SchChat - School | Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church

Descriptions

The Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Estonian: Eesti Evangeelse Luterliku Kiriku Usuteaduse Instituut, or Estonian: EELK Usuteaduse Instituut) is a private university in Tallinn, Estonia, established in 1946. It is situated next to the Church of the Holy Spirit, Tallinn. he Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Estonian acronym: EELK UI) is a private higher education institution in Tallinn. Most of the current clergy of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, a mainline Protestant Church in Lutheran tradition, have acquired their higher theological education at the Institute. The Institute consists of the Faculty of Theology, the Church Music Department, the Continuous Education Department, and Pastoral Seminary. The Institute also possesses one of the largest theological libraries in Estonia. The Faculty of Theology is the largest unit of the Institute and considers itself as a successor of the Lutheran Faculty of Theology, founded in 1632 at the University of Tartu, which was closed by the Soviet authorities in August 1940. The history of the Institute can be divided into two periods – from its establishment in 1946 until the extinction of Soviet power in the late 1980s, and from the restoration of Estonia’s independence to the present day. The Institute of Theology (which also carried the name Higher Experimental Commission of Theology in between) was established in 1946 under the conditions of Soviet occupation which did not foresee theological studies at public universities and higher education institutions. The Institute may this be regarded as the oldest continuously existing private higher education institution in Estonia. The initial student body consisted of former students of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu. Also the curricula followed to a large extent the ones from the Faculty of Theology on Tartu, and some of the professors who were also active by the opening of the Faculty, had previously been teaching at this Faculty (e.g. Uku Masing) or had graduated from there (e.g. Evald Saag).