Catholic Church in Estonia

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Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Tallinn

The Catholic Church in Estonia (Estonian: Katoliku kirik Eestis) is the national branch of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.[1]

History of Catholicism in Estonia

At the beginning of the 13th century, Estonia was conquered by the German Teutonic Order during the Livonian Crusade and thus was one of the last territories in Europe to be Christianized. However, some archaeological evidence suggests that Christianity was already known centuries prior to the conquest. Based on archaeological relics, such as crosses and metal book corners, some areas of Estonia were Christian prior to the 13th century.

The whole of Estonia was subjugated by the year 1227 and, until the mid 16th century, Estonia was divided among feudal landlords and, thus, Catholic territory, although not yet unified.

During the

Lutheran
Church.

In the

Catholicism began its revival. On 26 December 1845, the new Catholic Church of Tallinn was consecrated, followed by the new Catholic Church of Tartu
in 1899.

In 1918, when Estonia gained independence,

apostolic administrator for the Catholic Church in Estonia. In 1936 he was consecrated as the first Estonian Catholic bishop since the Lutheran reformation in the 16th century. Before World War II
broke out, there were almost 5,000 Catholics in Estonia (Tallinn: 2.333, Tartu: 1.073, Narva: ca. 600, Valga: ca. 800).

In 1940

Catholic churches were closed and the Catholic population of Estonia decreased below 100 adherents and 1 underground priest who were all heavily persecuted by the KGB.[citation needed
]

Tartu Catholic Church

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia regained its independence and was re-recognized by the Holy See on 28 August 1991. Estonia received its first papal visit when Pope John Paul II visited the country in September 1993.

Current state of Catholicism in Estonia

The

Catholic population of Estonia
is small, but has seen a rapid increase since the end of the Soviet rule.

In 2020, estimates suggested that there were 7,000 Catholics in the country (0.5% of the population);

dioceses. Instead, the whole country forms an apostolic administration. Since 2005, the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia who resides in Tallinn is Bishop Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan. Two parishes in Estonia (Tallinn and Tartu) are of the Greek Catholic Church and serve a mostly Ukrainian congregation.[3]

See also

References

  1. JSTOR 25026147
    .
  2. ^ Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  3. ^ "Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Estonia - UKRAINA KREEKA-KATOLIKU KIRIK EESTIS". 13 May 2019.

External links

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