Orthodoxy in Estonia ( est. Eesti Õigeusu Kirik ) is a Christian denomination in Estonia , represented by two jurisdictions - the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople [1] [2] .
Between 2001 and 2011, censuses showed that Orthodoxy overtook Lutheranism , and became the largest Christian denomination in the country due to an increase in the number of atheists among ethnic Estonians. According to the 2011–2012 census, the number of Orthodox over 15 years old is 177 thousand [1] (14% of the population). Orthodoxy, the full name of "Eastern Orthodox Christianity," is mainly distributed among the Russian ethnic minority of Estonia [3] .
Content
History
Most likely, Orthodoxy first appeared on the territory of Estonia in the 10th – 12th centuries, thanks to preachers from Novgorod and Pskov , in the territories of the southern regions close to Pskov. The first mention of Orthodox congregations in Estonia dates back to 1030 [4] . In about 600 AD er Estonians founded the city of Tarbat (today Tartu ). In 1030, the prince of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise [5] , captured Tarbat and built his own fortress, which he named Yuriev, and also allegedly named the temple in honor of St. George (George). The temple existed until 1061, when according to the chronicles, Yuriev was burned to the ground, and all Orthodox Christians were expelled [6] .
As a result of the northern crusades at the beginning of the 13th century, northern Estonia was conquered by Denmark , and southern Estonia by the Teutonic Order , and later by the Order of the Sword , and as a result, from that time, Estonia was influenced by Western Christianity . Although, Russian merchants from Novgorod and Pskov subsequently had the opportunity to start small Orthodox congregations in some Estonian cities [4] . One of these congregations was expelled from Dorpat ( Tartu ) by Germany in 1472; the priest Isidore was also enslaved, along with other Orthodox believers (the day of memory is celebrated on January 8).
Little is known about the history of the church in this region in the 17-18th century, when many Old Believers fled to Estland (Livonia) from Russia in order to avoid liturgical reforms introduced by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Nikon .
In the 18-19 century, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, after the defeat of the Swedish Empire in 1721 in the Northern War . During the 1800s, a significant number of Estonian peasants changed their faith to Orthodoxy, pending land plots [7] . This led to the introduction of a diocese by the Russian Orthodox Church in Riga (now Latvia) in 1850 [4] . At the end of the 19th century, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Tallinn) [8] and the Pühtitsky monastery in Kuremia were built .
The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople emerged on the basis of Tomos of the Patriarch of Constantinople Meletius IV dated July 7, 1923, which accepted the Estonian Orthodox Church in its jurisdiction as autonomy as an Estonian Orthodox metropolitan church in response to the appeal of the Council of the Estonian Church dated September 23, 1922 to grant autocephaly .
The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate gained autonomy on May 10, 1920, by decree of the Moscow Patriarch Tikhon , the Holy Synod and the Supreme Church Council of the Orthodox Russian Church .
Russian Old Believers fled to the territory of Estland from religious persecution in the XVII - XIX centuries ,
See also
- Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Sergey Mudrov . Part 1. In the east of the country. Orthodoxy in Estonia // Orthodoxy.Ru . The appeal date is May 14, 2018.
- ROC canonizes the territory of Estonia // Kommersant. - 2017. - June 17 ( No. 102 / P ).
- ↑ Estonians least religious in the world (English) . The appeal date is May 14, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Toom, Tarmo.
- ↑ Met. Cornelius (Jacobs): “Orthodoxy in Estonia began with Yaroslav the Wise” / Orthodoxy.Ru . The appeal date is May 14, 2018.
- ↑ EDS Systems OY - http://www.edss.ee . Orthodoxy in Estonia - the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate . www.orthodox.ee. The appeal date is May 14, 2018.
- ↑ Orthodoxy , Estonica - Encyclopedia about Estonia , Estonian Institute.
- ↑ Saint Alexander . - Liters, 2017. - 216 p. - ISBN 9785457199972 .