Estonian Orthodox Pastors during the german occupation and after it: an Experience of Biographical Analysis

Abstract

The article examines the activities of the Orthodox clergy of Estonia during the Great Patriotic War and the Nazi occupation of
the region in the context of the subsequent adaptation of these church figures to the events of the post-war years. Among the latter, we primarily include problems of relations with the hierarchy, as well as with civil authorities, primarily with the Commissioner for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, and then for Religious Affairs in the Estonian SSR. The examples of biographies are those archpriests who, during the German occupation of Estonia, stood in the position of separation from the Baltic Exarchate, but were unable or unwilling to evacuate to the territory of Germany and Sweden. The main source base of the study is documents from the National Archives of Estonia and the Archives of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is difficult to access for the average researcher. The article was written as part of the preparation of a publication dedicated to the biographies of the most prominent Baltic Orthodox pastors of the last century, who left their indelible mark not only on the history of Orthodoxy in the Baltics, but also in Russia and other re-publics of the former Soviet Union. Scientific articles and major studies by Russian and foreign authors published in recent years were also involved in writing the article.