Finland and the Holy See: 70 years on...

Vatican Radio - On the evening of Monday 18^th June the Ambassador of Finland to the Holy See, Dr Alpo Rusi hosted a conference to mark celebrations for the 70^th anniversary of the establishment of a full diplomatic relationship at ambassadorial level between Finland and the Holy See.

The year remembered was 1942, the exact date 29 March and the Pope of the time was Pius XII. It was a year after Stalingrad , which some historians pin point as a psychological turning point of the Second World War.

Whereas the venue for celebrations was a sun bathed Finnish Institute located at a high point on Rome's Janiculum hill.

Present at the conference were the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti and Finland’s Minister of the Interior Mrs Päivi Räsänen .

Representing the three official religions of the nation were their Christian leaders : the head of the majority Church, the Evangelical Lutheran, Archbishop Kari Mäkinen, the head of the Orthodox Church, Archbishop Leo of Karelia and all Finland and naturally the Catholic Bishop of Helsinki, Teemu Sippo.

Veronica Scarisbrick spoke to them as well as to Ambassador Rusi and filed this report in which she begins by affording some background to this first Nordic land to engage in diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

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Finland with its five .3 million population is a land of water and ice , a harsh land where in the far north for many weeks in winter the sun may never rise and in summer the sun may never set .

Harsh too is its history: hundreds of years of Swedish rule were followed by a further century of Russian control.

A legacy that lingers on in the memory of its people who have displayed skill at balancing the demands of an 800 mile border with Russia .

A haunting presence the Finnish composer Sibelius famously attempted to escape from with his renowned “Finlandia “, glorifying in this composition his own nation in defiance of the oppressor.
A musical independence foreshadowing political independence that would only come with the Russian Revolution in 1917 .

An independence which draws too from far reaching roots of a heroic past , to be found in the pages of the national epic the ‘Kalevala’ which highlights a two thousand year old oral tradition, only published in 1835.

For a nation which, contrary to the other countries in the so called Nordic space in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s, stepped out of the cold war shadows into the warm embrace of Europe .

And earlier still, exactly seventy years ago, in 1942 in a world enveloped in flames of war, it embraced diplomatic relations with the Holy See, a first once again in the Nordic space. .

So to mark this historical milestone, a conference took place in Rome at the Finnish Institute in Rome located in the Renaissance era Villa Lante on the Janiculum hill with its stunning views overlooking the city .

I spoke to my host on this occasion: the Finnish Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr Alpo Rusi and given diplomatic relations were established during war years and coming from a nation which has a long standing reputation as promoter of peace hosting as it did one of the major peace accords of out time back in 1975 as well as being an active member of the United Nations participating in peace- keeping it came as no surprise that the conversation focused around peace: “…we learnt about international relations because the Holy See has a very strong representation throughout the world and there was a special reason to come here during World War II. Finland wanted desperately to get rid of the war and we thought this would be a channel to start a peace process , to have a separate peace with the Soviet Union. ..we learnt not only during World War II but later on as well..”...

Also among the guests of honour I spoke to at this event were the leaders of the three official religions in Finland, the majority Evangelical Lutheran , the Orthodox and the Catholic . As I discovered all pragmatically skilled at finding common ground. This nation’s Christian heritage lingers on .

As the leader of the majority Church , the Lutheran Archbishop Kari Mäkinen explained : “ this is special occasion because here we have the Finnish Church traditions together visiting Rome and at the same time the State of Finland is present...for me it means that state relations and ecumenical relations are not separate but work together. And of course we have this tradition of coming to Rome each year in January to mark the Feast of Saint Henry …”

A continuity then stemming from the evangelising mission of Saint Henry the Catholic Bishop from England who is said to have brought Christianity here from the West. One who lived over eight centuries before the time of Father of the of the Finnish Reformation, Mikael Agricola.

And indeed a Saint mentioned by Blessed John Paul II in 1989 during his Apostolic visit to Finland as having sown the seeds of faith and given witness to his love for Christ by shedding his blood.

A Saint whose memory is still very much alive in Turku’s medieval Cathedral today where the first Finnish born Catholic Bishop of Helsinki since the Reformation was recently consecrated bishop, his name Teemu Sippo. A convert to the Catholic Church he said he felt the weight of 500 years of history on his shoulders but broadened the conversation on to explaining how half of the Catholics in Finland are immigrants from over 80 countries across the world. “ it is a sign that the Catholic Church is everywhere..this anniversary means that for the Finnish State the Catholic Church is important. It wants to cooperate with us in many fields especially in the areas of justice and peace… the Catholic Church in Finland is very small, we live in a diaspora situation so for us Rome is important …”

The solemnity of this occasion was also highlighted by the leader of the other official Church in this nation which borders with Russia, the Orthodox. In the person of Archbishop Leo of Karelia and all Finland whose Church despite the geographical closeness to Russia belongs to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. A Church leader keen to broaden ecumenical boundaries: “we went together to Constantinople …last week we the three of us went to Moscow and met with the Patriarch ..”

An openness then in ecumenical relations, distant in time from that earlier historical mood of suspicion between the three Churches for Finland.

Finland may be a harsh land but it's certainly a nation come in from the cold , no need for ice breakers to celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations between Finland and the Holy See at both the State and ecumenical level ..

To quote from Blessed John Paul II once again when he visited Helsinki : “ Drawn together by the rigours of a harsh climate , you have forged a close-knit society which cherishes the ideals of peace, justice and harmony ….

A programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick , Vatican Radio.

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