Diocese of Borgå
Encyclopedia
The Diocese of Borgå is a Diocese for the Swedish speaking minority
of Finland. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
. Porvoo
(Borgå in Swedish
) is also the old seat of the present-day (Finnish-speaking) Diocese of Tampere
.
Unlike the other dioceses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the diocese is not formed on a geographical basis. All the Swedish-speaking parishes and dominantly Swedish-speaking bilingual parishes of the church belong to the diocese, regardless of their location. As a result of the geographical distribution of Swedish-speakers, the parishes of the diocese are mostly on the coast, the Swedish-speaking parish of Tampere
being the only inland parish. In addition, there are two ethnicity-based parishes in the diocese: The German parish of Finland and rikssvenska Olaus Petri församlingen, the former Church of Sweden parish in Finland. The German parish is the parish for the German-speaking minority of Finland, while the rikssvenska parish consists of Swedish citizens living in Finland.
The diocese has some 260.000 parishioners.
Two of the three bishops Vikström are brothers, John (later archbishop of Turku/Åbo) and Erik, while Björn is a son of John Vikström.
Finland-Swedes
Swedish-speaking Finns constitute a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are alternatively seen either as a distinct subgroup of the Finnish people or as a separate ethnic group or even as a distinct nationality...
of Finland. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the national church of Finland. The church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion....
. Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
(Borgå in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) is also the old seat of the present-day (Finnish-speaking) Diocese of Tampere
Diocese of Tampere
The Diocese of Tampere is the second oldest and the largest diocese in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is divided into 69 parishes with a total population of over 660,000 people. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Tampere.-History:...
.
Unlike the other dioceses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the diocese is not formed on a geographical basis. All the Swedish-speaking parishes and dominantly Swedish-speaking bilingual parishes of the church belong to the diocese, regardless of their location. As a result of the geographical distribution of Swedish-speakers, the parishes of the diocese are mostly on the coast, the Swedish-speaking parish of Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
being the only inland parish. In addition, there are two ethnicity-based parishes in the diocese: The German parish of Finland and rikssvenska Olaus Petri församlingen, the former Church of Sweden parish in Finland. The German parish is the parish for the German-speaking minority of Finland, while the rikssvenska parish consists of Swedish citizens living in Finland.
The diocese has some 260.000 parishioners.
Two of the three bishops Vikström are brothers, John (later archbishop of Turku/Åbo) and Erik, while Björn is a son of John Vikström.
Bishops of Porvoo
- Max von Bonsdorff, 1923-1954
- Georg Olof Rosenqvist, 1954-1961
- Karl-Erik Forssell, 1961-1970
- John VikströmJohn VikströmJohn Edvin Vikström, , Archbishop emeritus of Finland, was born to parents Edvin and Hilma Vikström. In 1957 he married teacher Birgitta Vikström who died in 1994. John Vikström has three children...
, 1970-1982 - Erik Vikström, 1983-2006
- Gustav Björkstrand, 2006-2009
- Björn Vikström 2009-