Apart from the historic nature of the first Mission Province ordination by Matti Väisänen in itself (see previous posts), history was being made in another sense as well. One of the ordinands was Eero Pihlava, who has the distinction of being the first-ever graduate of Westfield House, Cambridge, to be ordained as pastor in Finland.…
Mission Province Ordination: Video and More Pictures
History made: first ordination by Bishop Matti
[Update: an earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to David Jackson as a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. He is in fact a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England.] I wasn't able to be there, but from all accounts the ordination of four men into the office of the…
Why Luther Foundation hasn’t founded a new church
A translation from the FAQ page of Luther Foundation Finland. Why do you not leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland if it is so bad? It is the duty of Christians to abide in the vine by remaining in God’s word: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every…
Bishop Väisänen’s response
For background, see here. Here is the text of the legal response by bishop Matti Väisänen to the disciplinary charge against him by the Tampere Cathedral Chapter, dated 27 July 2010. As is now known, the Cathedral Chapter decided on 11 August 2010 to divest bishop Väisänen of clerical standing in the Evangelical Lutheran Church…
Reflections on the situation in Finland
It's odd ... A) How someone is still, 20 years ... B) How someone is still, 2000 years ... A) ... after the General Synod's democratic decision ... B) ... after the common history of the Church arising from the Bible ... A) ... knowing that the nation may abandon the church ... B) ...…
Finnish Mission Province bishop defrocked
Bishop Matti Väisänen, recently consecrated as assistant bishop in the Mission Province in Sweden and Finland, has been defrocked by the Tampere Cathedral Chapter. There's an inaccurate English-language report on the matter on the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation's web page. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer…
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