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| Like other Balto-Finnic tribes, before Christianization the Setos were pagans. The new religion, Orthodoxy was accepted superficially, the old pagan traditions were still secretly followed. In the long run people got accustomed to the church and the Orthodox congregation began to grow gradually. In 1759, the Orthodox in the area of Värska were so numerous that in place of the section of the Pechorsky Monastery, a separate congregation for the local people was founded. In the same year the monastery had a small church built in Värska in honour of Greatmartyr Saint George. This wooden church was replaced by a new stone church in 1907. The site of the altar is marked with a small tower with the cross on top. Funds for building the new church were donated by the local people (17 610 roubles). In 1926 the bell (called Jüri bell) for Värska Church was made in the Tegur Plant in Tartu. Due to the large crack the bell is out of use today. The old cemetery was located half a kilometre north from the church. The first priests of the Värska congregation, all Estonians by nationality were buried there. The clergymen of that time were obliged to teach people to reading in the Estonian language. The present priest is the 25th clergyman of the congregation, ten assistant priests have served the congregation, as well as deacons, sextons and precentors. All priests have known the Estonian language and services in Värska Church have always been held in Estonian. Up to 1920, the congregation belonged to the Pskov Diocese. Since 1920 it has belonged to the Estonian Orthodox Church. Today there are almost 2000 members in the congregation (some live in Tartu, Tallinn and elswhere all over Estonia). The congregation was the largest ever in 1930, having 4490 members. In the cemetery of Värska you will find the grave of ANNE VABARNA, the most renowned bearer of the intellectual culture of Seto folk. The heritage of the Seto songster consists of 150 000 verses that have been recorded for the succeeding generations. Here is also the grave of the songster of Peipsi, poet PAUL HAAVAOKS who has published ten collections of poetry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||