Mission History

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

It is thought that Christianity came to Finland as early as the ninth century, with the Orthodox faith spreading from the East. The Reformation brought the Lutheran tradition to Finland, and the war between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1939 strengthened the role of the church as being the reinforcer of national unity and solidarity. After the war, the clergy found a new vision for their work emphasizing their national role. This vision led to a challenge to transform the church of a clergy into a church of the people. Certain reforms were approved during the war years which gave the church a greater independence in relation to the state. This allowed for the majority of administrative questions to be discussed and approved by the church’s own administrative bodies.

This gave the church’s administrative bodies the authority to discuss and approve administrative roles rather than the Ministry of Education.

Although relations between the church and the Finnish working class were distant in the early years of Finnish independence, the church continued to broaden it’s services beyond its spiritual ministry. During the early 1990s, the church became involved in social work in response to the economic recession. The ELCF is currently involved in diaconal ministry, education and youth ministries, parish adult work, and spiritual counseling.

The Church-State Relation has continued to change through the years. Today Finland no longer has a state-church structure. The State cannot become involved in the decisions relating to the church’s internal affairs. The majority of the Church income comes from the taxes paid by members. Each member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland pays a certain percentage of his/her income in the form of church tax.