Orthodox Church of Finland

Structure

Along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Orthodox Church of Finland has a special position in Finnish law. The church is considered to be a Finnish entity of public nature. The external form of the church is regulated by an Act of Parliament, while the spiritual and doctrinal matters of the church are legislated by the central synod of the church. The church has the right to tax its members and corporations owned by its members. Previously under the Russian Orthodox Church, it has been an autonomous Orthodox archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople since 1923.

The Orthodox Church of Finland is divided into three dioceses (hiippakunta), each with a subdivision of parishes (seurakunta). There are 21 parishes with 140 priests and 57,613 members in total, of whom 54,895 are in Finland. The number of church members has been steadily growing for several years. A convent and a monastery also operate within the church.

The central legislative organ of the church is the central synod which is formed of:

• the bishops and coadjutor bishops,
• eleven priests
• three cantors
• eighteen laymen and laywomen

The special status of the Orthodox church is most visible in the administrative processes. The church is required to conform with the general administrative law and the decisions of its bodies may be appealed against in the regional administrative courts. However, the court is limited to reviewing the formal legality of the decision. It may not overturn an ecclesiastical decision on the basis of its unreasonableness. The decisions of the synod of bishops and the central synod are not subject to the oversight of the administrative courts. In contrast, similar legal oversight of private religious communities is pursued by the district courts.

Finnish law protects the absolute priest–penitent privilege. A bishop, priest or deacon of the church may not divulge information he has heard during confession or spiritual care. The identity of the sinner may not be revealed for any purpose. However, if the priest hears about a crime that is about to be committed, he is responsible for informing the authorities in such manner that privilege is not endangered.

Source(s)

Source: Image from Wikimedia Commons by Unknown author. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Intro adapted from the Wikipedia article "Orthodox Church of Finland". Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Source: Structure section text copied from the "Structure and organization" section of the Wikipedia article "Orthodox Church of Finland". Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.