The aim of this publication is to introduce the Estonia's military Chaplain Service, which is one of the newest in NATO, to the English-speaking public. This work is based on my doctoral dissertation and is published at the request of the Estonian Defence Forces, Chaplain Service by the Instructional Aids Department, Estonian Military Academy.
Like all the other Eastern European nations who were under Communist rule for more than fifty years, once Estonia recovered its independence in 1991, it had to rebuild its armed forces from zero. Since the Communist doctrine saw churces and religious institutions as an enemy which had to be destroyed, there was no place for chaplains in the Soviet Army. When it came to resurrecting the Chaplain Service, Estonia had an advantage: there were military chaplains who had been born in Estonia, who were serving in the Canadian and the American armed forces, who were willing and able to return to their land of birth in order to help create a NATO compatible Defence Force that included a modern chaplain service.
