Christians must be ready to pay the price for their beliefs, says Finnish bishop facing trial for sexuality views

Dec 5, 2021 by Jill

from Christian Today:

Rev Dr Juhana Pohjola, the Evangelical Lutheran Bishop in Finland, is facing trial in January for expressing traditional Christian teaching on human sexuality.

In April, Finland’s Prosecutor General charged him and the Christian Democrat MP Dr Päivi Räsänen with “incitement against a group of people” over the 2004 publication of a booklet which described sex outside of heterosexual marriage, including homosexual practice, as sinful.

Dr Räsänen was charged as the author of the booklet, while Bishop Pohjola was charged as the publisher.

Dr Pohjola is Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF), a position to which he was elected earlier year.

He was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the State Church, in 1999, but increasing pressure in that body against orthodox Lutherans led to the formation of the ELMDF in 2013. In response, the State Church defrocked him in 2014. Today the ELMDF has more than 45 congregations and mission sites throughout Finland.

Christian Today spoke to Dr Pohjola about his upcoming trial and the international concern about religious freedom which his prosecution has prompted.

Read here