Orthodox monks are the first to live and pray at a monastery in Estonia for 80 years

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The ancient words of the Divine Liturgy echo in Estonian as Bishop Damaskinos, clad in flowing white and gold vestments, intones prayers in a small, dark chapel separated only by curtains from the bustling daily life of a new monastery nestled within a farmhouse.

Founded last year in one of Europe’s most secular societies, the Kirikla Orthodox Monastery is the first monastery the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church has established in decades.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the church has coexisted alongside a separate Orthodox church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, which has a larger membership in the Baltic country. Even so, the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church has long sought to rebuild its own male monastic community within its own borders.

Bishop Damaskinos, the 41-year-old abbot, and his fellow monk, the Rev. Paisios, are the first monks to live, work and pray at the new monastery’s farmhouse, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside the capital, Tallinn.

While the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church system currently has more than 60 churches, as well as a convent, the last Orthodox monks lived in Estonia more than 80 years ago…