Agricola Finnish Lutheran Church
Toronto ON

Agricola mission statement

A welcoming community connecting everyone with God’s Grace and Love.
Yhteisö, johon jokainen on tervetullut kokemaan Jumalan Armoa ja Rakkautta.

 

https://agricola.ca/  

 

Brief history of the Agricola congregation

The Agricola Finnish Lutheran Congregation was founded under the guidance of pastor John Saarinen in 1931. The congregation met in a number of different locations until enough money had been saved to construct the present church in 1967. The beautiful simplicity of the cedar and fir used within the sanctuary reflects Finnish traditions and Lutheran values. The sanctuary has excellent acoustics and can accommodate 300 worshippers.

A new wing was completed in 1982 to better serve the congregation, and provide more space for Sunday School, as well as a nursery, office space and a meeting hall. Agricola has been the spiritual home for several generations of Finnish-Canadians and welcomes people from all ethnic backgrounds to take part in its thriving church community. Agricola is proud to host also Swedish and Estonian congregations for their weekly services.

Many of the Finnish community groups regularly meet at Agricola – Vox Finlandiae, Toronto Finnish Male Singers, Sisu Folk Dancers, the Finnish Language School, Kerho 86, a seniors group – and many others.

Agricola is pleased to provide space for the Swedish Lutheran church and St Andrew’s Estonian Lutheran congregation. Agricola is also home to Yes I Can, a nursery school focussed on children with special needs.

Mikael Agricola

Mikael Agricola was born around 1510 in Pernå (Pernaja), southern Finland as Mikael Olavinpoika. At an early age, he showed gifts as a scholar and a linguist. He was sent to school in Vyborg, and while there, as was customary at the time, assumed a Latin surname, Agricola, to describe his father’s status.

In Vyborg he was introduced to the reformation, as Count Johann who ruled the castle of Vyborg was a supporter of the reformation, having been introduced to it by Gustav Vasa, the king of Sweden while working for him.

Later in Turku, Finland, Agricola met Petrus Särkilahti, Martin Luther’s first Finnish student, who eagerly spread the ideas of the reformation. Upon the death of Särkilahti in 1529, Agricola became his successor and was sent by the bishop of Turku to study in Wittenberg, Germany. He was ordained to priesthood around 1531.

In Wittenberg, Agricola studied under Philipp Melanchton and Martin Luther. Both of these reformists recommended him and he was awarded a stipend from Gustav Vasa. Translating the Bible into the language of the people was a major principle for the reformation, and in 1537, Agricola started to translate the New Testament into Finnish.

However, at the time, there was no standard written form of the Finnish language, so he started to develop it. His first books were an ABC book and a catechism (1543), then a prayer book (1544). Agricola’s most important accomplishment was the translation and publication of the New Testament in Finnish (1548). As a result of these accomplishments, he is considered the father of the Finnish language.

In 1584, Mikael Agricola was consecrated as the bishop of the cathedral parish of Turku, becoming the first Lutheran bishop for all of Finland. He died in 1557 while returning from Russia, where he had helped negotiate a peace agreement, the Treaty of Novgorod.

In naming our congregation after this Lutheran reformist and father of the Finnish language, the founders of Agricola Lutheran Church wanted to honour their heritage.

References:

Mikael Agricola. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikael_Agricola Mikael Agricola, bishop of Turku. http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/135.html