Estonian church wants to discuss future cooperation with President
The head of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK), Archbishop Urmas Viilma, is hoping to meet with President Kersti Kaljulaid before Christmas to find out if there will be a possibility to work together. Kaljulaid turned down a church service in her honor after she was elected.
According to EELK’s public relations spokesman Kalle Kõiv, the church has sent the president an invitation to a Christmas service, daily Õhtuleht reported on Friday.
“The archbishop is also planning to meet the president before Christmas, to talk to her about potential cooperation in the future,” Kõiv said to Õhtuleht. Viilmas wasn’t expecting an answer from the president before the meeting, and wouldn’t draw any conclusions before he hadn’t talked to her, Kõiv added.
Kaljulaid is the first president of Estonia who rejected the offer of a church service in her honor following her election, saying that she had never attended church out of her own motivation, and that it would be hypocritical of her to pretend otherwise.
Estonia, according to several surveys, is the world's least religious country, with more than 84% of the population stating that religion did not play a role in their lives.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn