He was born at the Idu farm in Ülejõe, Anija Parish, Governorate of Estonia in the Russian Empire, the son of Tõnu Tooming and Miina Roop.
He studied at Kehra Municipal School between 1916 and 1919 and in 1927 graduated from the Jakob Westholm Gymnasium.
[1] On 12 October 1967, after the resignation of Jaan Kiivit Sr., he was elected Archbishop of the Estonian church, and was consecrated on 9 June 1968 in St. Mary's Cathedral.
He was consecrated by Martti Simojoki, Archbishop of Turku and Finland and co-consecrated by Aarre Lauha, Bishop of Helsinki.
[3] On 25 May 1935, Tooming married Senta Kikerpill and together had four children, of whom their daughter, Maare Kümnik (1936–2015), was a notable Estonian bibliographer.