Turku church dispute escalates as archbishop warns of Russian influence

A network of over 80 Orthodox parishes with ties to the Moscow Patriarchate has spread across Europe, including a newly established congregation in Turku, Finland, sparking a dispute between Orthodox leaders, Yle reports.

Archbishop Elia, head of the Orthodox Church of Finland, has warned that the new parish—Ukrainian Orthodox Congregation of Western Finland—poses a threat to society due to potential Russian influence. “In the current global situation, knowing Moscow’s ambitions to exert influence in various regions, I see this phenomenon as a threat to the entire society, not just the church,” Elia stated.

The congregation, founded in 2023, operates from a small building in a Turku residential area and claims dozens of members, primarily Ukrainian refugees. Its priest, Oleksandr Ševtšenko, denies any connection to Moscow, insisting the parish follows canonical rules and Finnish law. “We broke ties with the Moscow Patriarchate after Russia’s full-scale invasion,” Ševtšenko told Yle, though he declined an on-camera interview.

The dispute centers on jurisdiction and allegiance. The Finnish Orthodox Church, an autonomous branch under Constantinople, views the new parish as an encroachment. “This is completely wild behavior. No other Orthodox church should intrude on another’s territory,” Elia said. Ševtšenko, however, cites liturgical differences—such as the use of Church Slavonic and divergent feast days—as reasons some Ukrainians prefer the new congregation.

The Turku parish is part of a broader European network of over 80 similar congregations established since 2022, all linked to Metropolitan Onufriy’s church in Ukraine. While the church claims independence from Moscow, Ukrainian security services (SBU) allege ongoing ties, including the discovery of Russian propaganda guidelines in clergy offices and funding from a pro-Kremlin oligarch. Helsinki University researcher Katharina Kunter calls the church’s communications “ambiguous,” fueling suspicions of lingering Moscow loyalty.

Finnish law permits the parish’s operation under religious freedom protections. No direct Russian interference has been observed in Turku, according to Yle.