Finland, Autonomous Orthodox Church of

SERGEY TROSTYANSKIY

Finland has a long and dramatic church history. Orthodoxy’s presence in Finland can be traced back to the late 11th century, as contemporary archeological explorations suggest. The 12th century, in turn, was marked by very significant activities of merchants and monks from Novgorod in Karelia (a region which is now divided between Russia and Finland). The mission­ary activities of Russian and Byzantine monks played a key role in the introduction of the Orthodox faith to the Finnish people. The greatest and most glorious signs of Orthodox presence in Finland are traditionally associated with its monastic communities. The Valamo (in Russian, Valaam) monastery, which was founded in the 12th century, stands out as among the most important of all. Among the other monastic communities, the Konevitsa (Russian, Konevets) monastery, established in the 14th century, and the monastery at Petsamo (Russian, Pechenga), set up in the 16th century beside the Arctic Ocean, are also distinguished as the great centers of Orthodox spirituality.

The Orthodox presence in Finland up until the 20th century was primarily local­ized in the region of Karelia, a territory that was subjected to a number of regional wars (between Novgorod and Sweden, and later between Russia and Sweden). Thus, Karelia, as the spiritual heartland of Orthodoxy in the North, tended always to be caught up in political turmoil and suffered enormously during its history. Even in the 12th century the Valamo monastery experienced several Swedish invasions. In the 16th and 17th cen­turies the struggle over Finland between Rus­sia and Sweden brought more instability, and the destruction of the monasteries followed, causing the majority of the Orthodox popu­lation to flee to Russia as the western parts of Karelia were occupied by Sweden. Those who remained on these territories were generally forced to convert to Lutheranism.

In the 18th century, Tsar Peter the Great took control once more of some parts of Karelia, including the most significant sites around Lake Ladoga. Since then, Orthodoxy was restored and the Valamo and Konevitsa monasteries were rebuilt. This period was characterized by many spiritual and material restorations of the Orthodox faith in Finland. At the beginning of the 19th cen­tury, when Finland had become a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire, the Orthodox population there once again increased signif­icantly as many merchants, soldiers, and others moved to Finland from Russia to settle the new territories. Many churches and chapels were built at that time to accommo­date settlers. In 1892 an independent diocese of Finland was established in order to serve the multi-ethnic Orthodox population, which included Finns, Karelians, Skolt Saame, and Russians.

The early part of the 20th century marked a new turn in the history of Orthodoxy in Finland. Among the conse­quences of the Russian Revolution of 1917 was the creation of an independent Finland. An edict of 1918 by the Finnish government granted the Orthodox Church the status of the second national church of the coun­try, with all attendant rights and privileges. This edict was very favorable for the church as it provided a secure status for the Ortho­dox minorities of Finland. The political tur­bulence in Russia after the 1917 Revolution, on the other hand, created extremely unfa­vorable conditions for the Russian Ortho­dox Church, which was severely persecuted by the Bolsheviks; many Russian clergy and laity were murdered, and many exiled. By the early 1920s it became almost impos­sible for the Russian synod to oversee the diocese of Finland. Therefore, in 1921, the Russian Patriarch Tikhon granted autonomy to the Finnish Church. However, in the light of multiple difficulties in maintaining the relationship with the mother church due to the political insta­bility in Russia, the Finnish Orthodox Church elected to change its jurisdictional position, and in 1923 became an autono­mous archbishopric of the patriarchate of Constantinople.

World War II began another epoch in the history of Orthodoxy in Finland. At this time the eastern part of Finland was occu­pied by forces of the Soviet Union, which brought about the large-scale exile of the Orthodox population of Karelia to other parts of Finland. At that time the Finnish Church lost its most significant properties, including its major monastic sites. The monks were forced to flee and relocate with what little they could carry. The monastic sites were devastated for many years afterwards, until the early 1990s, when the Russian government gave them back to the church. The Finnish government, on the other hand, provided significant financial support for the Ortho­dox refugees, to assist them in building new churches and monasteries on their free territories.

