The Diocese of

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population ...

(, ) is the second oldest and the largest diocese in the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positi ...

. It is divided into 69 parishes with a total population of over 595,000 people. The diocese is led by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Tampere.

History

The history of the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

goes back over 450 years. It was founded in 1554 when King

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

divided the diocese of Turku, extending over the whole country, into two parts. At first, the new diocese was established in Viipuri, the first bishop being Paavali Juusteen. After the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n occupation of Viipuri in 1723, the bishop's seat was moved to

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieva ...

instead. But with the foundation of a new Swedish Diocese in Porvoo in 1923, the second oldest diocese of Finland had to move to

; since then the diocese has been called the Diocese of Tampere. The Tampere Cathedral opens everyday but places some limitations on the number of hours it is opened. At the upper part of the cathedral, there is 'The Wounded Angel.' People are not usually allowed to visit the upper part of the cathedral.

The Bishop of Tampere

The Bishop of Tampere is the leader of the Diocese of Tampere. The current bishop is the Rt Revd Matti Repo.

Bishops of Viipuri

List of bishops of Viipuri from 1554 to 1723: * Paavali Juusten 1554–1563 * Canutus Johannis 1563–1564 * Eerik Härkäpää 1568–1578 * Olaus Elimaeus 1618–1629 * Nicolaus Magni Carelius 1630–1632 * Gabriel Melartopaeus 1633–1641 * Petrus Bjugg 1642–1656 * Nicolaus Nycopensis 1658–1664 * Petrus Brommius 1664–1672 * Abraham Thauvonius 1672–1679 * Henrik Carstenius 1679–1683 * Petrus Bång 1681–1696 * Petrus Laurbecchius 1696–1705 * David Lund 1705–1711 * Johannes Gezelius the youngest 1721–1723

Bishops of Porvoo

List of bishops of

from 1723 to 1923: * Johannes Gezelius the youngest 1723–1733 *

Daniel Juslenius Daniel Juslenius (10 June 1676, Mynämäki – 17 July 1752, Skara) was a Finnish writer and bishop. He was a professor of Hebrew, Greek and theology at the Royal Academy of Turku. Juslenius is considered Finland's first Fennoman and a firm a ...

1734–1743 * Johan Nylander 1745–1761 * Gabriel Fortunius 1762–1789 * Paul Krogius 1789–1792 * Zacharias Cygnaeus 1792–1809 * Magnus Jacob Alopaeus 1809–1818 * Zacharias Cygnaeus the younger 1819–1820 * Johan Molander 1821–1837 * Carl Gustaf Ottelin 1838–1864 * Frans Ludvig Schauman 1865–1878 * Anders Johan Hornborg 1878–1883 * Johan Viktor Johnsson 1884 *

Carl Henrik Alopaeus Carl Henrik Alopaeus (5 April 1825 – 10 March 1892) was a Finnish Lutheran bishop and educator, known as the "apostle to the Deaf" due to his work in deaf education. Upbringing and religious work Alopaeus was born in Juva, Finland, in 1825 ...

1885–1892 * Herman Råbergh 1892–1920 * Jaakko Gummerus 1920–1923

Bishops of Tampere

List of bishops of

from 1923 to the present: * Jaakko Gummerus 1923–1933 *

Aleksi Lehtonen Aleksi Emanuel Lehtonen (21 June 1891 – 27 March 1951) was archbishop of Turku from 1945 till 1951. Education Lehtonen was born on June 21, 1891, Uusikaupunki. He attended school in Uusikaupunki, where he graduated as a student at the age of 1 ...

1934–1945 * Eelis Gulin 1945–1966 * Erkki Kansanaho 1966–1981 * Paavo Kortekangas 1981–1996 * Juha Pihkala 1996–2008 * Matti Repo 2008–

History

The Bishop of Tampere

Bishops of Viipuri

Bishops of Porvoo

Bishops of Tampere

See also