Priit Rohtmets | University of Tartu (original) (raw)

Papers by Priit Rohtmets

Research paper thumbnail of The Estonian and Latvian Orthodox Churches of the Moscow Patriarchate before and after the Russian war in Ukraine

Occasional papers on religion in Eastern Europe, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of The Lutheran Church in Estonian Society

Old Religion, New Spirituality: Implications of Secularisation and Individualisation in Estonia, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Estonia

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Religion Instrumentalized: The Controversial Position of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Over the War In Ukraine

Research paper thumbnail of Whom does the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Serve?

Vartija, 2022

Since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine, the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Pat... more Since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine, the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has stood out with controversial public statements. In this article it is analysed how the leaders of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate speak about the ongoing war and how the Estonian society has reacted to the ambiguity in the church’s rhetoric.

Research paper thumbnail of Theological Factions in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 1917–1934

Doktoritöös kirjeldatakse luteri kirikus aastatel 1917–1934 eksisteerinud teoloogiliste voolude k... more Doktoritöös kirjeldatakse luteri kirikus aastatel 1917–1934 eksisteerinud teoloogiliste voolude kujunemist ja tegevust ning analüüsitakse voolude mõju kirikus toimunud kirikukorralduslikule ja teoloogilisele diskussioonile. Eelneva taustal jälgitakse kiriku õpetuslike ja kirikukorralduslike põhialuste arengut. Luteri kirikus, mis määratles end 1917. a vaba rahvakirikuna, kujunesid organisatsiooni asutamise järel välja kolm teoloogilist voolu: liberaalne, konservatiivne ja kiriklik-konfessionaalne. Voolude esilekerkimise ja moodustumise põhjuseks olid vaimulikkonnas valitsenud teoloogilised erimeelsused, ajendiks aga vaba rahvakiriku korraldus. Selle teoloogiliselt liberaalne tõlgendus ja selle mõjul 1918. aastal muudetud õpetusaluste paragrahv põhjustasid kirikus aastatel 1922–1925 teoloogiliste voolude esindajate vahel terava vastasseisu. Vaidluste ja kokkupõrgete tulemusena muutus vaba rahvakiriku kontseptsiooni tõlgendus senisest konservatiivsemaks ja kirikus algatati liberaalse ...

Research paper thumbnail of The foreign relations of Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 1919-1940

Research paper thumbnail of Usuelu ümberkorraldamine Eestis revolutsioonilise 1917. aasta kevadsuvel

Õpetatud Eesti Seltsi Aastaraamat/Yearbook of the Learned Estonian Society, 2018

Reforming Religious Organisations in Estonia during the Revolutionary Year of 1917

Research paper thumbnail of Une nouvelle mosquée à Tallinn

January 2017 : Already for years, there have been rumors and a public discussion about the erecti... more January 2017 : Already for years, there have been rumors and a public discussion about the erection of a new mosque in Tallinn – the capital of Estonia. Until now, local Muslims have gathered in (...)

Research paper thumbnail of Teoloogilised voolud Eesti Evangeeliumi Luteri Usu Kirikus aastatel 1917–1934

Research paper thumbnail of Eesti Evangeeliumi Luteri Usu Kiriku välissuhted aastatel 1919-1940

Research paper thumbnail of Religious Revival and the Political Activity of Religious Communities in Estonia During the Process of Liberation and the Collapse of the Soviet Union 1985–1991

Religion, State and Society, 2013

ABSTRACT This article examines the activity of Estonian religious communities in the period of pe... more ABSTRACT This article examines the activity of Estonian religious communities in the period of perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1991 the Republic of Estonia regained its independence. This coincided with an upsurge in churchgoing and church activity in society, often referred to as a national and religious awakening. This article, based on archival material, focuses on the changes in church–state relations, on the growing influence of religion and the activity of representatives of religious organisations, and on the development of and attitudes towards new religious movements which emerged in Estonian society in the period from 1985 to 1991. We view these developments in a wider context of social changes in the Soviet Union, with a special emphasis on Estonia, to describe the role that religious communities played in the Estonian liberation process.

