A visit to Estonia, 1 

by Father Paul Elliott

I RECENTLY WENT to Estonia as part of an educational delegation on behalf of the Department for Education & Skills and the British Council.  I was supposed to be looking at the emergent school system as it restructures after the demise of Soviet control in the early 1990’s.  However, I also wanted to see the legacy of the New Martyrs on today’s Orthodox Church in Estonia.  There are two jurisdictions in Estonia, the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church of Estonia.

On the Sunday morning I attended the beautiful Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky in Tallin.  The church belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate.  This lovely Cathedral was closed for many years under the Soviet regime.  They had considered demolishing it in the 1940’s but thankfully it was used as a store for books from the National Library nearby.  It was very crowded the day I went, and the singing was just wonderful.  My fellow head teachers were rather puzzled by me, so they chose to attend the Liturgy at the back of the Church to see what it was like.  They arrived as the whole congregation sang the Creed with great devotion led by the deacon.  My colleagues were very moved by the deep conviction and faith of the people.  I stood in the nave throughout the Liturgy. I was constantly asked for blessings, and the clergy sent out prosphora and hot  wine for me after their communion.  The people were most welcoming and extremely devout.  Though there was an icon of the New Martyrs of Estonia, there were no signs of any relics of them in this cathedral.  I also visited the ancient and beautiful church of St Nicolas in Tallin which had survived the Revolution with it’s treasures intact.  I failed to gain entry to the Estonian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration which was a pity, as I believe that it has the relics of St Platon of Revel within it.

Later in the week, I journeyed into deepest Estonia to the city of Tartu.  This is not all that far from Pskov.  Tartu or Dorpat or Uryiev is the site of the deaths of three of the New Martyrs of Russia.  I found the outside of the Credit Bank in Kompani Street in Tartu.  There is no outward sign that this is a place of Martyrdom, but it has a silent witness all of its own to those who are aware of it.  I believe that there is a plaque in the cellar where Bishop Platon and his companions were murdered, but nothing on the outside that I could see.