The Kirikla Orthodox Monastery, founded last year in a farmhouse approximately 40 kilometers outside Tallinn, represents the first monastic community established by the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church in decades. Bishop Damaskinos, a 41-year-old abbot, and Rev. Paisios, age 31, are the only two monks currently residing at the facility. The monastery’s establishment comes after more than 80 years without Orthodox monks living in Estonia, a period that extended back to the era between the two World Wars.
Estonia is characterized as a highly secular nation with approximately 1.3 million residents. The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church operates over 60 churches and one convent within the country, while a separate Orthodox church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate maintains a larger membership. According to Priit Rohtmets, an associate professor of church history at the University of Tartu, young Estonians raised without Soviet-era religious stigmatization may represent an emerging audience for religious communities. The church’s decision to develop monastic life reflects long-standing institutional goals to rebuild its male monastic presence.
Monastic life at Kirikla follows a structured daily rhythm beginning at dawn with individual prayers followed by group services, work in gardens and fields, and evening routines. Bishop Damaskinos drew upon his experience at Mount Athos in Greece, a major center of Orthodox monasticism for over 1,000 years, to establish the monastery’s practices. Prospective monks undergo a novitiate period lasting up to three years before taking permanent vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, distinguishing monastic life from that of Orthodox priests who may marry and serve in parishes.
The monastery operates with limited resources, housed entirely within a donated farmhouse, though plans for future development exist. To generate income, the monks may produce and sell garden produce or handcrafted items such as candles and incense. Bishop Damaskinos has emphasized that spiritual community development takes priority over physical expansion. The monastery’s establishment is notable within a broader European context where monastic communities face declining membership and some institutions close entirely. Other religious traditions maintain monastic communities in Estonia, including a Dominican monastery in Tallinn established in 1996 and a Theravada Buddhist monastery on Aegna Island.
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