The Orthodox Church of Finland Forced to Reduce Its Property Due to Lack of Funds

The Orthodox Church of Finland is preparing to reduce its real estate holdings amid financial difficulties. There are over 250 church buildings in the country, but there are insufficient funds for their maintenance and repair. Parish revenues are not enough to cover the costs of major renovations, and the Church’s central fund is also unable to finance all necessary repairs. This was reported by the OSN news portal.

According to preliminary estimates, more than 40 buildings may be subject to reduction, with half of them located in North Karelia — a region where most Orthodox residents are descendants of post–World War II migrants from Soviet Karelia.

The Church’s real estate manager, Matti Rouvinen, stated that €234,000 has been allocated for capital repairs in 2025. At the same time, parishes submitted funding requests for nine properties totaling €2.9 million.

Earlier, we also reported that the Epiphany parish in the city of Bergen (Norway) publicly announced its departure from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). The vast majority of the community members voted in favor of the decision: 135 «for» and only 16 «against.» This is the first such case in Northern Europe. The results of the vote were shared by parish rector Archpriest Dmitry Ostanin on his Facebook page.