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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 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 useddepending 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
