Rautjärvi Church was a 1881 completed wooden

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Rautjärvi Rautjärvi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in the South Karelia regions of Finland, region of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . More than half of ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It was destroyed by fire on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

2022. The church was set on fire during the morning service by an elderly man who was later found dead. Before the

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

, the church was listed as one of the regionally significant cultural environments in

South Karelia South Karelia (or ''Southern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast). Hist ...

References

Rautjärvi Buildings and structures in South Karelia Lutheran churches in Finland Religious buildings and structures completed in 1881 Former churches in Finland {{Finland-Lutheran-church-stub