Chapter 5.3: Religion

The state religion of Sweden was Lutheranism, it was seen as one of the pillars of the Swedish state. All other religions and sects were banned across the empire. It was believed that the strength of the state was based on the religious unity of said state. Those, who were not protestant, were forced to emigrate. The only exception was made for foreign diplomats and merchants, as such there were Orthodox congregations in both Tallinn and Narva, and as mentioned before, an Anglican congregation in Narva as well.


The nobility had privileges and responsibilities in the countryside parishes. The right of patronage, or the right to call a pastor into their position, belonged to the local gentry of the parish, so did the financial affairs of the church. Those things were taken care of by a specific council of nobles, which was elected by local lords. That council and the pastor together formed the church court, which was responsible for holding religious discipline in the parish.

The Lutheran faith had mostly been accepted by the nobility by the end of the 16th century already. Despite this, even at the beginning of the 17th century there were constant complaints amongst pastors about the fact that local lords would not bother to come to church services. Later that situation started to improve however. Another point of contention between the pastors and the manor lords was the fact that in many cases peasants were forced to work on Sundays, even though that day was meant for worship and relaxation.

It took years for the peasantry to be completely converted to Lutheranism. The rate of conversion really depended on the pastor. As pastors were mostly German, they did not have enough language skills to completely convey all Christian teachings to the Estonian peasantry. As a result there were still cases of unmarried cohabitation and people being buried in unsanctified village cemeteries in the 17th century. Pastors complained that the peasantry followed unchristian or Catholic teachings.

The role of peasants in church life was mostly passive. They had to take part in sermons, understand the basics of Christian teachings, and pay their due to keep up religious buildings and pay the church officials, that was all. In a few cases however there was also some active participation. When visitations happened (higher up church officials coming to make an inspection), peasants sometimes gave their mind on the language skills and the suitability of the pastors and in rare cases it could even lead to the replacement of the pastor. Peasants also acted as the lower class church servants, like bell-ringers for example. The class divide between the peasants and the pastors was the same as between the peasants and the nobles.

The parish church acted as an important nexus of social life in the countryside. People from villages across the parish would come to the sermons, so people who would not usually meet were able to discuss affairs and exchange news. The pastor was also generally the person who would read out new laws and policies.

Like elsewhere in Europe at the time, there were witch trials in Estonia as well. During the 16th and the 17th centuries, there were 150 known witch trials, where the accused were flogged, deported or executed. The charges tended to be about bewitching some animal or human, making them sick or causing them to die. Sometimes they were also charged with making a deal with the devil. The “witches” were generally burned, if there were any mitigating circumstances then beheadings were done as well. Some of the accused were acquitted.


 

Audru Holy Cross church, from the Swedish era.



The furnishings of Ridala church are also from that era, although the church is older, from the Mediaeval period.


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