EELK vaimulike seotus vennastekogudusega 1972. aastal

Abstract

The connection of Estonian Lutheran clergy with Moravianism in 1972

Moravianism arrived in Estonia at the end of the 1720s. For most of its history it has operated in Estonia as a revival movement in the local Lutheran Church and has not formed independent congregations. There have always been Lutheran pastors who have associated themselves directly with Moravianism and so have supported cooperation of Moravianism and the local Lutheran church. While this connection has been studied quite extensively in the 18th and 19th centuries, it has not gained neccesary attention during the 20th and 21th centuries. Some scholars stress that Moravianism was very influential among the Soviet era Estonian Lutheran clergy but these claims lack statistical evidence. The aim of this article is to show who and how many Estonian Lutheran pastors who worked in the church at 1972 were directly connected with Moravianism. The results of this study show that of the 111 Lutheran pastors in Estonia at 1972, 25 had a direct connection with Moravianism.