Archbishop Leo of Finland Announces Retirement, Successor to be Elected in November

OCP News Service and ort.fi – 20/05/2024

Helsinki – Finland: Archbishop Leo of Helsinki and All Finland, head of the Finnish Orthodox Church since 2001, has announced his retirement. The Archbishop, born in 1948, submitted a request to His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in January 2024, seeking his blessing to retire during the recent Easter season.

Patriarch Bartholomew assigned the matter to the Inter-Orthodox Commission under the Holy Synod for review. Following a meeting held on May 17th-18th at the Ecumenical Patriarchate center in Phanar, the Holy Synod approved Archbishop Leo’s request.

The Finnish Orthodox Church will formally elect a new Archbishop during a Church Council meeting to be held at the Valamo Monastery from November 25th to 28th, 2024. The Church Council will add the Archbishop’s election to their agenda. Following the election, and in accordance with the Church’s Tomos (canonical charter), the selection will be submitted to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for final confirmation.

Archbishop Leo will remain in his position and continue his duties until a successor is chosen.

Source:

OCP News Service