HELSINKI — Around 300 Catholic and Orthodox faithful gathered in the capital of the predominantly Lutheran country of Finland for an unprecedented procession in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

“The idea for this historic joint procession came about during a friendly meeting I had with Catholic Bishop Raimo at his residence,” Orthodox Archbishop Leo Makkonen of Helsinki told the Register.

It was last March that Orthodox Archbishop Makkonen and Catholic Bishop Raimo Goyarrola Belda of Helsinki met to discuss “ways our two Churches could experience unity in a local, practical way as a first step towards greater dialogue and cooperation between the Orthodox and Catholic communities here in Finland.” 

“To my knowledge,” the Orthodox archbishop added, “this was the first ever joint Orthodox-Catholic procession held in our country.”  

Although Finland was a Catholic nation from its Christianization — that originated from the West in the 12th century through the Swedish Crusades — up until the Protestant Reformation, Catholics in Finland represent 0.3% of the population today.

Unlike Catholicism, Orthodoxy came to Finland from the East. Some parts of the country were Christianized by Russian monks already in the 12th century, but Orthodoxy also arrived in Finland through later Russian conquests of the country, especially in the 19th century. Today, Orthodox make up a little over 1% of the population. 

It was following the Protestant Reformation that Catholic practices were violently suppressed and Lutheran Christianity imposed. Today, about 65% of the Finnish population is comprised of members of the Evangelical Lutheran state churches. Despite having the same legal position as a national church along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Orthodox Church remains a small minority, just as the Catholic Church — a reason to remain unified, the Orthodox archbishop argued, since “in unity there is strength.”

 

 From Cathedral to Cathedral

The ecumenical unity this month was all in honor of Mary’s birthday.

“The procession began at the Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos,” Jelisei Heikkilä from the Orthodox Church, who participated in the procession, explained to the Register, “where we held a prayer service in her honor. From there, the Orthodox and Catholic faithful walked together to the Catholic Cathedral of St. Henrik [Henry].” 

Along the way, Heikkilä shared, the faithful “sang hymns, prayed and simply enjoyed fellowship with one another.” 

Marko Tervaportti from the Catholic Cathedral of St. Henry told the Register that the procession was permeated with “naturalness and friendliness”: “It felt ‘our own,’ as if we had been waiting for it for a long time.”

“Everything went well and with ease,” Tervaportti added. “My impression was that we began to breathe with our two lungs, to quote Pope St.  John Paul II.”

During the procession, a Catholic choir directed by a Dominican brother and an Orthodox choir led by a cantor for the Orthodox Church led the faithful in song.

A copy of the Kozelshchyna icon of the Mother of God — one of the greatest spiritual treasures of the Finnish Orthodox Church — as well as a Catholic statue of Our Lady of Fatima were carried along the way. The faithful had also been invited to carry their own icons of the Virgin Mary along the route.

According to the Catholic and Orthodox dioceses, around 300 Orthodox and Catholic faithful participated in the procession, “based on the fact that not everyone had a seat once we arrived at the Catholic cathedral,” Heikkilä explained.

Once the pilgrims arrived at the Cathedral of St. Henry in the afternoon, a short Catholic prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours was held. Afterward, Bishop Goyarrola and Bishop Sergei Rajapolvi, the vicar bishop of the Helsinki Orthodox Diocese, jointly blessed the faithful. 

 A Deep Longing for Community

The response from those who participated was overwhelmingly positive, Heikkilä said. Additionally, “as we made our way through the streets, passersby seemed quite interested in this unique sight, with many people taking pictures.”

Even in the Lutheran press, Bishop Goyarrola shared via the Finnish diocese’s department of communication, the coverage was positive: “There is a deep longing for communal events like this. There was a feeling of belonging together. An atmosphere of relaxed joy and a longing for an ever-growing closeness and communion.”

The procession, the bishop explained, “symbolizes and concretizes the excellent relations we have between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church in Finland.”

“We feel being part of the same family of believers in Christ. [The] Virgin Mary is our mother in faith and we wanted to celebrate her together, as the mother’s birthday is a much-anticipated occasion and is celebrated with love in every family.”

Similarly, Archbishop Makkonen also explained that “the procession was a powerful symbol of the common faith and heritage we share, especially our mutual love and veneration of the Theotokos, the Virgin Mary.”

“That is why we decided to hold it on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, a major holy day that both our traditions celebrate.”

 

‘In Unity There Is Strength’

Both the Catholic Church in Finland and Finnish Orthodox Church are very active in ecumenical matters, and both are members of the Finnish Ecumenical Council.

In a Register interview with Bishop Goyarrola earlier this year, he recalled the many graces that the Catholic Church in Finland has received in its ecumenical efforts, explaining: “I think ecumenism is a key for peace in the world. In fact, I think that the present and future of the world depends on this unity among Christians.”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect for the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, sent a special greeting to the Catholic bishop on the occasion of his ordination, encouraging him in his service to unity, saying that the new bishop’s “truly Catholic heart beats for ecumenism.”

“Overall, the procession was a beautiful expression of the unity that exists between our Churches,” Heikkilä said of the Marian procession. “In a world so often marked by division, it was encouraging to see Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholics come together to publicly honor the Mother of God as one family in Christ.”

“This was a prime example of practical ecumenism,” Tervaportti noted, “not just words but deeds for the unity of the Church. We are already looking forward to the Catholic-Orthodox procession next year.”

And the Catholic bishop and Orthodox archbishop shared in the joy of the event, explaining that perhaps, in the future, the two Churches could plan “additional joint events and activities, especially centered around the procession.” 

“My hope,” Archbishop Makkonen told the Register, “is that this procession marks the beginning of a new annual tradition that brings our two minority Churches in Finland closer together. In unity there is strength.”