The Dominicans in Finland

1249 venit conuentus Finlandiam

In the year 1249 the convent came to Finland read the chronicles composed by an unknown Dominican from Sigtuna in Sweden. At that time, nothing was less clear than the future of what we now call Finland. The principality of Novgorod was the dominant political power in the Eastern parts, especially after the victory of Alexander Nevskij over the knights-crusaders (1242). In the Western region, a Dominican monastery dedicated to Saint Olav was built on the outskirts of a small town which later came to be known as "Åbo". Brothers were sent from different convents located in Sweden, since the region then called "Finlandia" was under the rule of Sweden. When the canons of the local cathedral were for the first time allowed to elect their own bishop, they chose a Dominican from Sigtuna, Johannes, in 1286. He was later to be appointed archbishop in Uppsala.

The foundation of a convent in Finland meant the linkage of our country to the Scandinavian sphere and its integration into the extant system of international contacts and exchanges. Since every convent had to count among its members, besides a prior, a lector in charge of providing teaching, one can conclude that what was to become the region of Turku welcomed at an early stage of its development individuals formed according to the standards of European universities.

(C. J. Gardberd, Veritas Totuus, Dominicans in Turku during the Middle Ages, Schildts, 2005, p.22)

The influence of the convent on the western part of Finland was considerable until the moment of the Reformation led by Michael Agricola.

Dominicans have been active in Turku 289 years. However, only 37 names of brothers are known to us. It is due to the fact that almost all documents originating from or relating to the convent have been destroyed, and this mainly during the great fires of 1429 and 1437.

(Gardberg, op.cit., p.56).

Dominican brothers were well-known for their ability to preach in Finnish. During the 14th c., the Church of Finland made officially its own the liturgical rite used by the Dominicans. The Missael Åboense, which is the first ever printed Finnish book (it was ordered from the city of Lübeck in 1488) is a witness to the influence of the Dominican liturgy.

Through the intermediary of the convent, young and gifted students were regularly sent to great European learning centres such as Paris, Oxford, Köln, Rome. When the last Catholic bishop of Finland, the Dominican Martti Skytte, provided for the stay of Mikael Agricola in Germany, he acted according to the tradition of his forefathers. But this time, Martti sent the young student to the University of Wittenberg. The fact is that Martin Luther, whose ideas found a sympathetic echo in the mind of Martti Skytte, worked there as professor. As is well-known, the choice of Skytte has had huge historical consequences.

Unfortunately, one of these consequences happened to be the closure of the monastery, following the implementation of Luther´s Reformation in Finland. Gustav Vasa, king of Sweden, confirmed the decision of the Parliament of Västerås in 1527:

Since mendicant monks spread abundance of lies and deceit around, the bailiff has to use constraint and take good care that the monks do not spend more than 5 weeks travelling. (...) They have to ask letters (of appointment) from the bailiff and the mayor when they leave and show them to the same when they come back.

"Mendicant monks" were eventually forbidden from earning their living as "beggars".

The convent buildings were burnt down ten years later, in 1537. Some of the brothers asked to become Lutheran priests. Michael Michaelis (Carpela), dean of Taivassalo, was the last former Dominican brother to live in Finland. Matta Michaelis, the son and successor of Michael at the parish of Taivassalo, died in 1592. Gardberg writes: One assumes that until that moment, traditions that went back to the time of the Dominicans had managed to survive in the diocese of Turku (op.cit., p.71).

Anno 1949 redivivus

In 1946 The Holy See decided to create a centre of studies under the direction of the Dominican Order. The decision took effect in 1949 around 700 years after the arrival of Dominicans in Finland. Br. Andre Bonduelle was appointed prior of a new, French-speaking, community composed of five brothers. The following year was created the foundation of the Studium Catholicum. In 1955, the brothers launched a theological journal, Documenta. In 1961, brother Martti Voutilainen was ordained priest. It was more than 400 years since a Catholic ordination had taken place in Finland. Under the leadership of fr. Martti, the Studium was transferred from Bulevardi to Ritarikatu, where it had been offered a larger and more comfortable space. The centre, endowed with a library and a chapel dedicated to Saint Olav, started its activities in 1966. Brothers got rooms upstairs, on the 4th floor, so that Helsinki Dominicans were granted anew a "house" according to the medieval terminology. Fr. Martti died in 2001, but he did not remain without successors. In autumn 2008, after intensive works of renovation, the Studium will re-open its doors. The chapel will be dedicated to St. Dominic and St. Olav. In 2009 we will celebrate the 760th anniversary of a Dominican presence in Finland.