Russian Orthodox Church in Finland
| Russian Orthodox Church in Finland | |
|---|---|
Church of the Protection of the Theotokos in Helsinki | |
| Primate | Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill |
| Headquarters | Patriarchal: Moscow, Russia Jurisdictional: Helsinki, Finland |
| Territory | Finland |
| Independence | 1926 |
| Recognition | Semi-Autonomous |
| Members | ~ 3,000 |
| Official website | www |
The Russian Orthodox Church in Finland (Finnish: Venäjän ortodoksinen kirkko Suomessa, Russian: Русская православная церковь в Финляндии) is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church formed in 1926. An official headquarters of the Moscow Patriarchate, led by Father Viktor Lyutik, was opened in Helsinki in 1999.
The Russian Orthodox Church in Finland is organized in two parishes, St. Nikolaos Orthodox Parish in Helsinki and the Intercession Orthodox Parish. They are maintaining six churches in Helsinki, Turku, Pori and Sastamala. The total number of registered members in the early 2000s was 3,000, most of them held Finnish citizenship. The largest community was the St. Nikolaos Orthodox Parish with more than 2,400 members. The Spaso-Preobrazenskaja community in Tampere is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.