Finland, April 4, 2024
At New Valaam Monastery. Photo: yle.fi
Young people between the ages of 18 and 30 are increasingly leaving Lutheranism and converting to holy Orthodoxy in Finland, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists, with reference to inosmi.ru.
Monasticism is also growing in the Nordic state.
While both the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Constantinople hold the status of state Churches, the former is far larger. According to Finnish government statistics from December 2021, 66.6% of the population belonged to the Lutheran church, while just 0.4% belonged to the Orthodox Church.
However, according to Fr. Mikael Sundqvist from Vantaa, just north of Helsinki, there is a noticeable trend of converts from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy, especially after the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, there had been a slow but steady decline in Orthodox numbers in Finland.
Fr. Mikael notes that he has heard of similar trends in Stockholm and in the U.S.
“In conversations with young people, I often hear that they respect the Orthodox Church because it defends traditional values,” Fr. Mikael says.
“This is largely due to views on family and sexuality,” according to the priest.
He notes that it seems men are becoming more conservative, while women are becoming more liberal
It seems that men are becoming more conservative, and women, on the contrary, more liberal, Fr. Mikael says, though he also notes that young women are also converting, many of whom were previously taken in by esotericism and the New Age.
And the increase in converts is coupled with an increased interest in monasticism, says Abbot Mikael Nummela of New Valaam Monastery in Heinävesi.
The monastery is regularly contacted by young men who are interested in joining. Three entered the brotherhood last month, and one monk was tonsured into the Great Schema. Fr. Anthony is the first schemamonk at New Valaam in several decades.
And the brotherhood is currently the largest it is has been in several decades, since the 1960s, with 18 members of the brotherhood.
The site of the Finnish Orthodox Church lists a men’s monastery, a convent, and a men’s skete.
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