The Åkerblom Movement was an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

movement often described as a sect active in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in the late 1910s and early 1920s. The movement was most active in Swedish speaking Ostrobothnia, but it attracted people also in the south of Finland. The leader of the movement was the young girl

Maria Åkerblom Ida Maria Åkerblom (September 14, 1898 – February 25, 1981) was the leader of the Finnish Åkerblom Movement, an evangelical movement sometimes called a "cult". She had also served some time in prison. Her movement deemed her a prophet and bega ...

from the village of

Snappertuna Raseborg ( fi, Raasepori) is a town (administrative area) and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town. Of these, Ekenäs now serves as t ...

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, He ...

. The sect has its roots in Snappertuna in 1917, when it is said that twelve-year-old Maria Åkerblom received prophesies from God. Åkerblom was struck by sickness and as she fell asleep, she started to preach. She delivered her speeches in

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

as a so-called "

sleeping preacher A sleeping preacher, also called trance-preacher, is a Christian, most often Protestantism, Protestant person who preaches, Prophecy, prophesies or addresses a public audience while "sleeping," that is, in a state of trance. History The first rep ...

". This happened several times, and Åkerblom became famous. Services with Åkerblom preaching became more and more popular and her reputation spread throughout Finland. She started to travel around in Finland preaching. Åkerblom's sermons attracted most people in the northern parts of Ostrobothnia, especially in the Kokkola-region and the village of

Terjärv Terjärv ( fi, Teerijärvi) was an independent municipality of Finland until 1969 but is now together with Nedervetil, a part of the municipality of Kronoby. Terjärv is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia (r ...

. In the beginning no problems occurred as the movement started spreading in the region. Later, though, the members of the movement were accused of several different crimes, for instance shooting a policeman, stealing and physical violence. The movement grew larger in the early 1920s, in spite of all the accusations made against it. The leaders of the movement decided that all the members should sell all their belongings and give it to the sect. The movement's aim was to move to the holy land of Israel. The Åkerblom Movement did not make it that far, though. In the 1920s it fell apart because of all the accusations and trials it went through. Some members remained close to Maria Åkerblom, but the vast majority returned to normal life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aakerblom Movement History of Christianity in Finland 20th century in Finland Protestantism in Finland