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Orthodox Christianity was introduced to Finland during Russian rule in the 19th century. In Helsinki, Viipuri and the Karelian Isthmus, Orthodoxy was associated with the country's ruling elite. However, many rural Finns, Sami and Karelians were also members of the [[Orthodox Church]].
Shortly after Finland declared independence from Russia in 1917, the Finnish Orthodox Church declared its [[autonomy]] from the [[Church of Russia]]. In 1923, the Finnish Church completly completely separated from the Russian Church, becoming an autonomous part of the [[Church of Constantinople]]. The [[New Calendar]] was also adopted, including the Gregorian [[Paschalion]], making it distinct from the rest of the Orthodox churches, whether following the [[New Calendar|New]] or [[Old Calendar|Old]] [[Church calendar]]. Other reforms introduced after independence include changing the liturgical language from [[Church Slavonic]] to Finnish and the transfer of the Archepiscopal seat from the multicultural city of Viipuri to the Finnish speaking city of Sortavala.
Until World War II, the majority of the Orthodox Christians in Finland were in Karelia. As a consequence of the war, many residents of that border province evacuated to other parts of the country. The monastery of
[[Valaam Monastery|Valaam]] was evacuated in 1940 and the monastery of [[New Valaam Monastery|New Valaam]] was founded in 1941 at Heinävesi. Later, the monks from Konevitsa and Petsamo monasteries also joined the New Valaam monastery. The nunnery of Lintula at Kivennapa (Karelian Isthmus) was also evacuated, and re-established at Heinävesi in 1946. A new parish network was established, and many new churches were built in the 1950s. After the city of Viipuri was lost to the Soviet Union, its Diocesan seat was moved to Helsinki. A third Diocese was established at Oulu in 1979.
== Finnish Orthodoxy Today ==