The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will visit Finland from 8 to 12 September 2023 to celebrate the centenary of the existence of the Orthodox Church of Finland as an autonomous church.
This year, the Orthodox Church of Finland is celebrating its first centenary as a part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The signature of a Tomos in 1923 confirmed the separation of the Orthodox Church of Finland from the Moscow Patriarchate and its autonomy within the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The most anticipated event of the centenary year is the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Patriarch of Constantinople, to Finland from 8 to 12 September. The main destination of the visit will be Finland’s capital Helsinki.
During the visit, hosted by the Orthodox Church of Finland, His All-Holiness will meet active young members of the Church, representatives of the City of Helsinki and the various other Finnish religious denominations, and experts from nature conservation organizations. On Sunday 10 September, the Patriarch will celebrate the liturgy at Uspenski Cathedral.
On 12 September, the Ecumenical Patriarch and his entourage will travel to Estonia, where the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church of the Ecumenical Patriarchate celebrates the centenary of its own autonomy. A delegation from Finland will also participate in this event.
The Patriarch will be accompanied by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Kydonies, Archbishop Makarios of Australia, Metropolitan Gregorios of Peristerion and Grand Ecclesiarch Aetius (Director of the Private Patriarchal Office), The Secondary Deacon Alexandros (Custodian of the Patriarchal Library), Grand Syncellus Iakovos (Director of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s English Office), Nicholas-Georgios Papachristou (Patriarchal Spokesman), and Petros Bazgarlo (Patriarchal Secretary).
The Patriarch Bartholomew visited Finland three times in the 2000s: in 2003, 2010, and 2013.
The Orthodox Church of Finland has approximately 56 000 members and three dioceses. Archbishop Leo of Helsinki and All Finland, the head of the Church, was inaugurated in 2001.
