Finland Has New Lutheran Archbishop
Mäkinen is the new Archbishop of Finland.
Image: Jussi Vierimaa / Kirkon tiedotuskeskus
The Bishop of Turku, Kari Mäkinen, has been narrowly elected the new Archbishop of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church. He won only 11 more votes than his rival Miikka Ruokanen.
Mäkinen won 593 votes to Ruokanen's 582. The public image of the two men differed greatly. While Mäkinen is perceived as a reform-minded liberal, Ruokanen is considered a fundamentalist.
They noticeably differed on the question of same-sex unions. Mäkinen supports allowing Lutheran ministers to bless -- not marry -- gay couples. Ruokanen does not. Nonetheless, Mäkinen is less willing than Ruokanen to reform the actual formulas for worship.
Mäkinen replaces current Archbishop Jukka Paarma in June 2010.
Mäkinen was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1979. He is also married to a Lutheran pastor, Eija Mäkinen, and the couple has four adult daughters.
The number of people eligible to vote for the archbishop is 1,226. Two-thirds of these are ministers and deacons of the Church, and one-third are laypeople.
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