Province Western Finland Term ended 1998 Diocese Archdiocese of Turku Predecessor Mikko Juva | See Turku Cathedral Name John Vikstrom Installed 1982 | |
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John vikstrom ja elamakerta
John Edvin Vikström, (born October 1, 1931 in Kronoby, Finland), Archbishop emeritus of Finland, 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.
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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 Church has carried out many reforms. The Church has been given a new Bible translation and a new hymnbook, the ordained ministry has been opened to women, church law has been reformed and liturgical reform has been undertaken. The Church of Finland has also been 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:
"In this way, even working a little would be possible and would make sense. The system would not push people into idleness and divide citizens into winners and losers as cruelly as is the case now. I look at the question from the point of view of human dignity. A basic income paid to everyone would be less humiliating than the present benefit system can sometimes become. Basic income would send every citizen the following encouraging and motivating message: 'You are important. You are not a burden, but a resource. You are important by being a human being for others. Whatever work you do, in whatever situations, whether or not you are paid to do it, you still contribute to building our society.'"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 was voted as Book of the Year in 2002.
Theological merits
Studies and career
Awards and prizes