of the original Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. In November, the Moscow-led diocese attempted to register the same 1935 statute, but was refused. In response, the diocese sued, attempting to establish that it, and not the church in exile, had maintained continuity of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church during Soviet occupation. The court rebuffed this effort, ruling that the church in exile was indeed the legitimate successor of the Orthodox church in post-Soviet Estonia, making the EAOC the sole legal heir of all pre-1940 Orthodox church properties in Estonia.
The Moscow Patriarchate strongly opposed this ruling. Of particular concern were about 20 churches - built before the 1940s, and therefore legally the property of the EAOC - run by the Moscow-led diocese. In February 1996, the Constantinople Patriarchate reinstated the 1923 tomos that granted the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church's autonomy and established canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stating that while the tomos had been declared inoperable in 1978, it "was not regarded as being void, invalid or revoked". The Moscow Patriarchate, whose Estonian-born Patriarch Alexei II regarded his native Estonia as part of his canonical territory, abruptly severed relations with Constantinople, including a break of communion
between the churches.
Relations between the conflicting Patriarchates were restored three months later, after meetings in Zurich
reached the following agreement: both the autonomous church and the Russian diocese could operate in parallel within Estonia, and individual parishes and clergy would be allowed to choose which jurisdiction to follow. A referendum was held, and a majority of parishes (54 of 84, generally along ethnic lines) chose the autonomous Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, even though a majority of the parishioners supported the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Russian diocese continued its campaign to claim legal succession until 2001, when it dropped attempts to register the 1935 statute, and instead applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the name "Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate". The EAOC protested, saying it was too similar to "Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church". At first, the government sided with the EAOC, who suggested instead names such as the "Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia" or the "Russian Orthodox Church diocese". The Estonian Business Association soon lobbied on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate, because statements by Russian officials led them to believe a favorable registration would lead to reduced customs tariffs on Estonian-Russian trade. The effort succeeded, and on 17 April 2002 the Russian diocese was registered as the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
(EOCMP). This did not bring about any of the hoped-for tariff reductions, though.
The issues around property ownership have been mostly settled. In 2002, the EAOC agreed to transfer ownership of churches used by the EOCMP to the state, who in turn would issue 50-year leases on the properties to the EOCMP. In return, the state agreed to renovate EAOC churches.
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
with 13.6%. Orthodoxy, or more specifically Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, is mostly practiced within Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
's Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
ethnic minority. According to the 2000 Estonian census, 72.9% of those who identified as Orthodox Christians were of Russian descent.
Today, there are two branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church operating in Estonia: the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, an autonomous church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, and the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
The Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is a semi-autonomous diocese of the Patriarchate of Moscow whose primate is appointed by the Holy Synod of the latter. Its official name in English is the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate...
, a semi-autonomous diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
History
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
was most likely first introduced in the 10th through 12th centuries by missionaries from Novgorod and Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
active among the Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
ns in the southeast regions of the area close to Pskov. The first mention of an Orthodox congregation in Estonia dates from 1030. Around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) the Estonians established the town Tarbatu (modern Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
). In 1030, the Kievan prince, Yaroslav the Wise
Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise (Old Norse: Jarizleifr; ; Old East Slavic and Russian: Ярослав Мудрый; Ukrainian: Ярослав Мудрий; c...
, raided Tarbatu and built his own fort called Yuryev, as well as, allegedly, a congregation in a cathedral dedicated to his patron saint, St. George. The congregation may have survived until 1061, when, according to chronicles, Yuryev was burned to the ground and the Orthodox Christians expelled.
As a result of the Baltic Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century, northern Estonia was conquered by Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the southern part of the country by the Teutonic Order and later by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were a military order founded by Bishop Albert of Riga in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...
, and thus all of present-day Estonia fell under the control of Western Christianity
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...
. However, Russian merchants from Novgorod and Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
were later able to set up small Orthodox congregations in several Estonian towns. One such congregation was expelled from the town of Dorpat (Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
) by the Germans in 1472, who martyred their priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on January 8).
Little is known about the history of the church in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many Old Believers
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms
Raskol
Raskol |schism]]') was the event of splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in mid-17th century, triggered by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in 1653, aiming to establish uniformity between the Greek and Russian church practices.-The Raskol:...
introduced by Patriarch Nikon
Patriarch Nikon
Nikon , born Nikita Minin , was the seventh patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church...
of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was part of the Imperial Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, having been ceded
Treaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and Swedish Empire on 30 August / 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad , after Sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and Frederiksborg.During...
by the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
in 1721 following its defeat in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
. During the 1800s, a significant number of Estonian peasants converted to the emperor's Orthodox faith in the (unfulfilled) hope of being rewarded with land. This led to the establishment of the diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
(in modern Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
) by the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
in 1850. In the late 19th century, a wave of Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by the local Estonian clergy. The Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa Convent
Puhtitsa Convent
Pühtitsa Convent is a convent located in Eastern Estonia between Lake Peipus and the Gulf of Finland.-History:...
in Kuremäe
Kuremäe
-See also:*Pühtitsa Convent...
were built around this time.
