ABSTRACT
This chapter describes and analyzes the life of the churches in Estonia during the Soviet period. The most significant change was that the churches, in postwar Soviet society, had come to be considered possible political allies of the state and the party, especially in regard to foreign policy. Religious instruction, which had been introduced into the school curriculum as the result of a 1923 referendum, was abolished by a decree retroactive to August 1, 1940. The churches were struck further blows by the 1944-1945 and 1949 deportations, in terms of both clergy and members. The postwar years saw attempts to establish state control over the churches in order to exploit them for purposes of Soviet foreign policy. The scarcity of clergy was one of the main problems of the churches, especially during the years 1945-1956. The training of Orthodox clergy takes place outside of Estonia in Russian-language educational institutions of the Moscow Patriarchate.
