Tapio Luoma becomes the new Archbishop of Turku, Finland

Bishops lining up for the procession
The Most Revd Tapio Luoma was installed as Archbishop of Turku, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF), in the 13th century cathedral in Turku on 3 June. The new Archbishop succeeds Archbishop Kari Mäkinen, a good friend, whom Colleen and I ran into, looking understandably relaxed, as he was enjoying his first day of retirement!

Archbishop Tapio Luoma

Archbishop Kari Mäkinen and Mrs Mäkinen 
The senior bishop in the Church of Finland, Bishop Samuel Salmi of Oulu presided at the installation mass for Archbishop Tapio, and blessed and commissioned him through a ceremony of laying on of hands, assisted by Archbishop Emeritus Anders Wejryd from the Church of Sweden, Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien from the Church of Norway, Bishop Peter Skov-Jakobsen from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, Bishop Agnes Sigurdardottir from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, Archbishop Urmas Viilma from the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Archbishop Michael Jackson from the Church of Ireland.

Photo courtesy of LWF
The Cathedral was filled for the mass, and I was privileged, as the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion.

The ELCF is a member of the Porvoo Communion of Churches, and is thus in communion with the Church of England. According to ancient tradition the Church of Finland was founded by St Henry,  an English missionary bishop and martyr in the 12th century.

The occasion was also a chance to catch up with the clergy serving our own congregations in Finland, including, Fr Tuomas Mäkipäa, the Chaplain of St Nicholas Helsinki, second from left below.




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