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recognition=19201923, 1996 by [[Church of RussiaConstantinople|RussiaConstantinople]]|primate=[[Cornelius Stephanos (YacobsCharalambides) of Tallinn and All Estonia|Metr. Stephanos]]|

music= [[Byzantine chant|Byzantine]] [[Russian chant|Russian]] and [[Estonian chant|Estonian]]|calendar=[[Julian Gregorian Calendar|JulianGregorian]]|population=25020,000[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=33]|website= [http://www.orthodoxeoc.ee / Church of Estonia]|}}The '''Church of Estonia''' or '''Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church''' ('''Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik''') is an [[autonomy|autonomous]] Orthodox church whose [[primate]] is confirmed by the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Its official name in English is the '''Estonian Orthodox Church'''.

The '''Church current primate of Estonia''' or the '''church is His Eminence [[Estonian Orthodox Church Stephanos (Charalambides) of the Moscow PatriarchateTallinn|Stephanos]]''' (''', [[Moskva Patriarhaadi Eesti Őigeusu KirikMetropolitan]]''') is am exarchate of the [[Patriarchate of Moscow]] who's Primate is confirmed by the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow. Its official name in English is the '''Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate'''. This church numbers roughly 250,000 faithful Tallinn and is the largest Orthodox Church in all Estonia(elected 1999).

== History ==Orthodox missionaries were active among the Estonians in the southeast regions of the area, closest to Pskov, in the 10th through 12th centuries. The current primate first mention of an Orthodox congregation in Estonia was in 1030 in Tartu. Around 600 AD on the church is His Eminence [[Cornelius east side of Toome Hill (YacobsToomemägi)]]the Estonians erected a fortress named Tarbatu. In 1030 the Kievan prince, Jaroslav the Wise, raided Tarbatu and built his own fort in this place as well as the congregation in a cathedral dedicated to St. [[Metropolitan bishop|MetropolitanGeorge the Trophy-bearer]] of . Orthodox Christians were later expelled from the city by the Germans in 1472, who martyred their [[Tallinnpriest]] and All , Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on [[EstoniaJanuary 8]], elected in 2000).

Another church uncanonically established by Little is known about the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate history of Constantinople]] is the socalled "[[Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church]]" (Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik) it is an [[Wiktionary:autonomy|autonomous]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] church whose in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many [[primateOld Believers]] is confirmed fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms introduced by the Patriarch [[Orthodox Church Nikon of ConstantinopleMoscow]]. The head of this church is Metropolitan Stephanos (Charalambides). This church numbers about 20,000 faithful.

The creation In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the alternate church to the canonical Tsarist Russian Empire, having been conquered by Tsar [[Estonian Orthodox ChurchPeter the Great]] caused . A large number of Estonians, particularly rural people, were converted to the name Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land. Numerous Orthodox churches were built. In 1850 the Patriarch Diocese of Constantinople to be removed from Riga (in Latvia) was established by the [[dyptichChurch of Russia]]s and many Estonian Orthodox believers included. In the late 19th century, a wave of [[Russification]] was introduced, supported by the Russian Orthodox Churchhierarchy but not by local Estonian clergy. The St. [[Alexander Nevsky]] Cathedral in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa Dormition [[Stavropigial|Stavropegic]] Convent (Kuremäe) in East Estonia were also built around this time.

