The Mission Diocese, officially the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, (, ) is an independent

confessional Lutheran Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the '' Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfuln ...

"ecclesial structure" in

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, ...

. The Mission Diocese considers itself to be "part of ‘the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church’" to be "truly a church" and to act "fully independently as a church", although it has not applied for state-recognition as a registered religious community. The Mission Diocese has its origins in the conservative movements 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 ...

(ELCF) and it self-identifies as existing in the same continuum of Lutheran faith and congregational life of the ELCF whose spiritual heritage it cherishes, yet not being part of its administrative structures. The Mission Diocese was founded in March 2013. Its first bishop,

Risto Soramies Risto Matti Soramies (born 13 December 1946 in Helsinki, Finland) is the first bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland The Mission Diocese, officially the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, (, ) is an indep ...

, was consecrated on 4 May 2013. The Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland shares

altar and pulpit fellowship Altar and pulpit fellowship describes an ecumenical collaboration between two Christian organizations, and is a Lutheran term for full communion, or ''communio in sacris.'' ''Altar'' refers to the altar in Christian churches, which holds the sacram ...

with those in the

Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses The Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses are Lutheran dioceses that entered into schism with their nordic traditional national churches in 2003 due to what they perceived as "the secularization of the national/state churches in their respective co ...

, in addition to being a member of the

International Lutheran Council The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. Member bodies of the ILC hold "an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the ...

Background

The Mission Diocese was founded by the 22 congregations of the Finland and three other Lutheran congregations in 2013. The Luther Foundation had been established in 1999, starting to celebrate the Divine Service on one location in Helsinki in 2000. By 2004, the Luther Foundation had become a supporting member of the Swedish Mission Province. Bishop Matti Väisänen had been consecrated in 2010 in order to serve the congregations in

, which soon led to his being

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

by the ELCF whose pastor he was. In 2012, the ELCF archbishop expressed his wish that the Luther Foundation establish its own church body. The founding of the Ev. Luth. Mission Diocese of Finland in 2013 marked independence from the Mission Province of Sweden, although contacts remained close. The ELCF continued to defrock its pastors now serving in the Mission Diocese: Bishop Risto Soramies was defrocked on 9 October 2013 and Dean Juhana Pohjola on 5 August 2014. On 8 April 2015, the Cathedral Chapter of the ELCF Archdiocese of Turku defrocked five ELCF pastors for breaking their ordination vows by serving in the Mission Diocese that the ELCF viewed a ''de facto'' different church body. The Mission Diocese was founded in response to the perceived secularisation and liberalisation of the

and "to spread, maintain and renovate the true faith, to revive and strengthen Christian life and to implement Christian charity and diaconia" in Finland. According to the Mission Diocese, the ELCF had in many ways distanced itself from its doctrinal foundation, the Bible and the Lutheran

Book of Concord ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard recognized as authoritative by many Lutheran church bodies since the 16th century. It consists of ten creeda ...

. The Mission Diocese continues to serve those left "spiritually homeless" by the theological reforms in the ELCF. These comprise e.g. the acceptance of the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

(1986), the exclusion of such men from ordination who will not co-operate liturgically with women pastors (2006) and the acceptance of same-sex relationships (2011). The Mission Diocese also reaches out to the unchurched and views the founding of Lutheran congregations as its principle in both domestic and foreign mission. By the end of 2016, the number of Mission Diocese congregations has grown to 32 congregations and 4 missions.

Doctrine

The Mission Diocese holds that "all teaching, practice and life should be tested, executed and guided by the word of God." The Mission Diocese recognises the

as an accurate teaching of

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

doctrine.

Congregations

As of 2016 the Mission Diocese has 32 organised congregations. In addition to this, Mass is celebrated on four other locations. Each congregation is part of one of the seven districts. ;District of Tavastia *

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

: Matteuksen seurakunta *

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 ...

: Jesajan luterilainen seurakunta *

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

: Samuelin luterilainen seurakunta *

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

: Johanneksen seurakunta ;District of Uusimaa *

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 ...

