Antti Johannes Rantamaa (26 November 1904 – 17 August 1987) was a Finnish priest, member of the

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The P ...

, figure of the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, and author. He was one of the heads of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (; ) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheranism, Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Orthodox Church o ...

. Rantamaa was born in

Merikarvia Merikarvia (; ) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristinestad, Pomarkku, Pori and Siikainen. The municipality has a population of 3,169 (2024) and it covers an are ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 1904. He is famous as the

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in the Finnish

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

depicting

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

devotions said to have taken place in 1939 under enemy fire, causing it to cease. He died in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1987. Rantamaa was a long-time member of parliament for the Agrarian League from

Mikkeli Province The Mikkeli Province (, ) was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997. The province was named after the city of Mikkeli. Parts of the province were transferred to the Central Finland Province in 1960. In 1997 it was merged with Kuopio Province ...

, serving from 1939–1962.

References

*Kuka Kukin on - Who's who in Finland, Otava * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rantamaa, Antti Johannes 1904 births 1987 deaths People from Merikarvia People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 20th-century Finnish Lutheran clergy Centre Party (Finland) politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1939–1945) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1945–1948) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1948–1951) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1951–1954) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1954–1958) Members of the Parliament of Finland (1958–1962) Finnish military chaplains World War II chaplains Finnish military personnel of World War II Postcards University of Helsinki alumni

See also

References