The Catholic Church in Estonia, 1918-2001

Abstract

In Middle Ages, Estonia was Catholic for roughly four centuries (1227-1626). Under Swedish rule (1561-1710) Catholic faith was forbidden and, after expulsion of last faithful in 1626, Catholic tradition in Estonia was totally wiped out.1 Under Russian Emperors (1710-1918), as Catholic religion was permitted again, a diaspora Catholic community was born, belonging to Archdiocese of Mohilev, which covered all Russia. Four missions (later parishes) were created: Tallinn (German: Reval, Russian: Revel, 1786), Narva (1835), Tartu (German: Dorpat, Russian: Jurjew, 1849), and Valga (German: Valk, 1915). They took care of Catholics, belonging to different nationalities of Russian Empire.2 For Estonians, it remained a church of foreigners. The First Apostolic Administrator: Antonino Zecchini, SJ., 1924-1931 After Russian revolution of 1917, Estonia and its neighbors (Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania) grasped opportunity to gain their national independence. In year 1918 Estonians proclaimed Republic of Estonia, a democratic state, which granted all citizens freedom of religion.3 For Catholics in new independent States of Baltic region, political independence meant also ecclesiastical reorganization. The first step was passage (1918) of Estonia from jurisdiction of Mohilev to newly re-erected Diocese of Riga (which had been center of Crusades against Estonia in thirteenth century, and then metropolitan see for Estonia's three Catholic dioceses until 1560). A second step was prepared and brought to conclusion by Archbishop Antonino Zecchini, who was first nominated Apostolic Visitor for three Baltic States (1921), then Apostolic Delegate for same (1922), and finally (1924) first Apostolic Administrator of Estonia. This new Apostolic Administration was immediately subject to Holy See, and thus no longer to Archbishop of Riga. Until present day Estonia has remained an Apostolic Administration. In year 1918 there were only four Catholic parishes (Tallinn,Tartu, Narva, and Valga) in Estonia, all of them urban communities. Before beginning of World War I, there had been some 6,000 Catholics in Estonia, but as many of them were military and civil servants of Russian Empire and after its collapse emigrated from Estonia, first Estonian census (1922) found only 2,536 Catholics (or 0.2% of a total population of 1,107,000, vs. 79% Lutherans and 19% Orthodox) in country.4 It was a little flock, but dispersed in many small groups, a typical Diaspora About half of all faithful resided in capital city, Tallinn, forming only sizable congregation. The main problem of new Administrator was regular pastoral care for all those small groups outside Tallinn. Moreover, there was language question to complicate situation: a traveling priest or catechizes would have needed knowledge of at least five languages (Polish, Lithuanian, German, Russian, and Estonian). Many of Catholics were of Polish and Lithuanian origin, who did not speak Estonian at all (until 1918 they did not need to, as everybody was able to communicate in Russian, language of Empire); this is why Estonians used name the Polish church. Indeed, this was prevailing language in most visible parish, that of Tallinn. At beginning of his pastoral service (1924) Archbishop Zecchini had only three priests to take care of his four parishes, one diocesan and two Jesuit fathers (born respectively in Latvia, Luxembourg, and Germany). Fortunately, these parishes possessed relatively new churches: built in 1845 (in Tallinn), 1899 (in Tartu), and 1907 (in Narva and Valga). Unfortunately, Archbishop had to reside outside Estonia, as he became also papal nuncio for Latvia. His diplomatic tasks did not give him much time for pastoral work, as even legal conditions for activity of Catholic Church in Estonia had to be worked out on a governmental level, all of his three priests being of non-Estonian origin. …