The Valamo monastery has had a long and glorious history. It was established in the 12th century by the Byzantine monk St. Sergius and his Finnish disciple St. German, on the border between the lands of Novgorod and Sweden. In the next few centuries it became one of the greatest centers of Eastern monasticism. From the beginning of the 15th century it was known as the “Great Lavra” and its spiritual outreach became immense. At that time the monastery had twelve sketes on the shore of Lake Ladoga. In the following century, how­ever, the monastery suffered significant damage by the Swedes who, in 1578, attacked and in the process killed eighteen elders and sixteen novices. In the following years the monastery was burned. Restorative help came from the Russian tsars, who rebuilt the monastery’s cloister. However, in the 16th century Karelia was taken over by Sweden once again, and Valamo was burned and became deserted.

When Peter the Great reincorporated Western Karelia into the Russian Empire, he also rebuilt the monastery, but the end ofthe 18th century brought more trouble to Valamo, as Catherine the Great deprived Russian monasteries of their holdings. A major revival of the monastic life there was initiated by the followers and disciples of St. Paisy Velichkovsky. In the late 18th century Hieromonk Nazary, an elder from the Sarov Hermitage, introduced the Sarov Rule in Valamo, which revivified the spiri­tual tradition of the place. As higumen he also designed and constructed the five- domed stone Cathedral of the Transfigura­tion. In 1794 Higumen Nazary blessed eight monks from Valamo and Konevitsa to go to establish an Orthodox mission in Alaska. St. Herman, the first Orthodox saint of America, was one of those monks.

At the beginning of the 19th century Tsar Alexander I visited the Valamo monastery and granted it a first-class status. Towards the middle of the 19th century, under the spiritual guidance of Higumen Damaskin, Valamo became one of the major pilgrim­age sites for Russian intellectuals. The 20th century, however, did not prove a fruitful time for the monastery. In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, the buildings became the property of the Finnish Orthodox Church, which in the next few years became independent of Russian influence. The newly established church sought visible symbolic reforms. It adapted the Gregorian calendar for its liturgical purposes, but this change was rejected by a large part of the monastic community. The repression of the dissident monks soon followed, and as a result several of them fled to the Soviet Union, and others to Serbia. The exiled monks brought with them the tradition of Valamo to various parts of the world, including Western Europe, North America, and Africa.

During the Winter War of 1940 (which took place between the Soviet Union and Finland) the monastery was bombed by the Soviets, but miraculously escaped major damage. It became the property of the Soviet Union and was turned into a Navy school. The monks from the Valamo mon­astery were forced to relocate to Heinavesi, where the New Valamo monastery was established in 1940. Since then that site has become a major pilgrimage destination of the Finnish Church. Over the next few decades the buildings of Old Valamo monastery were used for various secular purposes. The new owners failed to main­tain them properly and the monastery was almost destroyed. The desolation ended in 1989 when the Council of Ministers of Kare­lia returned the monastery to church own­ership. Over the last decade the monastery has been given very significant attention by the Russian government. The monastery now appears to be regaining its spiritual and material wealth and is gradually becom­ing a significant Orthodox monastic center.

As of today, the Finnish Orthodox Church is one of the autonomous Orthodox churches under the jurisdictional authority of the patriarchate of Constantinople. Its members exceed 60,000. It has three dioceses (Karelia, Helsinki, and Oulu), twenty-four parishes, a monastery, and a convent. The Department of Orthodox Theology at the University of Joensuu offers courses for the education of Orthodox priests and teachers. There is also a seminary at Joensuu and the Valamo Lay Academy, which both play a significant role in providing training for clergy and laity. Even though the Orthodox population of Finland is small in terms of numbers, its spiritual outreach is very signif­icant. When one approaches Helsinki by ferry, the Uspenski (Annunciation) Cathe­dral, one of the major features of the city’s skyline, gives a glimpse of the rich Orthodox heritage of the country.

SEE ALSO: Russia, Patriarchal Orthodox Church of; St. Paisy Velichovsky (1722–1794); St. Tikhon (Belavin) (1865–1925)

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Purmonen, V. (1984) Orthodoxy in Finland: Past and Present. Kuopio, Finland: Orthodox Clergy Association.

Sinnemaki, M. (1973) Church in Finland. Helsinki: Otava.

Sviato-Troitskaia, L. (2000) Valaam Khristovoi Rusi. Moscow: Khrizostom.