Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church 100

The souvenir sheet is issued to celebrate the centenary of the autonomy of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC). On 23 September 1923, the EAOC was granted autonomy – limited self-government – under the protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The stamps depict Ecumenical Patriarch Meletius IV (1871–1935, Ecumenical Patriarch 1921–1923), Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, whose tomos (edict) granted autonomy to the EAOC, and Metropolitan Alexander (1872–1953, Metropolitan 1923–1953), under whose leadership the EAOC sought this status. The lower stamps depict the current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (b. 1940, Patriarch since 1991), who restored the autonomy of the EAOC in 1996 and who visited Estonia on 12–20 September 2023, and the current Metropolitan Stephanos (b. 1940, Metropolitan since 1999).