Church of Finland
The
Church of Finland is an official
state church of
Finland. Before the introduction of religious freedom membership was compulsory and the membership subscription rate among the Finnish population remains at very high level, at 84.8 percent. The Church of Finland is a
Lutheran Church and sucessor to the
Church of Sweden of which it was a part until
1809, when Finland became a part of the
Russian Empire.
Today the Church of Finland shares its distinction as a state church with the Finnish Orthodox Church, the successor to the Russian Ortodox Church. The head of the church is the Archbishop of Turku, currently Jukka Paarma.
See also: Mikael Agricola, Treaty of Fredrikshamn
External links