Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Church of Finland

1,847 bytes added, 19:46, February 4, 2013
added clarification
The '''Church of Finland''' is an [[autonomy|autonomous]] Orthodox church whose [[primate]] is confirmed by the [[Church of Constantinople]]. It is the second official state church of Finland, beside the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
{{church|
name= Orthodox Archdiocese of Finland|founder= Monks of [[Valaam Monastery (Image:Finland)logo.gif|center|Valaam MonasteryChurch of Finland]]|founder=Tsar Alexander I |
independence=1918 |
recognition= 1923 by [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], 1957 by [[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
primate=[[Leo (Makkonen) of Finland|Archbishop Leo]]|
hq=Kuopio, Finland|
territory=Finland|
possessions= Estonia|
language=Finnish|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Gregorian Calendar|Gregorian]]|
population=60,000[http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25813]|
website=[http://www.ort.fi/ Church of Finland]
== History ==
The Orthodox faith was the earliest form of Christianity was introduced to arrive in Finland during Russian rule in the 19th century. In Helsinki, Viipuri It spread to southern Finland and to the Karelian Isthmus, Orthodoxy was associated people of Karelia around Lake Ladoga through trade and other contacts with the country's ruling eliteEast over 1,000 years ago. However, many rural Finns, Sami The founding of monasteries on the islands of Lake Ladoga contributed significantly to the spreading and Karelians were also members establishment of the Orthodox faith in eastern Finland. The monasteries were important [[Orthodox Churchmissionary]]centres.
Shortly after Finland declared independence from Russia During Russian rule in 1917the 19th century, the Finnish Orthodox Church declared its [[autonomy]] from the [[Church of Russia]]. In 1923in Helsinki, Viipuri (Vyborg), and the Finnish Church completely separated from the Russian ChurchKarelian Isthmus, becoming an autonomous part of Orthodoxy was associated with the [[Church of Constantinople]]country's ruling elite. The [[New Calendar]] was also adopted However, many rural Finns, including the Gregorian [[Paschalion]]Sami, making it distinct from the rest and Karelians were also members 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 [[Orthodox Church Slavonic]] to Finnish and the transfer of the Archepiscopal seat from the multicultural city of Viipuri to the Finnish speaking city of Sortavala.
After the Grand Duchy of Finland was formed under Russian rule during the early nineteenth century the Orthodox believers in Finland were placed under the [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Eparchy of St. Petersburg]]. In 1892, Finland was established as a separate diocese with its bishop's [[see]] in Vyborg, separate from the Eparchy of St.Petersburg. [[Anthony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga|Abp. Anthony (Vadkovsky)]] was [[enthronement|enthroned]] as the diocese's first ruling hierarch. 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 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 primary liturgical language from [[Church Slavonic]] to Finnish (also other languages are used depending on [[parish]] and situation, e.g. Church Slavonic, Swedish, English) 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 MonasteryValamo|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 ==
To this day, Orthodoxy is practiced mostly by Russians, Karelians and the Sami (Koltta Tribe), although it has shed the image of the privileged class with which it was once associated. The Church of Finland has about 60,000 members. In recent decades, the membership has been steadily growing.
 
The principal Orthodox temple in Finland is the [[Uspenski Cathedral (Helsinki)|Uspenski Cathedral]] in Helsinki, which is the largest Orthodox church in western Europe.
Its current primate is His Eminence [[Leo (Makkonen) of Finland|Leo]], Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland.
==Church structure==
Within the one [[autonomy|autonomous]] Church of Finland, there are three [[metropolisdiocese|metropoliadioceses]]: *Diocese of Helsinki*Diocese of Karelia*Diocese of Oulu
==Related articles==*Metropolis [[List of HelsinkiFinnish monasteries]]*Metropolis [[Dioceses/Parishes of KareliaFinland]]*Metropolis [[List of OuluFinnish Archbishops]]*[[List of bishops in Finland]]{{churches}}
==External links==
*[http://www.ort.fi/ The Church of Finland] (Official site)
*[http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/ortodeng.html Finnish Orthodox Church - Virtual Finland] (Written for Virtual Finland by Archbishop Leo)
*[http://www.valaam.ru/en/ Valaam Monastery]
*[http://www.valamo.fi/index.php New Valaam Monastery] or [http://www.ortodoksi.net/index.php/Uuden_Valamon_luostari]*[http://www.pyykkonenortodoksi.net/ortodoksitindex.php/kirkko Virtuaalikirkko St. Nicholas Virtual Church of Joensuu, Finland] (in English)*[http://www.ortodoksi.net /index.php/Briefly_in_English Ortodoksi.net] (Orthodoxy in Finland, briefly in English) or [http://www.ortodoksi.net/index.php/Luokka:In_English]*[http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Study+Moscow+Patriarchate+pressured+Finnish+Orthodox+Church+after+war/1135230734096 Study: Moscow Patriarchate pressured Finnish Orthodox Church after war], slightly by Timo Siukonen*[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=30&IndexView=toc "The Orthodox Church of Finland"] in English)''The Eastern Christian Churches: A Brief Survey'' by Ronald Roberson, on the CNEWA website.
[[Category:Jurisdictions|Finland]]
[[Categoryfr:JurisdictionsÉglise de Finlande]][[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă a Finlandei]]
16,951
edits

Navigation menu