Chapter 7.1.4: Religious movements and the Enlightenment. Religion


As Estonia remained in the German cultural sphere during the Russian rule, the religious movements of Germany also spread their influence here.

In the first years after the war, a reformist movement known as pietism spread to the land. The goals of it were to make religious life more active and to promote a stronger realisation of Christian salvation. It garnered most of its support amongst the pastors, to a lesser extent amongst the nobles and town citizens. Pietist pastors were very conscientious about their work and as such helped to heal the wounds caused by the war.



St. John´s church in Valga, built between 1787-1816.



Räpina St. Michaels´s church, completed in 1785.

Starting from the 1730s, a new movement called the Moravian Church or the Unity of the Brethren (vennastekogudused or hernhuutlus in Estonian) garnered a lot of support in Estonia. Originally from Czechia and having been influenced by German Pietism, this religious movement strived towards a sincere “faith from the heart”. Whilst Pietism spread amongst the Baltic-German elite, the Moravian Church spread amongst all layers of society, especially the Estonian peasantry.

The massive popularity amongst the peasantry was caused partly by the fact that it had spread to Estonia from Germany via travelling craftsmen or people who were from a similar strata of society. The structure of the new type of congregations was very attractive, as every member had the right to speak and was able to participate in the life of the congregation. Status or education made no difference, everybody was equal. This finally brought Christianity closer to Estonians and was the final nail in the coffin for traditional paganism. In addition it also fought against many elements of traditional folk culture, like folk dancing.



A prayer house of the Moravian Church in Hageri.

Over time the self-consciousness of the peasantry grew and it caused some disorder here and there. As that was attributed to the Moravian Church, in 1743 it was banned. In 1764 however it was legalised again, the second height of the popularity was in the 1830s.

Enlightenment ideas spread mostly amongst the Baltic-Germans. The most prevalent idea was theological rationalism, which garnered support from amongst almost the entire priesthood by the end of the 18th century. It decreased religion to the status of mainly moral education and declared that religion must be led by an enlightened mind. During their services, rationalist pastors gave useful tips about improving everyday life. The majority of local enlightenment era cultural figures were amongst the clergy.

Overview of some notable figures:

Johann Gottfried Herder, a pastor in Riga, who introduced Estonian folklore to a wider audience in Europe.

August Wilhelm Hupel, a pastor in Põltsamaa. He published a 4 volume piece of work, “Topographical Notices from Estonia and Livonia”, which gave an overview of Estonian nature, administration, population, society, folk customs, geography and economy. He gathered the information from at least 89 different pastors, tutors and nobles. In addition he wrote a magazine called “Nordic Writings”, which was published from 1781-1798. His works are an invaluable source of information about life in Estonia during that era.


A portrait of Hupel.

Garlieb Helwig Merkel, a pastor from modern day Latvia, who has also been called the “Livonian Voltaire”, was the most fervent critic of serfdom. Inspired by the enlightened ideals of equality and human rights, he was the first to portray Estonians as not only age old serfs, but as an oppressed nation, which had lost its ancient freedom through violence. His goal was to change social conditions thoroughly by abolishing serfdom and giving peasants full property rights.



Garlieb Merkel

The vast majority of enlightenment era figures had much more moderate ideas about serfdom, believing that abolishing it in the near future would be impossible.

As a characteristic of the enlightenment, different social clubs formed, where Baltic-Germans would discuss different pressing social matters of the day. This would be the inception of the “public opinion”, which would slowly distance from the unwavering loyalty to the state.

With the inclusion of the territory of Estonia into the Russian Empire, Russian Orthodoxy also appeared here. The first churches were meant for Russian soldiers stationed here.


The Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Tallinn. Concentrated in 1721 and meant for land troops.



The altar.




Saint Simeon and Prophet Hanna church in Tallinn. Built in the port in 1755 and meant for sailors.



Church of the Transfiguration of our Lord in Tallinn. Concentrated in the 1730s, the tower is from 1776 and the windows, the door and the dome are from the 1820s. Meant for citizens.



The altar.



St. Catherine´s Church in Pärnu. Finished in 1768, meant for citizens.

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