John Edvin Vikström (born 1 October 1931) is a Finnish priest. He served as the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

and Finland from 1982 to 1998.

Personal life

John Edvin Vikström was born to parents Edvin and Hilma Vikström. In 1957 he married teacher Birgitta Vikström (b. Hellberg) who died in 1994. John Vikström has three children. His brother Erik Vikström and his son Björn Vikström are both his successors as bishop of Porvoo/Borgå.

Archbishop of Turku and Finland 1982–1998

As the 53rd successor of St. Henry, Vikström's era was far reaching. During his term as the Archbishop of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (; ) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheranism, Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Orthodox Church o ...

, the Church carried out many reforms. The Church was given a new

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

translation and a new

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

book, the ordained ministry has been opened to women, church law was reformed and liturgical reform was undertaken. The Church of Finland was also active ecumenically. Archbishop emeritus John Vikström continues to be a popular speaker in academia and business. John Vikström has also publicly embraced the idea of a basic income as a solution to social exclusion: The archbishop has placed the chairmanship of the Church's Social-Ethical Forum as his priority. The forum's aim is to resolve problems in the status of the elderly and poor in Finland. An acclaimed author of numerous books and papers, his correspondence with

Jörn Donner Jörn Johan Donner (5 February 1933 – 30 January 2020) was a cinema of Finland, Finnish writer, film director, actor, film producer, producer, politician and founder of Finnish Film Archive. He produced Ingmar Bergman's film ''Fanny and Alexan ...

was voted as Book of the Year in 2002.

Theological merits

Studies and career *

Helsinki University The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Tsar Al ...

: ** Bachelor of

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

(1956) *

Åbo Akademi Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...

: **Licenciate of Theology (1962) **Doctor of Theology (1966) (subject of doctorate: Religion and Culture) *Stipendiate of

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(1956–1957) * Ordained 12 June 1956 * Ex officio position in the (1957) * Pastor of Diaconia in the

Diocese of Borgå The Diocese of Borgå (, ) is a diocese for the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Porvoo (''Borgå'' in Swedish) is also the old seat of the present-day (Finnish-speaking) Dioces ...

(1957–1961) * Assistant of Systematic Theology (1963–1964), lecturer at Åbo Akademi (1966–1970) * Associate Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Religion at Åbo Akademi (1970) *

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Borgå (1970–1982) * Archbishop of Turku and Finland (1982–1998) Awards and prizes *Honorary doctor: ** Leningrad Theological Academy (1985) ** Budapest Lutheran Theological Academy (1987) **

Finlandia University Finlandia University was a private Lutheran university from 1896 to 2023 in Hancock, Michigan. It was the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as Suomi Opisto (Finnish College) and Theological Seminary, it was affiliat ...

, Hancock, United States (1998) **

(2002) **

University of Vaasa The University of Vaasa (, ) is a multidisciplinary, business-oriented university in Vaasa, Finland. The campus of the university is situated by the Gulf of Bothnia adjacent to downtown Vaasa. The university has evolved from a school of econom ...

(2006) *Hallberg Prize (1967) * Swedish Cultural Fund Prize (1981) *Decoration of the Grand Cross of

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(1989) *

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

– Grand Cross (1986) *Cross of Apostle and Evangelist Mark, 1st Class (1989) * Order of the Holy Lamb, Commander 1st Class (1991) * Medal of Jordanian Independence, 1st Class (1993) *Lambeth Cross (1994) *

Anders Chydenius Anders Chydenius (; 26 February 1729 – 1 February 1803) was a Swedish-Finnish Lutheran priest and a member of the Swedish Riksdag, and is known as the leading classical liberal of Nordic history. He carried out his life's work in the Kingdom ...

Prize (1995) *Swedish Finland Award, in silver (1996) *Finland's Communal Union Award, in gold (1997) *Friends of the Swedish Folk School Award (1998) *Medal of Merit, Defence Forces of Finland, in gold (1998) *Medal of Journalism and Press (1999) * Cross of Maarjamaa (2001) *Cross of St. Henry (2007)

Bibliography

*''Religion och kultur. Grundproblemet i G.G. Rosenqvists religiösa tänkande'' (1966) *''Religionssociologin i Finland'' (1967) *''Kyrka och revolution'' (1968) *''Kyrkan och kulturradikalismen'' (1968) *''Effekten av religiös fostran'' (1970) *''Tro i kris'' (1972) *''Fråga biskopen om tro'' (1980) *''Ihmisen usko'' (1982) *''Herdestaven'' (1982) *''Kuitenkin'' (''Trots allt'') (1983) *''Uusi rohkeus elää'' (1985) *''Kirjeen kääntöpiiri'' (''Öppna svar'') (with Eero Silvasti) (1987) *''Suuntaviittoja'' (1988) *''Myös maan päällä'' (1992) *''Reconciliation and Hope'' (1998) *''Att leva är att dö'' (2000) (with

) *''Vapaus ja vakaumus'' (2003) *''Toivo ja elämä'' (2005)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vikstrom, John 1931 births Living people People from Kronoby Swedish-speaking Finns Lutheran archbishops and bishops of Turku 20th-century Lutheran archbishops Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class University of Helsinki alumni Åbo Akademi University alumni Academic staff of Åbo Akademi University Recipients of the Order of Independence (Jordan) Finnish Lutheran archbishops

Personal life

Archbishop of Turku and Finland 1982–1998

Theological merits

Bibliography

Further reading

External links