Beyond ethnocentric identity: understanding Orthodox communalities in Estonia

ABSTRACT

Orthodox believers in Estonia constitute the majority of self-identifying churchgoers (according to the 2011 census). They are, however, divided ethnically and institutionally. While religion is an important source of identity, Orthodoxy in particular has been often identified with nationalism . This article explores the complex identity and self-understanding of the Orthodox minority in Estonia. Contrary to studies examining conflict and irreconcilable differences, we focus on social and religious practices and discourses that de-emphasize institutional and methodological ethnocentricity and provide an alternative heuristic framework for understanding forms of co-existence, tolerance, and solidarity. Through combining historical research and sociological interviews, the article argues that some forms of grass-root solidarity have been neglected or downplayed, while the differences have been exaggerated and taken as intrinsic by church and political actors.

KEYWORDS:

• Orthodoxy
• Estonia
• sobornost
• solidarity
• tradition
• religious identity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The predominance of Estonian speakers among the interviewees was due to the language competences of the authors.

2. It is worth noting here that the epithet ‘apostolic’ in the name of the EAOC refers primarily to the fact that the Church originates from the apostles (Palli 1996).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Eesti Teadusagentuur [PUT 1599].

Notes on contributors

Irina Paert

Irina Paert is an Associate Professor at the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Tartu. Her research focuses on the historical and theological analysis of the forms of social and symbolic solidarity within the Orthodox Church in the Baltics, especially in Estonia, from the late tsarist era to the end of the 1930s, including the clerical congresses, lay-based renewal movements, such as Russian Student Christian Movement. She also has interest in memorial solidarities around memory of martyrs and new-martyrs, which brings her research into the present day Estonian Orthodoxy. She is the Principal Investigator of the on-going project “Orthodoxy as Solidarity.”

Liina Eek

Liina Eek is the Head of Department of Research Programmes in Estonian Research Council. Since finishing her PhD in 2017 at the University of Tartu, she has continued to publish articles as an independent researcher. Her research focuses on contemporary Estonian-speaking Orthodox people, their beliefs and views on orthodoxy and Orthodox theology.

Andrei Sõtšov

Andrei Sõtšov is a Research Fellow at the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Tartu and Lecturer of Orthodox Church History at the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. He obtained his PhD in 2009 from the University of Tartu. He specializes in the history of the Orthodox Church during the Soviet era, focusing on relations between church, state, and society.