Research paper thumbnail of The Birth And Developement Of National Evangelical Lutheran Theology In The Baltics From 1918 To 1940

Journal of Baltic Studies, 2013

This paper examines the birth and rise of Latvian and Estonian national theology during the first... more This paper examines the birth and rise of Latvian and Estonian national theology during the first independence period of Latvia and Estonia from 1918 to 1940. After the establishment of the independent republics of Estonia and Latvia in 1918, leading positions at the theological faculties of the Universities in Tartu and Riga, and in the Lutheran Churches, were seized by Latvians and Estonians, i.e., by the representatives of the national majority. In this paper the transition from a society led by Baltic Germans to societies led by Estonians and Latvians is described and analyzed, with a special emphasis on the activity of theologians at the University of Tartu and at the University of Latvia, as well as national and theological discussions and confrontations in the Lutheran Churches of Latvia and Estonia. In the study all leading theologians, their views and works, as well as their international cooperation are analyzed. To describe the rise of Latvian and Estonian national theology, a historical overview of the situation in the Baltic provinces in the nineteenth century has been given as well.

Research paper thumbnail of The Two Estonian Orthodox Churches and the War In Ukraine

Vartija, 2022

The article focuses on the reaction of the two Orthodox communities in Estonia (The Estonian Apos... more The article focuses on the reaction of the two Orthodox communities in Estonia (The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church and The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate) towards the Russian aggression in Ukraine

Research paper thumbnail of Comfortably Numb: The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church During and After the Soviet Era

Churches, Memory and Justice in Post-Communism, 2021

Estonia is historically a Lutheran country. As a result of mass conversions in the 1840s and 1850... more Estonia is historically a Lutheran country. As a result of mass conversions in the 1840s and 1850s, Orthodox Christianity also became a fixture in Estonia's religious landscape and Baptist and other evangelical free churches reached the country during religious revivals in the 1870s. Today, 29 percent of the population consider themselves having "a faith This chapter was written with support from Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), grant no. 18-11345S (Atheism, Freethought and Secularization in Central and Eastern European Countries in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries).

Research paper thumbnail of Eesti Misjoni Seltsi tegevusest okupatsioonieelses Eesti Vabariigis

... Mainimist väärivad kindlasti Carl Hugo Hahn, Carl Theodor Hasselblatt, Carl Oscar Emil Thal, ... more ... Mainimist väärivad kindlasti Carl Hugo Hahn, Carl Theodor Hasselblatt, Carl Oscar Emil Thal, Hans Tiismann ning Evald Ovir. ... misjoniselts vajus aga sõja ajal, lõplikult aga pärast Saksamaa kaotust I maailmasõjas sügavasse kriisi, millest taastumiseks kulus terve järgnev ...

Research paper thumbnail of Kirikud Poliitilise Survegrupina: Maailmaliit Rahvusvahelise Sõpruse Edendamiseks Kirikute Kaudu Ja Selle Eesti Rahvuskomisjon Aastatel 19

Acta Historica Tallinnensia, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches and resistance to totalitarian regimes in the interwar period

Research paper thumbnail of Le président doit-il aller à l'église ?

Research paper thumbnail of L'enquête de 2015 sur la religion en Estonie

Research paper thumbnail of The Estonian and Latvian Orthodox Churches of the Moscow Patriarchate before and after the Russian war in Ukraine

Occasional papers on religion in Eastern Europe, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of The Lutheran Church in Estonian Society

Old Religion, New Spirituality: Implications of Secularisation and Individualisation in Estonia, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Estonia

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Religion Instrumentalized: The Controversial Position of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Over the War In Ukraine

Research paper thumbnail of Whom does the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate Serve?

Vartija, 2022

Since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine, the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Pat... more Since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine, the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has stood out with controversial public statements. In this article it is analysed how the leaders of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate speak about the ongoing war and how the Estonian society has reacted to the ambiguity in the church’s rhetoric.

