Sunday, March 17, 2013

Lutherans in Finland

The rebirth of confessional, catholic, orthodox Lutheranism continues in the North. The Harrison administration has been very hands on with the ILC and these emerging and reforming bodies. I'll be eager to see what they have to say about this group. For example - where do they stand on women's ordination? Which confessions do they subscribe to, etc?

+HRC
HT: Prof. Tighe


Finnish Confessional Lutherans Organize a Free-standing DioceseTwenty-two congregations of Luther Foundation Finland (Luther-Säätiö) have joined with three independent Confessional congregations to form a new, free-standing church body. The organizing convention for the new Evangelical-Lutheran Mission Diocese in Finland was held March 16 in Lahtis, Finland. Retired Dean Risto Soramies was elected to serve as the first bishop. Soramies will be consecrated May 4 in Helsinki by Auxiliary Bishop Matti Väisänen of the Mission Province in Sweden and Finland.
Discussions and preparations for the re-organization have been under way for the past year. The development reflects the rapid growth of confessional congregations in Finland and the desirability of having the new diocese organized within Finland. Bishop Väisänen asked to retire this spring, and will step down after consecrating Bishop-elect Soramies.
The newly elected bishop has spent most of the past 40 years outside Finland, working with Muslim immigrants in Germany and in Lutheran churches in Istanbul. He is considered among the leading experts in Finland on Muslim theology and outreach to Muslims.
Eight of Luther Foundation Finland’s pastors were ordained in Sweden in the Mission Province. Since Bishop Väisänen was consecrated in 2010, he has ordained twelve more men.
Website of the new diocese:(Finnish language) http://www.lhpk.fi/uutiset/risto-soramies-lahetyshiippakunnan-ensimmaiseksi-piispaksi/(Swedish language) http://www.lhpk.fi/sv/nyheter/risto-soramies-missionsstiftets-forsta-biskop/Attached: photo of bishop-elect Risto Soramies Christopher C. Barnekov, PhDScandinavia House Fort Wayne1925 Saint Joe Center RDFort Wayne, IN  46825
http://scandhouse.org
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3 comments:

  1. Tapani SimojokiMarch 18, 2013 at 10:02 AM

    Thanks for publicising this. I have published a longer description of the new Mission Diocese on my site. You can read it here. It's my translation of the official self-description in Finnish, which will probably end up on the diocese's website in due course.
    For now, there is a very brief English page, which you can view here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pr. H. R.March 18, 2013 at 12:59 PM

    I love the coat of arms, by the way. Is that newly made for the Mission Diocese or is that motto and/or symbol something of traditional significance for the Finnish Lutherans?

    +HRC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tapani SimojokiMarch 18, 2013 at 1:52 PM

      The coat of arms and its motto are new. The motto is partly related to more recent Lutheran history in Finland, where confessional Lutheranism has had to contend against all sorts of iure humano nonsense thrown against the clear Word of God, and synodical decisions and resolutions have been used to countermand the Scriptures and to punish those who adhere to the Scriptures and the Confessions. On the other hand, it's a timeless truth—and the banner behind which the Reformers marched, too.

      Delete

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