The Archdiocese of Turku (, ), historically known as '' Archdiocese of Åbo'', is the seat of the Archbishop of Turku. It is a part 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 ...

, and its see city is

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. The Archbishop has many administrative tasks relating to the National church, and is the Metropolitan and

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of the church. In common with other Lutheran and Anglican churches the Archbishop is considered ''

primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. H ...

'' while all diocesan bishops retain their independence within their respective jurisdictions. This also applies to the Bishop of Turku Archdiocese. The Archdiocese of Turku has a unique episcopal structure, as there are two bishops in the Diocese.

History

Influenced by

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

s, Swedish magnates in the 12th century set up crusading expeditions to convert the heathens in the eastern

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. This resulted in the establishment of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

religion and the Swedish conquest of southern

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 1249.

, or ''Åbo'', became the principal city in Finland and residence of a Bishopric (the Bishopric of Turku; or ''episcopus Aboensis''). As a result of

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

in the 16th century, the Catholic Church had to give way for the Lutheran state church that was established by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden. The principal ecclesiastical reformer in Finland was

Mikael Agricola Mikael Agricola (; c. 1510 – 9 April 1557) was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden, including Finland, which was a Swedish territo ...

who from 1554 onward was also the Bishop of the Turku Diocese. After the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

in 1809, Finland became a part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

as an autonomous Grand Duchy. In 1817 the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

was elevated to the status of

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and thus became the head of the Church in Finland. The Lutheran Church thereby became the state church of the Grand Duchy. In 1870, the church was detached from the state as a separate judicial entity. After Finland had gained independence in 1917, through the constitution of 1919 and the act on religious freedom of 1922 the

became a

national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...

of Finland (along with the

Finnish Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church in Finland (; ) is an Autonomy (Eastern Orthodoxy), autonomous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The church has a legal position as a national church in th ...

, which however did not get a constitutional position).

Archbishop of Turku and Finland

The bishopric of Turku was elevated to an archbishopric in 1817. Since then, the Ordinary has held the full official title of Archbishop of Turku and Finland. There has been an unbroken succession of archbishops in Finland. Since the retirement of Archbishop Kari Mäkinen in 2018, Tapio Luoma has been the incumbent Archbishop of Turku and Finland. He previously served as the Bishop of Espoo (2012–2018).

Bishop of Turku Archdiocese

Since 1998, there have been two diocesan bishops in the Turku Archdiocese: the Bishop of Turku Archdiocese and the Archbishop of Turku and Finland. Neither of the two is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

as there are no suffragan bishops in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Episcopal oversight of the Archdiocese is shared between the Bishop and the Archbishop. According to the decision of the ELCF General Synod, the area of the primary oversight of the Bishop of Turku Archdiocese consists of 42 parishes, whereas the Archbishop's primary diocesan oversight covers the deanery of Turku which consists of 9 parishes. Moreover, the Bishop of Turku Archdiocese is in charge of the day-to-day running of the Diocesan Chapter. This arrangement allows for the Archbishop to take a leading role on the national and international ecclesiastical stages. Since 2021, the incumbent Bishop of Turku Archdiocese has been Mari Leppänen

References

External links

Archdiocese of Turku

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
{{Coord missing, Sweden

Dioceses established in the 13th century Turku Former Catholic dioceses in Sweden

History

Archbishop of Turku and Finland

Bishop of Turku Archdiocese

See also

References

External links