The head of the Orthodox Church of Finland announced cooperation with the country's intelligence services to identify "pro-Russian sentiments" among clergy and believers

Archbishop Ilia, head of the Orthodox Church of Finland (part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople), said that attitudes toward the war in Ukraine have led to a serious split within the Church hierarchy, clergy and among parishioners. This tension raises concerns about attempts at Russian influence, which has forced the Church leadership to cooperate with the security services and also had a direct impact on the recent election of the Church’s primate.

According to the archbishop, one line of division has been the treatment of Russians living in Finland. According to Yle, some of them were surprised by the unequivocal support for Ukraine from the Church leadership. Archbishop Ilia expressed concern that Russia could exploit internal divisions for its own purposes. «We Finns are often naïve…. We must be vigilant and be able to recognize signs of attempts at influence,» he stressed. In this regard, the head of the Church confirmed that he is in constant contact with the Finnish security police Supo (Suojelupoliisi) on issues related to «Russian influence attempts and the general change in the geopolitical situation.»

Controversy over Russia also played a key role in the election of a new archbishop last November. Metropolitan Arseny was considered one of the main candidates, but he withdrew his candidacy. This was preceded by a publication in the church newspaper Aamun Koitto, which referred to «Russia-glorifying comments» by Secretary Arseny. Although the Metropolitan himself did not share these views, and his secretary claimed a deliberate smear campaign, the incident affected the election. Officially, Metropolitan Arseny explained his withdrawal from the election by poor management and conflict in the Helsinki diocese.

Recall, earlier we reported that at the fifth plenary session of the Church Council 2025, the Orthodox Church of Finland (as part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople) made a number of key decisions regarding its internal life and administration. The Council approved initiatives to protect the rights of sexual minorities, update the liturgical compendium «Euchologia» and develop quality indicators for church activities. At the same time, consideration of the budget for 2026 was postponed.