==History==Orthodox missionaries were active among the Estonians in the southeast regions of the area, closest to [[Pskov]], in the 10th through 12th centuries. The first mention of an Orthodox congregation in Estonia was in 1030 in what is now [[Tartu]]. Around 600 AD on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi) the Estonians erected a fortress named Tarbatu. In 1030 the Kievan prince, [[Yaroslav I the Wise|Yaroslav the Wise]], raided Tarbatu and built his own fort in this place as well as the congregation in a cathedral dedicated to St. George the Trophy-bearer. Orthodox Christians were expelled from Tarbatu and southeastern Estonia a few years later.  As a result of the [[Northern Crusades]] in the beginning of the 13th century, Estonia was conquered by [[Denmark]] and the [[Teutonic Order]], and thus fell under the control of [[Western Christianity]]. However, Russian merchants were later able to set up small Orthodox congregations in several Estonian towns. One such congregation was expelled from the town of Dorpat (Tartu) by the Germans in 1472, who martyred their [[priest]], Isidor, along with a number of Orthodox faithful (the group is commemorated on [[January 8]]). Little is known about the history of the church in the area until the 17th and 18th centuries, when many [[Old Believers]] fled there from Russia to avoid the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch [[Patriarch Nikon|Nikon]] of Moscow. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Estonia was a part of the Imperial Russian Empire, having been conquered by emperor [[Peter the Great]]. A significant number of Estonian peasants were converted to the Orthodox faith in the hope of obtaining land. Numerous Orthodox churches were built. In 1850 the Diocese of Riga (in Latvia) was established by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and many Estonian Orthodox believers included. In the late 19th century, a wave of [[Russification]] was introduced, supported by the Russian hierarchy but not by the local Estonian clergy. The Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallinn and the Pühtitsa (Pukhtitsa) convent in Kuremäe in East Estonia were also built around this time. In 1917 the first Estonian, Platon (Paul Kulbusch), was ordained Bishop of Riga and Vicar of Tallinn. Two years later, the Bolsheviks murdered Platon and his [[deacon]]. 81 years later, in 2000, Bp. Platon was [[glorification|proclaimed a saint]] by the Churches of Constantinople and Russia, commemorated on [[January 14]]. After the Estonian Republic was proclaimed in 1918, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, St. [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], in 1920 recognised the Orthodox Church of Estonia (OCE) as being independent. Archbishop Aleksander Paulus was elected and ordained as the head of the Estonian church. In September 1922 the Council of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church took the decision 1923 Abp. Aleksander turned to address the then infamous Patriarch of Constantinople, [[Meletius IV (Metaxakis) of Constantinople]], with a petition to adopt the Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and to declare it autocephalousreceive canonical recognition. Later on The same year the Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia Alexander wrote that it OCE was done under an intense pressure of canonically subordinated to the state. On 7 July 1923 in Constantinople Meletios Metaxakis presented the Tomos on the adoption of Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate Patriarchy of Constantinople as a separate church and gained extensive [[autonomy "Estonian Orthodox Metropolia".  At the suggestion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Estonia was divided into three dioceses: in Tallinn, Narva and Pechery. Evsevy (Drozdov) became the head of Narva cathedra, John (Bulin), a graduate of St Petersburg Theological Academy, became bishop of Pechery in 1926. He headed the diocese until 1932 and left it because of the disagreements on the properties of Pskov-Pechery Monastery. Bishop John spent several years in Yugoslavia and came back to Estonia in late 30-s. He backed actively the returning of Estonian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of Moscow Patriarchate. On 18 October 1940 bishop John was arrested by NKVD in Pechery, accused of anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda and he was executed on 30 July 1941 in Leningrad]]. Before 1941, one fifth of the total Estonian population (who had been mostly [[Lutheran]] since the [[Reformation]] in the early 1500s when the country was controlled 16th century occupation of Estonia by the Teutonic OrderSweden) were Orthodox Christians under the Patriarchy of Constantinople. There were 158 parishes in Estonia and 183 clerics in the Estonian church. There was also a Chair of Orthodoxy in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu. There was a [[Pskovo-Pechorsky Monasterymonastery]] in [[Pechory|Petseri]], two convents—in Narva and Kuremäe, a priory in Tallinn and a [[seminary]] in Petseri. The ancient monastery in Petseri (Pechory, which used to belong to the Estonian Republic, now belongs to Russia) was preserved from the mass church destructions that occurred in Soviet Russia.

Soon after the war broke out, Metropolitan Alexander declared his break-up with Mother-Church and reunion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bishop of Narva Paul remained loyal to Mother-Church. During the occupation Germans didn't hamper Metropolitan Alexander to lead the life of his parishes and bishop Paul to be in charge of the Russian diocese in Narva and many other parishes loyal to Russian Orthodox Church. Not long before the liberation of Tallinn Metropolitan Alexander left Estonia, the Synod of Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church addressed Alexy (Simansky), Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, with a petition to resume the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.  Just before the second Soviet occupation in 1944 and the dissolution of the Estonian synod, the [[primate]] of the church, Metropolitan Aleksander, went into exile along with 21 clergymen and about 8,000 Orthodox believers. The Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile with its synod in Sweden continued its activity according to the canonical statutes, until the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991. Before he died in 1953, Metr. Aleksander Aleksandr established his community as an [[exarchate]] under Constantinople. Most of the other bishops and clergy who remained behind were deported to Siberia. In 1958, a new synod was established in exile, and the church was organized from Sweden.

In 1993, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Estonia in Exile was re-registered as the legal successor of the autonomous Orthodox Church of Estonia, and on [[February 20]], 1996, Ecumenical Patriarch [[Patriarch Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] renewed the [[tomos ]] granted to the OCE in 1923, restoring its canonical subordination to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This action brought immediate protest from the Patriarch [[Patriarch Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Patriarch]] [[Patriarch Alexius II|Alexei II]] of the Moscow Patriarchate, which regarded the Estonian church as being part of its territory, and the Patriarch of Moscow temporarily removed the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch from the [[diptychs]].

[[Image:Stefanos of Tallinn.jpg|125px|right|thumb|Metr. [[Stephanos (Charalambides) of Tallinn|Stephanos (Charalambides)]]]]An agreement was reached in which local congregations could choose which jurisdiction to follow. The Orthodox community in Estonia, which accounts for about 14% of the total population, remains divided, with the majority of faithful (mostly ethnic Russians) remaining under Moscow. As of a government report of November 2003, about 20,000 believers (mostly ethnic Estonians) in 60 parishes are part of the autonomous church, with 250150,000 faithful in 31 parishes, along with the monastic community of PühtitsaPukhitsa, paying traditional allegiance to Moscow.

In 20001999, On 6 November 2000 the church gained a resident hierarch (it had been under the Archbishop Cornelius became of [[Church of Finland|Finland]] as ''[[locum tenens]]''), Metropolitan [[Stephanos (Charalambides) of Tallinn and All Estonia|Stephanos (Charalambides)]], who had formerly been an [[auxiliary bishop]] under the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Metropolitan of France.

 *[http://www.orthodox.ee/indexeng.php Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarhate]*[http://www.eoc.ee/ Estonian Orthodox Church (EP)- Official Site]