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Estonia Today CHURCHES and CONGREGATIONS Fact Sheet October 2005 Estonia Today CHURCHES AND CONGREGATIONS The religious life in Estonia is a mosaic of various faiths and denominations. Altogether, more than 70 different churches and congregations are registered in Estonia. There is no state church. Since 2001 registered religious associations may apply for the right to their clergy to conduct marriages of civil validity. Today over 130 clerics from different religious associations have this right. Estonian’s are predominantly of the Lutheran faith. Other larger active congregations are: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal. Estonia is also home to adherents of the Jewish faith and other religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. According to the Estonian Constitution, every individual has the freedom of conscience, religion and thought. Belonging to churches and religious societies is a matter of individual freedom of choice. The Churches and Congregations Act (adopted in 2002) and September 2003 Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox the Not-for-Profit Associations and Unions Act (passed in Church Alexius II. 1994) regulate the activities of religious associations. The statutes of churches, congregations, and unions of Theological educational institutions congregations are registered as of 1 July 2002 at the City • Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu; Courts. The Department of Religious Affairs at the Ministry of • The Theological Institute of the Estonian Evangelical Internal Affairs deals with questions related to the relations Lutheran Church; between the State and religious communities. • Theological Seminary of the Union of Evangelical Christian and Baptist Churches; Visits to Estonia • Baltic Mission Centre Theological Seminary of the April 1993 Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church United Methodist Church in Estonia; Alexius II • The Theological Academy in Tartu; September 1993 Pope John Paul II • The Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church Bible October 1993 XIV Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso College. October 2000 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos Religious studies are considered an optional subject in the June 2003 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos public school curriculum. Churches, congregations and unions as of 1 October 2005 Congregations/ Membership Churches subordinate offices (approx.) Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 165/13 ca 180 000 The Orthodox Church of Estonia 60 25 000 Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchy 31 170 000 Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church 37/2 4 500 Roman Catholic Church 7/4 orders 5 745 Estonian New Apostolic Church 10 2 100 United Methodist Church in Estonia 28 Ca 2000 Charismatic Episcopal Church of Estonia 3 300 Charismatic Church of Fellowship of Estonia 3 N/A Unions Union of Evangelical Baptist Congregations of Estonia 88/3 6 100 The Union of Estonian Old Believer Congregations 11 5 000 Union of Congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Estonia 11 3 800 Estonian Union of Seventh-Day Adventists 19 1 759 Union of Estonian Christian Free Congregations 7 1 000 Estonian Union of Evangelical and Free Congregations 7 N/A The Baha’i Community of Estonia 4 N/A Union of Estonian Evangelical Christian Pentecostal Congregations 3 700 The House of Taara and Mother Earth People of Maavald 4 200 Independent congregations The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Department of Religious Affairs In addition, to the over 70 single congregations registered in Estonia are the Estonian Congregation of the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory; Jewish Congregations (4 congregations), Estonian Evangelical Moravian Congregation; Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church; International Society for Krishna Consciousness of Estonia; Buddhist Congregations (2 congregations) and many others. Press and Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islandi väljak 1, Tallinn 15049, Estonia Tel. +372 631 7600, Fax +372 631 7617, E-mail: [email protected] www.vm.ee Fact Sheet October 2005 Dates from history A 1923 referendum decided that every school had to Christianity reached Estonia in the XI century through the offer religious instruction, but pupils could choose Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and by the middle of whether they wanted to participate. In 1925, the church the XIII century Estonia was Christianised. was separated from the state and civil marriage became the only form of legal marriage. Since the Reformation in the middle of XVI century, the Lutheran Church has been influential in Estonia and the In the 1920s, the Lutheran Church grew to be the largest Estonian language has been the language of worship. church in Estonia. The second largest religious group The earliest known printed work in the Estonian language was the Orthodox Church. In 1920, the Patriarch of is an excerpt from a catechism published in 1535 in Moscow granted independence to the Orthodox Wittenberg. The New Testament was published in congregations in Estonia and in 1923 the Orthodox Estonian in 1686 and the complete Bible in 1739. The Church of Estonia was canonically subordinated to the Lutheran Church was a state church in the XVII century, Ecumenical Patriarchy of Constantinople. Among the when Estonia was under the sovereignty of Sweden. other larger confessions were the Baptists, Evangelical Christians and Methodists. In the middle of the XVII century, the Patriarch of Russia Nikon instigated a reform of the Orthodox Church in The church lost over two thirds of its clergy during the Soviet Russia. Many Old Believers left Russia due to occupation from 1944-1991. Work with children, youth, persecution and arrived in Estonia, where they still live publishing, etc, was banned and church property was mainly along the western coast of Peipsi Lake. nationalised. The Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu was closed. Some church services were tolerated, Russia conquered Estonia as a result of the Great such as Sunday church services and presiding over Northern War (1700-1721). In the XIX century, there were funerals, but by the 1970's less than 10% of Estonian’s extensive conversions to the “tsar’s” religion with the admitted to being religious. The state’s religious policies hope of acquiring land. The proportion of Orthodox became tolerant only after 1988. followers in the population rose to 20%. In the second half of the XVIII century, Catholic congregations also re- After regaining independence in 1991, spiritual life in emerged in Estonia. Estonia has also been revived. Estonia is now a multicultural country with many different practising In 1905, the tolerance manifesto granted adults the right religions protected a liberal and democratic legal system. to choose their own faith. After the proclamation of Estonia’s independence in 1918, the constitution of 1920 More information: guaranteed full freedom of religion. Religion in Estonia www.estonica.org Estonian Council of Churches www.ekn.ee .
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