Our small Catholic Church in Finland is rich with rites and traditions through which God is worshipped. During the interview at the bishop’s residence in Eira, Bishop Raimo listed various rites that are celebrated more or less regularly in our country. Liturgies and masses are celebrated in over twenty different languages. But what about in the future?The Church has almost thirty different rites, but in Finland the most common are the following, which our Bishop mentions:
– The Latin rite; it is celebrated in all our parishes in the national languages of Finnish and sometimes Swedish, and in English, which seems to have become in many cases dominant. Latin is also used to a limited extent, for example in the Creed, Gloria and Our Father, and hymns in honor of Our Lady.
– The Chaldean rite; this rite has about 500 followers in Finland. Masses according to this rite are celebrated more or less regularly in Tampere, St. Mary’s in Helsinki and Turku. The priest celebrating these masses comes from Oslo.
– The Syro-Malabar rite is celebrated by around 500 people from Asia, mainly from India and Malaysia. The liturgy is celebrated by Father Benoit, who comes from Sweden, and it is held in Tampere and Helsinki in St. Henry’s Cathedral.
– The Byzantine rite, which is celebrated according to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic tradition. The liturgy is celebrated in Ukrainian by Father Vitalii, who, together with his wife and children, has moved to the Helsinki area. He belongs to St. Henry’s Cathedral parish clergy. Liturgy is celebrated once a week in Helsinki and Tampere. According to Bishop Raimo, there may be as many as over 5000 Byzantine Catholics in our country.
– In our country, Mass is also celebrated according to the Maronite rite in Aramaic. It is estimated that there are about 200-300 people in our country who follow this rite.
– Mass according to the Ambrosian rite is celebrated by around 100 people in our country. They do not have their own priest, but a priest comes to Finland irregularly.
– The Eritrean rite is celebrated by Catholics who have come to our country from Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. This liturgy is celebrated perhaps only once a year. The priest has come from Romania.
– There are also Catholic Slovaks who celebrate Mass according to their own national traditions. Sometimes the Mass is celebrated according to the Latin traditional form and sometimes according to the Byzantine. They have their own priests who visit our country when necessary.
Many rites, languages and traditions
In other words, there is a lot to choose from in terms of different rites and traditions. Additionally, the African Community, which represents almost 50 African countries and countless tribes and cultures, celebrates Mass with common African traditions, with singing and dance. The Mass is held in Kallio Church, usually in English – a kind of lingua franca in the Catholic Church in Finland.
Mass or liturgy is thus celebrated in dozens of languages in our country, including Arabic, Russian, Tagalog, Tigrinya and most European languages. However, Bishop Raimo asserted that Finnish should be the language that unites everyone. Our church is a universal, Catholic church in Finland, and not a Finnish church. However, in Finland we have our own national culture, which, according to Bishop Raimo, is the real unifying cultural link.
Future of the Rites
The various rites are other unifying links between different immigrant cultures. But perhaps they should not be perceived as ‘eternal’. After immigrants have lived in Finland for a few generations, the rites die out, many believe, in the same way as the Byzantine rite celebrated for half a century in the Ecumenical Center, first in Rekola and later in Myllyjärvi in Espoo. In the long term, there may not be room for many different culturally based rites in our country. It is essentially a question of assimilation – and perhaps also a question of cost. In Finland we have our own cultural community. However, the Bishop reminds us that the Church respects all different rites and traditions even if they are not celebrated regularly in Finland. The diversity of rites is a richness.
As a Latin Rite diocesan bishop, Bishop Raimo also faces sacramental challenges with so many different rites, for example the Byzantine belief that three sacraments are received at the same time, namely baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, as well as confession. This complicates the normal teaching of catechesis and the understanding of the meaning and significance of the sacraments. Even married Catholic Byzantine priests with families and children also pose a challenge, especially in relation to the rest of the clergy.
Three points (to note)
Bishop Raimo had three key insights that he wanted to share with you.
Firstly, each rite is a gift and a richness that brings responsibilities. The goal should always be an encounter with God. Grace is crucial here.
Secondly, a small church cannot serve everyone with different rites and languages. There are simply not the financial and human/clergy resources to do so. One must be selective and opt out of what is, or is perceived by the hierarchy as, secondary. It is an ‘either/or’ principle.
Thirdly, everyone has a role in the Church, because the Church is Catholic.
I would like to thank Bishop Raimo for a meaningful and enlightening interview.
Jan-Peter Paul
[Translation by Bonifatiuswerk-Incomerin AT]