Even though same-sex marriage was legalised in Finland in 2017, it continues to be a highly contentious issue within the nation's largest religious body, the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
A group of official representatives of the Lutheran Church have now filed an appeal with church leadership calling for stricter enforcement of official policy on the marriage of same-sex couples.
To support its position, the group reminded an ongoing synod that the church officially defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man. They argue that church rules are currently being systematically violated and the church council needs to intervene.
The representatives behind the appeal are also demanding that regional diocesan chapters sanction priests who perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
About a third of the representatives attending the general synod, which is the highest decision-making body of the church, are backing action against gay marriage.
According to a response given at the synod by Archbishop Tapio Luoma, dioceses should refrain from sanctioning priests who perform marriages for same-sex couples. The archbishop’s response is in line with a recent recommendation on the issue by the church's episcopal conference.
Luoma added that the dispute over same-sex marriage cannot be settled by sanctions. According to the archbishop, any solution for the church must be based on the fact that there can be disagreement on the matter.
More priests marrying gay couples
The number of Lutheran priests officiating at same-sex weddings in Finland has increased this autumn, even after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that it is legal for diocesan chapters to sanction priests who marry gay couples.
Nearly 150 priests have so far announced their support on a "Pastors for same-sex couples" website.
In addition, there is a social media site where even more priests have expressed support for, and willingness to perform, same-sex marriages.
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One of the priests supporting church marriage for same-sex couples, Sanna Mertanen, a pastor at the Kuopio Parish Union, says that for her it is a question of equality. She says she follows the rules of the church, according to which all adults and church members who have attended confirmation classes can, if they wish, be married in the church.
There is no definitive figure as to how many priests are ready to perform same-sex marriages, because not all that are willing to do so have gone public. According to the "Pastors for same-sex couples" website, there are altogether about 400, approximately one in ten ordained Lutheran ministers in the country,
"What is even more important than the peer support for [these] marriages is one's personal convictions," says Mertanen.
She says she sees the recommendation of the episcopal conference as an indication that the matter is not self-evident in the church and will not be resolved by sanctions. She adds that she does not believe that the church synod will manage to reach majority decision for or against same-sex marriage for a long time to come. However, the matter must ultimately be resolved in the synod.
Mertanen says she has been willing to marry same-sex couples since parliament passed legislation legalising such unions more than three years ago.
No unified practice
Members of the synod opposed to church marriage for same-sex couples say they believe that the church council needs to intervene in what they see as a systematic breach of church policy.
According to Jari Pulkkinen, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Lutheran Church Council, the matter is not up to these synod representatives. The activities of the clergy are supervised by the diocesan chapters, in which the bishop of each area is only one member.
Despite the recent decision by the Supreme Administrative Court, diocesan chapters have no obligation to punish priests who perform same-sex marriages.
Practice varies among different diocesan chapters, and for example, the Diocese of Helsinki does not currently issue warnings to priests who perform same-sex marriages.