: Pyhän Tuomaksen seurakunta *

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 ...

: Pyhän Markuksen luterilainen seurakunta *

Lohja Lohja (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Lohja is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Lohja is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, munici ...

: Pyhän Ristin luterilainen seurakunta *

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

: Pyhän Kolminaisuuden luterilainen seurakunta ;Eastern district *

Iisalmi Iisalmi (; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in the regions of Finland, region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), ...

: Danielin seurakunta *

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 ...

: Pyhän Nehemian luterilainen seurakunta *

Kitee Kitee (; ) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region, about south of Joensuu and about northeast of Lappeenranta. The municipality has a population of () ...

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

: Pyhän Pietarin luterilainen seurakunta *

Nurmes is a town and municipality of Finland, located in the county of North Karelia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Juuka, Kuhmo, Lieksa, Rautavaa ...

;Northern district *

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 ...

: Filippuksen seurakunta *

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

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 ...

: Timoteuksen seurakunta *

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

: Stefanoksen seurakunta *

Sodankylä Sodankylä (; ; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring mun ...

: Elian seurakunta ;Southeastern district *

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

: Joosuan seurakunta *

Kotka Kotka (; ) is a town in Finland, located on the southeastern coast of the country at the mouth of the Kymi River. The population of Kotka is approximately , while the Kotka-Hamina sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is th ...

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

: Pauluksen seurakunta *

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

: Joonan seurakunta *

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

: Tiituksen luterilainen seurakunta *

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...

: Pyhän Jaakobin luterilainen seurakunta ;Southwestern district *

Laitila Laitila (; ) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, and it is from Laitila to Turku. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...

: Aamoksen seurakunta *

Loimaa Loimaa (; historical ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. Th ...

: Hyvän Paimenen luterilainen seurakunta *

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

: Sakkeuksen seurakunta *

Rauma Rauma may refer to: Places * Rauma, Finland, a town and municipality in the Satakunta region of western Finland * Rauma Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway * Rauma (river), a river in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Ro ...

: Pyhän Marian seurakunta *

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 ...

: Pyhän Paavalin luterilainen seurakunta *

: Sankt Gabriels församling (Swedish) ;Western district *

Jakobstad Jakobstad (; , ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Jakobstad is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Jakobstad is approximately , while the Jako ...

: Sankt Jakobs församling (Swedish) *

Kokkola Kokkola (; , ) is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Central Ostrobothnia. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Kokkola is approximately , while the Kokkola sub-region, sub-region h ...

: Andreaksen luterilainen seurakunta * Pyhänkoski: Simeonin seurakunta *

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

: Luukkaan seurakunta *

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Robert Kaumba as Bishop of the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Africa—Zambia Diocese. Th
Lutheran Heritage Foundation
an
Lutherans in Africa
are the Mission Diocese's partners in foreign mission. The Mission Diocese declared altar and pulpit fellowship with the Mission Province of

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 ...

and the

Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway () is a Lutheran diocese in Norway, founded in Kautokeino (village), Kautokeino in 2013. Branched out from the "Deanery of Strandebarm, Church of Norway in Exile" (formerly the Deanery of Strandebarm), the bi ...

in 2015 and with Lutheran Church—Canada in 2017. The Mission Diocese has also begun fellowship talks with the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of England The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE) is a confessional Lutheran synod in the United Kingdom. It has Wiktionary:congregation, congregations in England, Wales and Scotland. The ELCE's oldest congregations date back to 1896, and the E ...

, the

Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (, abbreviated SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) (of which the Lutheran Church ...

in Germany, and

The Union of Independent Evangelical Lutheran Congregations in Finland The Union of Independent Evangelical Lutheran Congregations in Finland ( (or simply as ''Seurakuntaliitto'', Union of Congregations), ) is an independent Evangelical Lutheran church body in Finland. It is registered as religious community in 23 Au ...

. It is also applying for membership in the

References

External links

Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland Official Website
{{coord, 60.1639, N, 24.9275, E, source:wikidata, display=title Lutheranism in Finland Christian organizations established in 2013