Under the Russian rule
Russia ended Swedish rule over Finland by conquering it in 1809, so Finland became a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. Although the ruler was then the Orthodox Tsar rather than a Lutheran king, the Lutheran Church remained the state church of Finland. Orthodox were a small religious minority. However, they enjoyed special protection by the Russian Tsar because they confessed the faith of the ruler. The position of the Orthodox Church was governed by the statutes of the Tsar and the Finns couldn´t have influence on that. When the "Old Finland", i.e. the Vyborg area, was made part of Finland in 1812, the number of Orthodox increased from three thousand to about 30.000.
The Ecclesiastical Act of 1869 loosened the bonds between the Lutheran Church and the state, and increased the independence of the Church. The supreme decision-making body of the Church, the Synod, was founded.
Updated by Kimmo Ketola