Between 1931 and 1942 he studied at Käru and Salla Primary School and Väike-Maarja Gymnasium.
He studied at the Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church between 1949 and 1959.
He was ordained priest on 24 May 1950 by Archbishop Jaan Kiivit Sr. in St. Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn.
In 1950 he transferred to Kursi, Jõgeva County to become pastor of the parish church.
Between 1954 and 1956 he was also responsible for the Alexander's Cathedral and in 1957 he became pastor of St. John's Church, Tallinn, where he remained till 1987.