In recent years, the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church has been surrounded by anxiety and uncertainty. This is felt by everyone who belongs to this church, whether they are parishioners, employees or clergy.

Naturally, no Orthodox Christian can remain indifferent to the statements by politicians and the headlines appearing in the media regarding the dispute that has erupted around Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, during which calls have been made to terminate the parish's lease agreement, turn the cathedral into a museum or even demolish it. I am no exception.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work with the cathedral parish's archival records and collect materials for two official publications dealing with the cathedral's history. I held original documents, photographs and letters in my hands and worked through old newspapers and magazines. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has repeatedly been at risk of closure and demolition. Now, too, history appears to be repeating itself.

First attempt in 1928

In 1928, a bill on the liquidation of Tallinn's Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was submitted to the Riigikogu for discussion. The arguments made at the time sound painfully familiar: a "symbol of a sad past," an "embodiment of an oppressive policy" and something that "does not fit the overall appearance of Estonia's capital due to its style." Newspapers wrote about the Polish precedent of demolishing an Orthodox cathedral in Warsaw in 1924–1926 and called for the same example to be followed.

But something unexpected happened. All Orthodox parishes in Estonia, both Russian and Estonian, unanimously came out against the demolition of the cathedral. The Synod of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church prepared a special prayer service for the preservation of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and this prayer was held in all Orthodox churches in Estonia in both Estonian and Church Slavonic until the threat of demolition hanging over the cathedral had passed. In Petseri County, believers walked tens of kilometers to take part in these services.

Some representatives of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church also spoke out in defense of the cathedral, particularly members of the editorial board of the newspaper Eesti Kirik, such as Professor Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi, dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Tartu, who later became a bishop of the EELC, and Artur Sommer, pastor of Tallinn's Kaarli Church.

News of the threat facing Alexander Nevsky Cathedral even reached the United States, where protests were voiced by the Orthodox Church in America and the Russian community in Alaska. At the same time, the Episcopal Church in the United States expressed the view that the matter should be addressed through the U.S. Department of State. John A. Gade, a former U.S. representative to the Baltic states, informed Estonia's consul general that demolishing the cathedral could cause serious reputational damage to the young state. In the end, the bill was removed from the agenda.

It is worth noting that at the same time as the bill to demolish the cathedral was being submitted, architects and public figures were discussing the redesign of Freedom Square and, in connection with that, the idea of relocating St. John's Church (one participant in the debate at the time referred to it as a "pile of stones"). This was the Lutheran house of worship located on Freedom Square, built between 1862 and 1867 according to the design of architect Christoph August Gabler.

Second wave, 1930s

The question of demolishing Alexander Nevsky Cathedral resurfaced in the late 1930s. This time, the cathedral was saved thanks to the transfer of the metropolitan's seat there and the relocation of the Estonian-language parish from St. Simeon's Church, which was headed by Archpriest Nikolai Päts (the brother of Konstantin Päts, the president of the Republic of Estonia at the time).

It is noteworthy that at the same time, it was not only the Orthodox cathedral that was under threat. In 1934, the question of demolishing St. John's Church once again became a serious issue due to plans to redesign Freedom Square and erect a monument to the War of Independence there. The press at the time featured strong arguments that St. John's Church was not suitable for standing alongside the Freedom Monument on the main square of Estonia's capital. The Lutheran parish decisively defended its church. The public debate lasted six years and was brought to an end only by the outbreak of World War II.

Two houses of worship — one Orthodox and the other Lutheran — faced a similar threat of demolition at the same time. This is an important historical parallel. It shows that the threat at the time was neither confessional nor national in nature; rather, church and cultural heritage as such had come under attack. And each time, believers responded by opposing the threat, regardless of which church was in danger.

Present day

Every time the people have faced such a choice, they have decided in favor of preservation. And each time, that decision has proved wise not only from the perspective of safeguarding cultural heritage but also in terms of the country's international reputation. Today, Estonian society is once again being divided by questions surrounding the existence of the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church, the controversial Churches and Congregations Act, and the debate surrounding Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

For years, morning and evening services have been held at the cathedral every day and liturgy has been celebrated there in Estonian on Saturdays. People of different ages and nationalities come here to pray. Sunday schools for both children and adults operate at the cathedral.

For believers, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is not a symbol of anyone's power or a sign of anyone's superiority over others. For them, it is the house of God. It is a place where people come with their joys and sorrows, where they find comfort in prayer and where they gather in worship into a shared communion with their clergy and hierarchs, bearing witness to the Church of Christ. This is the cathedral's true essence. It is a truth obscured by mistaken stereotypes, but one that can be experienced by anyone who walks through the open doors of the church on an ordinary day.

Throughout its 125-year history, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has survived the collapse of empires, the birth and restoration of the Estonian state, revolutions, wars, occupations and several periods of political pressure. And it has endured because each time there have been caring people of different nationalities and faiths standing behind it, people for whom it is part of their own history, the history of their city or the history of their country. I am one of them. And I hope that the people of Estonia will once again make a wise choice.

Marina Kasparovitch is a certified specialist in Estonian cultural history, an employee of the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church office and one of the editors of the publications "Tallinn Alexander Nevsky Cathedral" (2015, in Russian) and "Alexander Nevsky Cathedral" (2016).

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