The Church of Finland began its departure from traditional Orthodoxy, I think, when she accepted a status, along with the Lutheran Church of Finland, as one of the two State Churches of Finland. I was told that in order for this to happen, the State demanded at least two concessions from the Orthodox: (a) that she adopt the Gregorian Paschalion so all Finish Christians would celebrate Easter together, and (b) that she permit Orthodox to marry in the State Lutheran Church without excommunication. Whether the State demand was in fact the case or not, I do not know for certain. I do know that the Finish Church alone of all the Local Orthodox Churches has completely adopted the Gregorian Calendar, preferring unity with the Western Christians on this matter rather than with the rest of the Orthodox Church. It also seems that marriages of Orthodox in the Lutheran Church are certainly tolerated without excommunication. Now other heterodox inroads are not only becoming tolerated in the Finish Church, but have received hierarchal approval. There is no way that the Local Orthodox Churches will accept priestesses or homosexual 'unions.' These are obviously against Orthodox Tradition, our Scriptural, Patristic, and Conciliar heritage. But the Finish Church seems to move towards them. I think that the abandonment of one part of the Tradition by rejecting the traditional Orthodox Calendar, and thereby accepting disunity with the Orthodox in favor of unity with the Heterodox, was the beginning of the downward spiral that has led to where the Finish Church is today.

It seems as if there is a real possibility that the Orthodox Church of Finland may fall away entirely from the Orthodox Tradition, in which case the Local Churches may have to break communion with her. The adopted mother Church of the Church of Finland, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, doesn't seem to be doing anything about these things. Perhaps it is time for the historical Mother Church, the Church of Russia, to invite those parts of the diseased Finish Orthodox Church who wish to remain Orthodox to form an Autonomous Church under Moscow.

Fr David Straut

Father David:

Father bless!!

I have to wonder what great benefit being a "state Church" is that one would throw away one's patrimony for such a status. Certainly it can't be much compared to the eternal value of the Faith once held by the Apostles.

This seems to me to be like watching a relative give up the active practice of the Faith and not being able to reach him/her to return.

In Christ,

Bob

Does anyone know more about the "Brotherhood of Saint Kosmas of Aitolia"? How trustworthy is it as a source of information?

Has there been a response from the Orthodox Church of Finland?