Research paper thumbnail of Theological Factions in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 1917–1934

Doktoritöös kirjeldatakse luteri kirikus aastatel 1917–1934 eksisteerinud teoloogiliste voolude k... more Doktoritöös kirjeldatakse luteri kirikus aastatel 1917–1934 eksisteerinud teoloogiliste voolude kujunemist ja tegevust ning analüüsitakse voolude mõju kirikus toimunud kirikukorralduslikule ja teoloogilisele diskussioonile. Eelneva taustal jälgitakse kiriku õpetuslike ja kirikukorralduslike põhialuste arengut. Luteri kirikus, mis määratles end 1917. a vaba rahvakirikuna, kujunesid organisatsiooni asutamise järel välja kolm teoloogilist voolu: liberaalne, konservatiivne ja kiriklik-konfessionaalne. Voolude esilekerkimise ja moodustumise põhjuseks olid vaimulikkonnas valitsenud teoloogilised erimeelsused, ajendiks aga vaba rahvakiriku korraldus. Selle teoloogiliselt liberaalne tõlgendus ja selle mõjul 1918. aastal muudetud õpetusaluste paragrahv põhjustasid kirikus aastatel 1922–1925 teoloogiliste voolude esindajate vahel terava vastasseisu. Vaidluste ja kokkupõrgete tulemusena muutus vaba rahvakiriku kontseptsiooni tõlgendus senisest konservatiivsemaks ja kirikus algatati liberaalse ...

Research paper thumbnail of The foreign relations of Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church 1919-1940

Research paper thumbnail of Usuelu ümberkorraldamine Eestis revolutsioonilise 1917. aasta kevadsuvel

Õpetatud Eesti Seltsi Aastaraamat/Yearbook of the Learned Estonian Society, 2018

Reforming Religious Organisations in Estonia during the Revolutionary Year of 1917

Research paper thumbnail of Une nouvelle mosquée à Tallinn

January 2017 : Already for years, there have been rumors and a public discussion about the erecti... more January 2017 : Already for years, there have been rumors and a public discussion about the erection of a new mosque in Tallinn – the capital of Estonia. Until now, local Muslims have gathered in (...)

Research paper thumbnail of Teoloogilised voolud Eesti Evangeeliumi Luteri Usu Kirikus aastatel 1917–1934

Research paper thumbnail of Eesti Evangeeliumi Luteri Usu Kiriku välissuhted aastatel 1919-1940

Research paper thumbnail of Religious Revival and the Political Activity of Religious Communities in Estonia During the Process of Liberation and the Collapse of the Soviet Union 1985–1991

Religion, State and Society, 2013

ABSTRACT This article examines the activity of Estonian religious communities in the period of pe... more ABSTRACT This article examines the activity of Estonian religious communities in the period of perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1991 the Republic of Estonia regained its independence. This coincided with an upsurge in churchgoing and church activity in society, often referred to as a national and religious awakening. This article, based on archival material, focuses on the changes in church–state relations, on the growing influence of religion and the activity of representatives of religious organisations, and on the development of and attitudes towards new religious movements which emerged in Estonian society in the period from 1985 to 1991. We view these developments in a wider context of social changes in the Soviet Union, with a special emphasis on Estonia, to describe the role that religious communities played in the Estonian liberation process.

Research paper thumbnail of The Birth And Developement Of National Evangelical Lutheran Theology In The Baltics From 1918 To 1940

Journal of Baltic Studies, 2013

This paper examines the birth and rise of Latvian and Estonian national theology during the first... more This paper examines the birth and rise of Latvian and Estonian national theology during the first independence period of Latvia and Estonia from 1918 to 1940. After the establishment of the independent republics of Estonia and Latvia in 1918, leading positions at the theological faculties of the Universities in Tartu and Riga, and in the Lutheran Churches, were seized by Latvians and Estonians, i.e., by the representatives of the national majority. In this paper the transition from a society led by Baltic Germans to societies led by Estonians and Latvians is described and analyzed, with a special emphasis on the activity of theologians at the University of Tartu and at the University of Latvia, as well as national and theological discussions and confrontations in the Lutheran Churches of Latvia and Estonia. In the study all leading theologians, their views and works, as well as their international cooperation are analyzed. To describe the rise of Latvian and Estonian national theology, a historical overview of the situation in the Baltic provinces in the nineteenth century has been given as well.

