The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
The beginning of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
(EELC)
was in 1917. However the Reformation reached Estonia only a few years after it had taken
place in Germany. In that year the first Estonian church congress took place and the first
Estonian bishop was elected. In 1940 when Soviet troops invaded Estonia the EELC was
silenced. Almost all church organizations were dissolved and during World War II many
church buildings were ruined. Most of the theologians were deported to Siberia and
religious education programs were forbidden. All the church property was confiscated. In
1988, with the liberation movement in the Soviet Union, church life and activities were
renewed.
Today the EELC has about 200,000 church members. Women are
ordained in the EELC and congregations are growing. The EELC is unable to fund itself and
about half of the church contributions come from the outside.
The main priorities and activities for the EELC are in the
development of clergy and lay leadership. There is also an emphasis on religious
instruction in the school and many new mission activities in new outreach communities.
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