Tapio Juhani Luoma (born 15 June 1962) is a Finnish prelate, who has been the Archbishop of Turku and Finland 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

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 ...

since 1 June 2018.

Biography

Born in

Kurikka Kurikka is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in the Southern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The population of Kurikka is () and the municipality covers a ...

, Luoma was ordained priest in 1987. He acquired a doctorate in theology in 1999 with his dissertation concerning the relationship between theology and natural sciences. Luoma's dissertation is titled ''Incarnation and Physics: Natural Science in the Theology of Thomas F. Torrance'' and is published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 2002. He has worked as a chaplain in

Peräseinäjoki Peräseinäjoki () is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland. It merged with the town of Seinäjoki on January 1, 2005. It was located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of th ...

between 1987 and 1998, and in

Ilmajoki Ilmajoki (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Ilmajoki is a town and municipality situated in Finland's South Ostrobothnia region, founded in 1865. Ilmajoki has a population of 12,165 (28. February 2017)and covers an are ...

between 1998 and 2002. In 2002, he moved to

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 ...

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. He also served as Broadcaster of the Broadcasting Corporation between 1986 and 1987. On 1 February 2012, he was consecrated as bishop of

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 ...

by Archbishop Kari Mäkinen and installed as bishop on 12 February in

Espoo Cathedral Espoo Cathedral (, ) is a medieval parish church and cathedral in Espoo, Finland. It is the seat of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Espoo, established in 2004. The cathedral is located in the district of Espoon keskus, near the Espoonjoki riv ...

. He was elected as Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland on 1 March 2018, and assumed office in June 2018 upon the retirement of Kari Mäkinen. Luoma is a published author, having authored four books.

Views

Earlier, Luoma did not support the church's blessing of same-sex unions and regarded marriage as solely between a man and a woman. The decision of the church assembly in May 2018 was also negative towards such unions. However, Luoma's stance has since changed. He now hopes that the church would allow the blessing of same-sex couples for those priests who wish to perform it. According to Luoma, the change is inevitable. He has also supported a civic initiative banning conversion therapy. He has pointed out that homosexuality has not been considered a sin in the church's official statements for decades. Luoma has also weighed in on the racism debate. According to him, racism is a sin in the Christian faith because human worth is not determined by mutual agreement among people but is given to individuals as beings created by God. In October 2023, Luoma criticized the government program of Orpo's administration on his website, particularly emphasizing the elevation of work to excessively high esteem. He also defended the church's right to take a stand on societal issues.

Honours and awards

FIN Order of the Lion of Finland 1Class BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luoma, Tapio 1962 births Living people People from Kurikka Lutheran archbishops and bishops of Turku Finnish theologians 21st-century Lutheran archbishops Finnish Lutheran archbishops