Archbishop Elia (

Secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth ...

: Matti Veli Juhani Wallgrén) (b. 8 December 1961) is the current archbishop of the

Orthodox Church of Finland The Orthodox Church in Finland (; ) is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church ...

since 1 December 2024. His cathedral is the

Uspenski Cathedral Uspenski Cathedral (, ) is a Eastern Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, and main cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). Its name ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Previously, he served as the Metropolitan of Oulu and was consecrated on 11 January 2015.

Background

Matti Wallgrén's mother was Orthodox. His father only joined the Eastern Orthodox Church in his old age.«Священник Матти Валлгрен: Мы — форпост Восточного христианства на Западе»
Home pages of the St. Petersburg Spiritual Academy, 26 Nov 2014.

Studies

Wallgrén matriculated in the town of

Kajaani Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...

. After this he studied at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

, his subjects being

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

languages and

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

. He also studied

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and became a teacher for a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He lived in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

for eight years. He also lived in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

for two years, working as a guide.Wallgrén joined the Orthodox church in

in 1994. In 1996, he started his studies in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

University of Joensuu The University of Eastern Finland () is a university in Finland, which was founded in 2010 and has campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio. History The Finnish Parliament passed the Universities Act on June 16, 2009, which, among other things, extended ...

, where he studied for five years. He also sang in the church choir and acted as reader in services.Автономная Финляндская Православная Церковь обрела нового архиерея — Новости — Церковно-Научный Центр «Православная Энциклопедия»
/ref> In 2001 he transferred to the

Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Or ...

Crestwood, New York Crestwood is a neighborhood in Yonkers, New York. Located in northeastern Yonkers, Crestwood is separated by the Bronx River from the village of Tuckahoe. Because the majority of Crestwood is served by the Tuckahoe post office, many residents ...

. He completed the degree of

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

there.

Priesthood

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Ambrosius (Jääskeläinen) ordained Wallgrén a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the St. Herman of Alaska Church in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

on 29 May 2003. Archbishop Leo (Makkonen) ordained Wallgrén a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

Church of Resurrection of Christ on 1 September 2003, after which he was assigned to that church. During 2003–2006 Wallgrén served as a priest in the Jyväskylä Orthodox Parish, and during 2006–2014 he worked as the vicar of the Vaasa Orthodox Parish. Wallgrén was the only priest of his vast parish, and he has said that he drove 45,000 km every year.

Election to episcopacy

Wallgrén was elected the new metropolitan of Oulu in New Valamo in a

church council A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in November 2014. He was a surprise candidate and was not present himself in the election. The church council selected three persons as candidates, and the council of bishops chose two of them for the final election. In the final election, Wallgrén received 17 votes and Vicar Bishop Arseni (Heikkinen) of

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

received 16 votes. One delegate left an empty ballot. The election caused some polemics afterwards. The church council had no information on Wallgrén prior to the election, not even a

curriculum vitae In English, a curriculum vitae (,

, even though it was said that Wallgrén had given his consent to his candidacy two weeks prior to the election. It was also said that in practice the delegates from the Helsinki Diocese elected the new bishop, since the other two dioceses have so few delegates that they would not form a majority. Archbishop Leo complained that the new bishop came as if from “behind a tree”. The igumen of the New Valamo monastery, Archimandrite Sergei tonsured Wallgrén a monk, with the name of Elia, in honour of

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Elia of Tisbe. The following day in Valamo, he was elevated to the rank of

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

by Metropolitan Panteleimon (Sarho).

Episcopacy

Elia was consecrated a bishop in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

on 11 January 2015. The consecration was by

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 ...

Leo (Makkonen) of

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

and Finland, All Finland, and he was assisted by the other four Finnish bishops. In January 2015, Metropolitan Elia travelled to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where Archbishop Leo introduced him to Patriarch Bartholomew I . In November 2024 Metropolitan Elia was elected Archbishop of Helsinki and All Finland after the retirement of Archbihop Leo (Makkonen). He was enthroned on December 15 by Metropolitan Arsenios (Kardamakis) of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Metropolitan Elia speaks many languages. Along with his native Finnish, he can also speak

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and some

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

References