The Anglican Church in Finland was originally founded by members of the Anglican Chaplaincy in St. Petersburg who were fleeing the Russian Revolution. It is likely that they first stayed in Viipuri before moving further West to Helsinki. The first recorded Anglican service in Finland took place in 1923, although it is possible that services were held before then. There are records that show clergy from St. Petersburg making visits to Helsinki in the years running up to 1917.
The cross and church plate used at St Nicholas’s, Helsinki are originally from the English Church in St Petersburg. During the Russian Revolution, the cross was shipped for safekeeping to the British Embassy in Peking and later to the British Embassy in Ankara before arriving in Helsinki in the early 1980s.
Until 1993, Anglican chaplains in Helsinki were linked with the British Embassy. They were based in Helsinki and would travel once a month to Moscow and once a year to Ulan Bataar.
Today, the Anglican Church in Finland also encompasses work done in Estonia. Annual trips are made to foster our relationship with Revd Gustav Piir and his congregation in Tallinn.
Over the years, services have been held in a multitude of locations. Members who have been with the St. Nicholas Chaplaincy for 50 years remember celebrating the Eucharist in the Chaplain’s personal flat. St. Nicholas’ congregation currently worships at Mikael Agricola Church as part of our common service with the Finnish Lutheran Church.
Chaplains
- Tuomas Mäkipää, 2011-2024
- Rupert Moreton, 1998-2011
- Francis Chadwick, 1993-1998
- Tyler Alan Strand 1990-1993
- Alan Cole, 1986-1990
- Michael Pitts, 1981-1985
- Eric Staples, 1966-1980
- William Masters, 1962-1966
- Brian Horlock, 1961-1962
- John Rogers, 1960-1961
- J.B. Roberts, 1958-1959
- John Satterthwaite, 1956–1957
- Clement (C. H.) Jones, 1954–1956
- Henry Isherwood, 1951–1954
- Sydney Linton, 1948–1951
- Locum priests 1940-1948
- F. H. Newbery, 1936-1939
- Clement (C. H.) Jones, 1925-1936
- Frank North, Chaplain to Helsinki and Moscow, 1920-1925