Eastern Orthodoxy by country
Based on the numbers of adherents, the Eastern Orthodox Church (also known as Eastern Orthodoxy) is the second largest Christian communion in the world after the Roman Catholic Church. The most common estimates of the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide is approximately 200–260 million. The numerous Protestant groups in the world, if taken all together, outnumber the Eastern Orthodox, but they differ theologically and do not form a single communion.
Religion in Estonia
There were two orthodox Christian Churches in Estonia- the Estonian Orthodox Church which was part of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church under Constantinople. The Estonian Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is a small group which is barely heard of outside Estonia . The membership of the Apostolic Orthodox was about 30,000 in 1996. Since 1840 many Lutherans converted to Orthodox Christianity which resulted in the rise of the Orthodox win Estonia . In 1920, the Apostolic Orthodox Church became autonomous from the Russian Patriarch Tikhon. The reoccupation of Estonia state by the Soviet Union ended the autonomy of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church however, the autonomy was regained in 1996 after Estonia regained her independence under the Soviet Union . The number of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church during the Soviet era was about 200,000 out of which 80% were native Estonians. One of the major challenges faced by the current Orthodox Christians in Estonia is Identification. The perception that the Orthodox Christianity is a Russian religion and the history of Russian invasions of Estonia makes it difficult for people to understand the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church.