Research paper thumbnail of The Two Estonian Orthodox Churches and the War In Ukraine

Vartija, 2022

The article focuses on the reaction of the two Orthodox communities in Estonia (The Estonian Apos... more The article focuses on the reaction of the two Orthodox communities in Estonia (The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church and The Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate) towards the Russian aggression in Ukraine

Research paper thumbnail of Comfortably Numb: The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church During and After the Soviet Era

Churches, Memory and Justice in Post-Communism, 2021

Estonia is historically a Lutheran country. As a result of mass conversions in the 1840s and 1850... more Estonia is historically a Lutheran country. As a result of mass conversions in the 1840s and 1850s, Orthodox Christianity also became a fixture in Estonia's religious landscape and Baptist and other evangelical free churches reached the country during religious revivals in the 1870s. Today, 29 percent of the population consider themselves having "a faith This chapter was written with support from Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), grant no. 18-11345S (Atheism, Freethought and Secularization in Central and Eastern European Countries in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries).

Research paper thumbnail of Eesti Misjoni Seltsi tegevusest okupatsioonieelses Eesti Vabariigis

... Mainimist väärivad kindlasti Carl Hugo Hahn, Carl Theodor Hasselblatt, Carl Oscar Emil Thal, ... more ... Mainimist väärivad kindlasti Carl Hugo Hahn, Carl Theodor Hasselblatt, Carl Oscar Emil Thal, Hans Tiismann ning Evald Ovir. ... misjoniselts vajus aga sõja ajal, lõplikult aga pärast Saksamaa kaotust I maailmasõjas sügavasse kriisi, millest taastumiseks kulus terve järgnev ...

Research paper thumbnail of Kirikud Poliitilise Survegrupina: Maailmaliit Rahvusvahelise Sõpruse Edendamiseks Kirikute Kaudu Ja Selle Eesti Rahvuskomisjon Aastatel 19

Acta Historica Tallinnensia, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches and resistance to totalitarian regimes in the interwar period

Research paper thumbnail of Le président doit-il aller à l'église ?

Research paper thumbnail of L'enquête de 2015 sur la religion en Estonie

Research paper thumbnail of Eesti ja Hiina suhete sünd

The Origins of Estonia-China Relations , 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Lucian Turcescu and Lavinia Stan, editors, Churches, Memory and Justice in Post-Communism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

This book is the first to systematically examine the connection between religion and transitional... more This book is the first to systematically examine the connection between religion and transitional justice in post-communism. There are four main goals motivating this book: 1) to explain how civil society (groups such as religious denominations) contribute to transitional justice efforts to address and redress past dictatorial repression; 2) to ascertain the impact of state-led reckoning programs on religious communities and their members; 3) to renew the focus on the factors that determine the adoption (or rejection) of efforts to reckon with past human rights abuses in post-communism; and 4) to examine the limitations of enacting specific transitional justice methods, programs and practices in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union countries, whose democratization has differed in terms of its nature and pace. Various churches and their relationship with the communist states are covered in the following countries: Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus.

Table of Contents

Central Europe

Catholic Church, Stasi, and Post-communism in Germany by Gregor Buß
Lustration and the Roman Catholic Church in Poland by Mikołaj Kunicki
Religion and Transitional Justice in the Czech Republic by Frank Cibulka
Slovakian Catholics and Lutherans Facing the Communist Past by Pavol Jakubčin

The Balkans

The Romanian Orthodox Church Rewriting Its History by Lucian Turcescu
Bulgaria: Revealed Secrets, Unreckoned Past by Momchil Metodiev
Transitional-Unconditional Justice? The Case of the Catholic Church of Albania by Ines Angeli Murzaku

The Baltic Republics

Comfortably Numb: The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church During and After the Soviet Era by Atko Remmel and Priit Rohtmets
The Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches in Latvia by Solveiga Krumina-Konkova
The Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania and Its Soviet Past by Arūnas Streikus

Former Soviet Republics in Europe

The Russian Orthodox Church and Its Communist Past by Lavinia Stan
Restorative Justice and Orthodox Church in Belarus by Nelly Bekus