Õigeusk ja õigeusu pühakojad Eestis 11.–19. sajandil
Orthodoxy and Orthodox Sacral Buildings in Estonia from the 11th to the 19th Centuries

Summary/Abstract: In 1845–1848, the movement from the Lutheran Church to the Russian Orthodox Church took place in all the southern Estonian counties and about 17% of the peasants in southern Estonia converted to Orthodoxy. Until then, Orthodoxy was mainly the religion of the local Russians and Seto (Setu) people, and remained influential among the poluverniks of eastern Estonia, the Russians who were officially Lutheran but followed many Orthodox rites (including partially Estonianised Russians). The article gives an overview of the spread of Orthodoxy in the current Estonian territory and in Setomaa from the 11th century until 1845, focusing on the establishment of different Russian Orthodox churches and chapels (including the Seto tsässons). The Russian Old Believers, who settled in Estonia at the end of the 17th century are not dealt with in detail in this article. This article briefly describes Orthodoxy in Setumaa, an area which was partially or wholly incorporated into Russia for centuries (specifically as a part of Pskov), prior to accession with the Estonian territory in 1920, and therefore under the direct influence of Orthodoxy, unlike the rest of Estonia. From the Setos, the Old Believers and the Russians of present-day eastern Estonia, Orthodoxy might well have spread among Estonians, to some extent. This is attested to by the gatherings, near the Pühtitsa chapel and other Orthodox chapels, that have been taken place since the 16th–17th centuries and which have been attended by Lutheran Estonians as well as Orthodox Russians. Orthodoxy in Estonian towns and eastern Estonia was promoted by Russian military campaigns and conquests, especially during the Livonian War in 1558– 1583 (with the help of the mission of the Petseri (Pechory) Monastery in Setumaa), when dozens of Orthodox churches were erected in Estonia, plus at least one convent in Tartu. Following the Russian defeat in the Livonian War, some Russian-founded Orthodox churches continued to function for some time under the Polish and Swedish reigns.

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