Estonia
St John's Church
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St. John's Church (Estonian: Jaani kirik) is a large Lutheran parish church in Tallinn, Estonia. It is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, a disciple of Jesus Christ and author of the fourth Christian Gospel. Construction began in 1862, and the church was opened in 1867.
From the time of the Reformation, Estonia's primary religious tradition has been Lutheranism, with a catholic polity, and episcopal government. The national church of Estonia is the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, of which St John's is a parish church. The motivation for construction was the large size of the existing congregation at the neighbouring Holy Spirit parish church (sometimes translated 'Holy Ghost'), which by the mid-nineteenth century numbered more than 14,000 members. Fundraising began in 1851 to provide a new parish church in the expanding suburbs of the 'new' town of Tallinn, at the lower level below the ancient hill-top city settlement (the Toompea). From September 1862 local craftsmen worked on construction, and the church was consecrated on 17 December 1867.
From the time of the Reformation, Estonia's primary religious tradition has been Lutheranism, with a catholic polity, and episcopal government. The national church of Estonia is the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, of which St John's is a parish church. The motivation for construction was the large size of the existing congregation at the neighbouring Holy Spirit parish church (sometimes translated 'Holy Ghost'), which by the mid-nineteenth century numbered more than 14,000 members.[1] Fundraising began in 1851 to provide a new parish church in the expanding suburbs of the 'new' town of Tallinn, at the lower level below the ancient hill-top city settlement (the Toompea). From September 1862 local craftsmen worked on construction, and the church was consecrated on 17 December 1867.Plans to demolish the church were proposed in both the 1930s and the 1950s by architects and planners who felt its style jarred with the other buildings of Freedom Square; local opposition prevented the planned demolition in both cases.
