One might expect the answer to at least be a Finnish church. However, at the moment the fastest growing denomination in Finland is the Church of England. The CoE congregations in Finland are part of the Diocese in Europe. The growth of the congregations is mostly due to the immigration of Sudanese & South Sudanese Anglicans seeking to escape the turmoil in their homelands.
Our church is fully engaged in many parts of this Nordic country in providing care, a spiritual home and pastoral accompaniment to the new arrivals…The fellowship and joy in the congregation was infectious as the young people renewed their baptismal vows, were chrismated and received the apostolic rite of the laying on of hands.
The Rt Revd David Hamid, bishop suffragan, Church of England Diocese in Europe
Confirmation service, St Nicholas’ Church, Helsinki Finland
There is an historic immigrant tie to St Nicholas’ Church. The processional cross used in the confirmation service was carried by refugee members of the Anglican church in St Petersburg Russia when they fled to Helsinki to escape the Russian Revolution in 1917. Bishop David reports that priests assisting him were Finnish, Sudanese & Nigerian, while the service incorporated English, Arabic and Finnish.
The story and photos were gathered from the Anglican Communion News Service, which was taken from Bishop David’s blog Eurobishop. The photos were taken during the visit of the Rt Revd David Hamid, bishop suffragan of Dio Europe, for a confirmation service at St Nicholas’ Church – Helsinki Finland.