The road to autonomy
As Estonian nationalismEstonian national awakening
The Estonian Age of Awakening is a period in history where Estonians came to acknowledge themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves. This period is considered to begin in 1850s with greater rights being granted to commoners and to end with the declaration of the Republic of...
grew steadily through the 19th century, the Estonian clergy also aspired for greater independence, starting with an Estonian diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
having a see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in Tallinn headed by an Estonian
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
bishop. In 1917 a plenary council chose Paul Kulbusch, a priest of the St. Petersburg Estonian Orthodox community, to become Bishop Platon of Tallinn. A staunch advocate of independence, he was executed two years later by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during the Estonian War of Independence.
Following the Russian recognition
Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Estonian)
Tartu Peace Treaty or Treaty of Tartu was a peace treaty between Estonia and Russian SFSR signed on February 2, 1920 ending the Estonian War of Independence. The terms of the treaty stated that "Russia unreservedly recognises" the independence of Republic of Estonia de jure and renounced in...
of an independent Estonian state, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Tikhon
Tikhon of Moscow
Saint Tikhon of Moscow , born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin , was the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Church during the early years of the Soviet Union, 1917 through 1925.-Early life:...
, in 1920 recognized the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC) as autonomous in economic, administrative and educational concerns, and granted it temporary autocephaly
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
. Archbishop Alexander Paulus was elected and ordained Metropolitan Alexander of Tallinn and All Estonia, head of the EAOC.
Prior to this, Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
had adopted a Marxist–Leninist ideology which held as an ideological goal the elimination of religion and its replacement with state atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. In response, Patriarch Tikhon had excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
the Soviet leadership in 1918, leading to a period of intense persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. In April 1922, Tikhon was imprisoned, and the Estonian clergy lost contact with the Moscow Patriarchate. In September 1922 the Council of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church petitioned the Patriarch of Constantinople, Meletius IV
Patriarch Meletius IV of Constantinople
Meletius IV was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1921 to 1923. He also served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria under the episcopal name Meletius II from 1926 to 1935...
, to (1) transfer control of the Estonian church from the Russian Orthodox Church to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and (2) clarify the Estonian church's canonical status. In 1923 the Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a tomos (ecclesiastical edict) which brought the EAOC under Constantinople's jurisdiction and granted it autonomy, but not full autocephaly
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
.
In 1935 the church legally registered its statute with the state under the name Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. This would have important legal ramifications later.
The Estonian church remained a subject of the Constantinople Patriarchate until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. By that time, roughly one fifth of the total Estonian population were Orthodox Christians, including Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1 was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics...
, Estonia's first President
President of Estonia
The President of the Republic is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.Estonia is a parliamentary republic, therefore President is mainly a symbolic figure and holds no executive power. The President has to suspend his membership in any political party for his term in office...
. There were over 210,000 adherents (mostly ethnic Estonians), three bishops, 156 parishes, 131 priests, 19 deacons, and a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
. Notable Orthodox institutions included the Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery in Petseri
Pechory
Pechory : Petseri; ) is a town and the administrative center of Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. Population: The population includes a few hundred ethnic Estonians.The town is famous for the Russian Orthodox Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery....
, two convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
s—in Narva
Narva
Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
and Kuremäe
Kuremäe
-See also:*Pühtitsa Convent...
, a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in Tallinn and a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Petseri.
Soviet occupation
In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, as part of a secret territory-dividing agreement in the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact of August 1939. During the Soviet occupation, the Estonian church's decision to break with Moscow in favor of Constantinople was ruled illegal. Consequently, the church lost its autonomy and was merged into the Russian Orthodox Church on 28 February 1941. More than half of the Estonian Orthodox clergy resigned in protest.
This arrangement proved to be short-lived, as Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded Estonia in July 1941. This triggered the first schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
in the history of Estonian Orthodoxy; in 1942 the church declared its autonomy and renewed relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate, but the Estonian diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Narva
Narva
Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
, mostly populated by ethnic Russians, maintained its connection to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In time, Germany's fortunes changed. By early 1944, Russia's Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
had pushed the invading German troops back to the Estonian border. With Soviet reoccupation imminent, an estimated 100,000 people fled Estonia. Among these were Metropolitan Alexander, who along with roughly 20 priests established the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Exile at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. There, the EAOC in Exile served about 10,000 Estonian Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Despite stiff resistance from retreating German troops and Estonian nationalists, the Soviet Union reasserted control
Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1944)
The Soviet Union reoccupied most of the territory of the Baltic states 1944 in the Soviet Baltic offensive during World War II. The Soviet offensive regained control over the three Baltic capitals but failed to capture the Courland Pocket where the retreating Wehrmacht and Latvian forces held out...
