Andres Põder (born 22 November 1949) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n clergyman, bishop emeritus and the former archbishop of Tallinn and

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Estonia The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Church ...

(EELK) from 2005–2014. Põder is the current president of Estonian Council of Churches since 2013.

Biography

Põder was born on 22 November 1949 in

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its w ...

. He was ordained priest on 19 September 1976 and served as pastor in Kunda, Viru-Nigula Parish. In 1979 he transferred to

Kõpu Kõpu is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Viljandi County, Estonia. It was the administrative centre of Kõpu Parish. Suure-Kõpu manor Suure-Kõpu manor (german: Gross-Köppo), located in the village, has a history that goes back to 1487. Du ...

and in 1983 congregations in

Räpina Räpina ( vro, Räpinä, german: Rappin) is a town in Põlva County, Estonia. Räpina was administrative centre of Räpina raion from 1950 until 1961, currently it is the administrative centre of Räpina Parish. The oldest commercial enterpri ...

and Mehikoorma. Between 1990 and 2005 he served as pastor of St. Elizabeth's Church, Pärnu. He was elected on 24 November 2004 as Archbishop of Tallinn and Primate of the Estonian church. He was consecrated on 2 February 2005 by Jaan Kiivit Jr., the outgoing archbishop, in St Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn. He retired on 22 November 2014.

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1949 births Living people People from Haapsalu Lutheran archbishops of Tallinn 21st-century Lutheran archbishops Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class {{lutheran-stub