Charismatic Christianity and Pentecostal churches in Estonia from a historical perspective

Authors

• Ringo Ringvee University of Tartu

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.67563

Keywords:

Pentecostalism, Christianity, Estonia, Baltic States, Revivals, Missions -- Estonia, Soviet Union, Livets ord

Abstract

This article focuses on the history of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity in Estonia from the early twentieth century to the early twenty-first century. From the 1870s onwards a series of religious revivals in Estonia created the context for the emergence of the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century. Proto-Pentecostalism at the beginning of the century transformed into a fully-fledged Pentecostalism in the 1920s with the involvement of foreign missionaries from Sweden as well as from Finland. The Finnish connection became important in the late 1960s with the emergence of a charismatic Pentecostal revival in the evangelical Christian churches, as well as amongst the Baptists in Tallinn. By the late 1970s the prayer revival had transformed into a healing ministry and this had an impact on the charismatic movement in the Soviet Union. The foreign impact on Pentecostal and charismatic movements in Estonia has also been important from the late 1980s onwards. There has been considerable diversification of the charismatic and Pentecostal traditions in Estonia since the 1990s, and the trends have reflected general changes in charismatic Christianity. Although internally diverse the charismatic Christianity (including the Pentecostals) may well be by now the second largest Protestant tradition in Estonia.