over Estonia by autumn of 1944. In 1945, the Moscow Patriarchate liquidated the EAOC, dismissing the remaining clergy and bringing all Estonian congregations into a single diocese within the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Estonian Orthodox church remained split as long as Estonia was an annexed state
Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...
of the Soviet Union, nearly half a century. Before his death in 1953, Metropolitan Alexander established his congregation as an exarchate under Constantinople. A synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
was organized in Sweden in 1958 to maintain the continuity of the church in exile. Within Estonia, the church continued as a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1978, at the request of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ruled the 1923 autonomy-granting tomos "inoperable", meaning Constantinople acknowledged the impossibility of an autonomous Orthodox church operating within Soviet Estonia.
Estonian independence and property reform
On 20 August 1991, Estonia proclaimed its independenceSinging Revolution
The Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania...
from a disintegrating Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
, restoring the pre-1940 parliamentary government
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
. Divisions within the Orthodox community soon arose; some wanted to remain under the Moscow Patriarchate, while others wished to reinstate the autonomous church in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
There was a legal aspect to the question as well. Once independent, Estonia began a program of property reform - that is, restoring property expropriated
Expropriation
Expropriation is the politically motivated and forceful confiscation and redistribution of private property outside the common law. Unlike eminent domain or laws regulating the foreign investment, expropriation takes place outside the common law and may be used to denote an armed robbery by...
by the Soviets during the occupation. But which church - the one in exile, under Constantinople, or the one in Estonia, under Moscow - was the rightful Estonian Orthodox Church?
Early in 1993, the Estonian parliament passed the Churches and Congregations Act, which required all religious institutions to re-register with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In August of the same year, the church in exile registered the 1935 statute, meaning it considered itself the continuation of the original Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. In November, the Moscow-led diocese attempted to register the same 1935 statute, but was refused. In response, the diocese sued, attempting to establish that it, and not the church in exile, had maintained continuity of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church during Soviet occupation. The court rebuffed this effort, ruling that the church in exile was indeed the legitimate successor of the Orthodox church in post-Soviet Estonia, making the EAOC the sole legal heir of all pre-1940 Orthodox church properties in Estonia.
The Moscow Patriarchate strongly opposed this ruling. Of particular concern were about 20 churches - built before the 1940s, and therefore legally the property of the EAOC - run by the Moscow-led diocese. In February 1996, the Constantinople Patriarchate reinstated the 1923 tomos that granted the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church's autonomy and established canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stating that while the tomos had been declared inoperable in 1978, it "was not regarded as being void, invalid or revoked". The Moscow Patriarchate, whose Estonian-born Patriarch Alexei II regarded his native Estonia as part of his canonical territory, abruptly severed relations with Constantinople, including a break of communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
between the churches.
Relations between the conflicting Patriarchates were restored three months later, after meetings in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
reached the following agreement: both the autonomous church and the Russian diocese could operate in parallel within Estonia, and individual parishes and clergy would be allowed to choose which jurisdiction to follow. A referendum was held, and a majority of parishes (54 of 84, generally along ethnic lines) chose the autonomous Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, even though a majority of the parishioners supported the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Russian diocese continued its campaign to claim legal succession until 2001, when it dropped attempts to register the 1935 statute, and instead applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the name "Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate". The EAOC protested, saying it was too similar to "Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church". At first, the government sided with the EAOC, who suggested instead names such as the "Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia" or the "Russian Orthodox Church diocese". The Estonian Business Association soon lobbied on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate, because statements by Russian officials led them to believe a favorable registration would lead to reduced customs tariffs on Estonian-Russian trade. The effort succeeded, and on 17 April 2002 the Russian diocese was registered as the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate
The Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is a semi-autonomous diocese of the Patriarchate of Moscow whose primate is appointed by the Holy Synod of the latter. Its official name in English is the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate...
(EOCMP). This did not bring about any of the hoped-for tariff reductions, though.
The church today
The Orthodox community in Estonia, which accounts for about 13% of the total population, remains divided, with the majority of faithful (mostly ethnic Russians) remaining under Moscow. As of a government report in 2004, about 20,000 believers (mostly ethnic Estonians) in 59 parishes are part of the autonomous church, while 150,000 faithful in 30 parishes, along with the monastic community of Pühtitsa, pay allegiance to Moscow.The issues around property ownership have been mostly settled. In 2002, the EAOC agreed to transfer ownership of churches used by the EOCMP to the state, who in turn would issue 50-year leases on the properties to the EOCMP. In return, the state agreed to renovate EAOC churches.
See also
- Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church
- Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow PatriarchateEstonian Orthodox Church of Moscow PatriarchateThe Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is a semi-autonomous diocese of the Patriarchate of Moscow whose primate is appointed by the Holy Synod of the latter. Its official name in English is the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate...