In the context of our research on the persistence of religious life in Soviet and post-Soviet societies, we had the privilege of speaking with Reverend Professor Randar Tasmuth, former pastor and current lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. His reflections shed light on the endurance of faith, the resilience of Estonian clergy, and the complex balance between belief and ideology during the Soviet period.
Pastoral Beginnings and Academic Vocation
Reverend Professor Tasmuth served as pastor of Kose Parish, located approximately forty kilometres from Tallinn, from 1988 to 2007. Following this period, his career became primarily academic, first as a lecturer and later as a professor of Biblical Studies.
“My teaching responsibilities as a lecturer and later a professor of Biblical studies have since been my main occupation, nevertheless, several times a year I receive invitations to preach in various parishes or to deliver lectures to local communities.”
Faith and ministry are part of a long-standing family tradition for Professor Tasmuth as his own father was a pastor for forty-five years.
Theological Education and the Shadow of Ideology
Professor Tasmuth studied at the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church between 1986 and 1990, a period marked by the waning years of Soviet control and the rise of Estonia’s liberation movement.
“Communist ideology was addressed without hesitation if needed. Basic lectures and seminars focused on theological topics, but in appropriate places and situations, communist ideology was mentioned as a failure in the history of humanity and a nonsense.”
This freedom of discussion, though limited, reflected the shifting political atmosphere of the time, as the ideological rigidity of the Soviet system began to erode.
Faith as Resistance and Inner Strength
Echoing the experience of many within the Eastern Bloc, Professor Tasmuth describes faith as a quiet form of resistance and a source of personal integrity during years of constraint.
“For many people in our churches, faith, participation in church activities, and music were looked upon and regarded as sources of strength and hope. In the 1970s, there existed a sort of ‘two-world reality’: within the community of believers, we felt that we shared precious and beautiful values and lived in the right wayl, even if publicly we could not talk about faith in workplaces or schools.”
This dual existence—spiritual freedom within a constrained society—helped sustain a sense of moral coherence.
“From 1985 onward, these activities in church, especially among young people, became more open and more fearless and gained modest visibility in society.”
Freedom of the Pulpit
By the time he entered ministry in the late 1980s, Estonia was already on the path toward independence.
“As I worked after 1988, I did not experience any restrictions on what I taught or preached. Repressions were after World War II and in a way still in the sixties.”
This testimony contrasts with the severe persecutions that marked earlier decades, particularly in the post-war period across the Soviet Union.
Inter-Confessional Realities in Soviet Estonia
In an interview he granted me, His Eminence Metropolitan Stephanos of Tallinn mentioned that, following the Russian annexation of Estonia after the Second World War, many Estonian Orthodox Christians preferred to declare themselves Lutherans rather than come under Moscow’s jurisdiction. When asked about such accounts, Professor Tasmuth answered that he did not know much about it and added:
“but I do remember an Orthodox priest saying in the 1960s: ‘You Lutherans seem to act a little more freely, even in our present circumstances, than we Orthodox can.’”
Such remarks reveal subtle differences in the degree of autonomy tolerated among confessions within the Soviet religious policy framework.
The Institute of Theology: A Beacon of Continuity
Founded in 1946, the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church became a discreet yet vital institution for the preservation of theological education.
“Its aims were to prepare new candidates for service, to enable pastor candidates to receive basic theological training. Education should be continuous; (2) if possible, to publish new study materials on typewriter (about 6 copies!), composed by us and translated from German, also from English; (3) to do our best to encourage some students and alumni to learn and study more with the perspective of becoming one day lecturers at the Institute.”
Although officially permitted to function, the Institute was required to maintain an extremely low profile:
“The authorities told us, ‘You may work in silence; we know and allow it—but keep a low profile.’ It was, in essence, an underground university of about thirty students.”
Conclusion
Reverend Professor Tasmuth’s testimony offers a vivid account of how faith persisted in silence under the Soviet regime and how the Estonian church managed to safeguard its intellectual and spiritual heritage. His story illustrates not only the adaptability of religious institutions under oppression but also the enduring conviction that belief can serve as both a refuge and a form of peaceful defiance.
Interview by Diane Niquin