Vikerhommik · (Vikerraadio)

Riho Saard: Euroopas on kristlusega halvad lood

·22 min·2 clips

Theology professor Riho Saard explains why Easter blends ancient pagan spring rituals with the Christian story of resurrection.

The episode begins with host Taavi Libe greeting theology professor Riho Saard on Easter morning. Saard immediately frames Easter as a fusion of pre-Christian pagan spring celebrations—symbolized by decorated eggs—and the Christian narrative of resurrection and eternal life. As a historian, he focuses on the textual sources, starting with the Gospel of Mark, which ends abruptly with women discovering an empty tomb and fleeing in terror. Saard notes the earlier writings of Paul, who omits women from his resurrection account, raising questions about intentional exclusion. To make the story relatable, he translates it to an Estonian context: imagine a body disappearing in Tallinn and a sighting reported 180 km away in Tartu county. The discussion turns to the dating of Easter, explaining it was fixed to the Sunday after the spring equinox at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to distance Christianity from Jewish calendrical traditions. Saard then introduces his newly published book 'Kristluse jälgedes' (In the Footsteps of Christianity), a global history from origins to the present. He reveals it was a collaborative effort with nine co-authors, aimed at being accessible to students, teachers, and the general public, not just academics. The book was limited to about 600 pages by the publisher, requiring concise writing. Saard distinguishes between 'church' as an institution and 'Christianity' as a broader phenomenon, emphasizing his focus on the latter. He observes that Christianity's demographic center has shifted decisively to the Global South—Africa, Asia, Latin America—while Europe and North America experience secularization and declining political influence. Regarding Estonia, the book includes a chapter by Liina Kilemit on Estonian religious sociology and references Estonian historical figures, though Saard notes Finnish colleagues often complain their country is rarely mentioned in such global surveys. He defends writing an original Estonian-language work rather than translating an existing foreign text, citing imbalances in existing surveys that overemphasize Western or Orthodox Christianity. The conversation concludes with Saard positioning his academic approach: he stops at the historical evidence of the empty tomb, leaving theological interpretations to faith, aligning with most scholars who treat further claims as matters of belief rather than history.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Vikerhommik