The court decided that the facilities of the Kurika parish will be opened for same-sex ordinations, even though the vicar opposed it. There is a pastoral instruction in the background.
In the parishes, decisions have been made feverishly about the suitability of church facilities for ordination of persons of the same sex.
The decision-making has also caused disputes, which have been settled in the judgment chapters.
In the background is the bishop’s meeting in June pastoral instructionaccording to which marriage consecration and marriage blessing are ecclesiastical ordinances, the suitability of which does not require a separate decision for the church space.
In practice, the pastoral instruction therefore recommends that church premises are open for same-sex ordinations.
Not everyone is satisfied with the instruction.
Even the bishops were not unanimous in the matter in the summer, because the bishop of the Kuopio diocese Jari Jolkkonen and the bishop of Lapua Diocese Matti Salomäki left a dissenting opinion on the decision.
The guide clarifies where the initiation is successful
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Lapua diocese bishop Matti Salomäki thinks that the pastoral instruction clarifies where rainbow couples can get married. However, ordination is not possible in every parish.
– If your own parish does not agree to a rainbow dedication, you can organize the service in a parish where it is possible.
Salomäki himself supports the traditional concept of marriage, but hopes that some kind of middle ground will be found, because more than half of the church has a more open approach to the matter.
– Both realities must be understood and taken into account, Salomäki says.
According to Salomäki, society has changed and you can’t close your eyes to the change. The fact that there are parishes where rainbow couples can get married will hopefully facilitate the discussion atmosphere.
– I believe that the atmosphere will be completely different at the church assembly in the spring, Salomäki estimates.
The congregation decides
Congregations can still make their own decision about using their church facilities, as the power to decide on the use of their own facilities is stipulated in the church ordinance.
Church Order 3:53
The new church must be consecrated as a space consecrated to God. A consecrated church may only be used for purposes appropriate to its sanctity. The vicar together with the church council or parish council decides on the use of the church. The use of the church is supervised by the vicar.
However, preventing same-sex ordinations in church premises requires the congregation to pull the rope in the same direction.
If, for example, the views of the vicar and the church council are in conflict, the matter will be decided by the judicial chapter.
In the video, Teijo Peltola, vicar of the Finnish parish in Vaasa, tells how the issue divides the parishes.
In Tuomiokapituli, on the other hand, the pastoral instruction is followed, which is in favor of consecrating persons of the same sex.
This happened, for example, in Kurika, where the vicar suggested that the premises were not suitable for same-sex marriages. The church council narrowly voted against the vicar’s proposal.
The Judicial Chapter of the Lapua Diocese decided that the premises in Kurikka will also be opened for marriages of same-sex couples.
Similar decisions have been made all over Finland, among others In Lahti and In Oulu.
Bishop Matti Salomäki of Lapua Diocese says that so far only the cases of the parishes of Jyväskylä and Kurika have been processed by the Judiciary Chapter.
Decisions have also been made in other churches. In them, the decision has been unanimous: positive or negative, so the decision has not come to the attention of the judicial chapter.
For example, in Alajärvi, the vicar and the church council are in favor of a negative attitude. This way, the judicial chapter does not get involved – and people of the same sex are not married in Alajärvi’s church facilities.
– In some parishes, the decision has only been brought to the attention of the administration. It will be realized if a same-sex couple comes to ask for marriage, Salomäki explains.
If a same-sex couple requests to be married on the premises of the church, does that start a process whereby the church, which has a negative attitude to the matter, will have to allow the marriage on its premises?
– It doesn’t quite work out. The pastoral instruction does not exceed the congregation’s decision-making power regarding the use of its own facilities, Salomäki clarifies.