Nokia Revival (also known as Nokia Missio) is a

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

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 ...

movement originating 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, ...

in the town of

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

. The starting point of the movement was in 1991, when Markku Koivisto, the vicar of Nokia Lutheran Church, experienced a strong charismatic renewal, having recovered from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

of the lymph gland in 1990. Koivisto started to arrange so called ''Thursday Nights'' which were characterised by strong emotional worship, loud prayer and various manifestations of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

e.g. healings of the sick, spiritual gifts and falling down during prayer. The nature and doctrines of the movement led to various disagreements with 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 ...

(EL Church), and finally an alleged case of praying for a young boy's

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

heated up the situation between Koivisto and the EL Church. An official complaint was filed in the spring of 2006 and on 25 April 2007, the Bishop of Tampere, Juha Pihkala, ordered Koivisto to leave the priesthood for half a year. The Nokia Revival now has meetings in

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 ...

at Metro Auto Arena. The activity has also spread by 2005 to

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and furthermore to

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 ...

. The Nokia revival was made a denomination in June 2008, bearing the name "Nokia Mission Church". Its meetings are mainly attended by members of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

and Free

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

churches. Nokia revival's organisation is called ''Nokia Missio''. It has mission work e.g. in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Nokia Missio trains voluntary workers for churches. Other courses include the seeker-friendly Alpha Course, Nokia Missio Bible Institute's seminars and a cell group leading course. Markku Koivisto earned a Doctor of Theology degree at

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

in 1997. In 2004, his cancer recurred but he recovered again in 2005. He was reported to have been dismissed from his position as the leader of the church after a

sex scandal A sex scandal is a public scandal involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities, often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals r ...

became public in 2011.

Publications by Markku Koivisto

* Markku Koivisto: Miten kirkko ymmärtää sanomansa? Toimituskeskustelu ja kastetoimitus pastoraalipsykologisen ja liturgisen tutkimuksen näkökulmasta ow Does the Church Understand Its Gospel? Pre Sacrament Discussion and Baptism from the Viewpoint of Pastoral Psychology and Lithurgy Studies University of Helsinki Publications, Käytännöllisen teologian julkaisuja 87, 1997, in Finnish, {{ISBN, 951-45-7721-3

References

External links

Nokia Missio
Charismatic denominations Protestantism in Finland University of Helsinki alumni