FINLAND – On Thursday, October 30, the Supreme Court of Finland held hearings in the case of Finnish Member of Parliament, Dr. Päivi Räsänen, and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF). It was the third court since 2022 to consider what has been dubbed Finland’s “Bible Trial.” The two are accused of hate speech as a result of articulating historic Christian teaching on human sexuality.
“It is difficult to overstate how surreal [it has been]—to see my faith, my conscience, and even the Bible itself placed on trial in a democratic nation,” said Dr. Räsänen. “Whatever the outcome of this trial is, my conscience is clear and my faith is firm. My hope is that this ruling will affirm the right of every person to express their beliefs freely, without fear and without punishment.”
Bishop Pohjola noted that the doctrinal beliefs for which he and Dr. Räsänen are being prosecuted are “shared widely across Christian churches.” As a result, he said, “Any possible conviction would not only stigmatize me and the Lutheran church body that I lead as criminals, but also send a dangerous signal to all Christians and Christian denominations. Such an outcome would not contribute to building a genuinely free society proud of its rule of law.”
Dr. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola were first charged with hate crimes in 2021 for the publication of a 2004 booklet which articulates historic Christian teaching on human sexuality, with Dr. Räsänen charged as the author and Bishop Pohjola as the publisher. Dr. Räsänen was also charged for a 2019 tweet which included a picture of a Bible verse and for comments made during a 2019 radio program.
The two stood trial in 2022 at the Helsinki District Court, where they were unanimously acquitted by a panel of three judges who declared: “It is not the role of the district court to interpret biblical concepts.” An appeal by the prosecution was subsequently heard in the Helsinki Court of Appeal, with the two again unanimously acquitted on all charges in 2023.
Despite two unanimous rulings in favour of Dr. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola, the prosecution appealed the decisions related to the booklet and the tweet to the Supreme Court of Finland (the acquittal of Dr. Räsänen for her radio comments was not appealed). The court announced earlier this year that it would allow the appeal. While the Supreme Court of Finland often simply reviews the records from lower courts, the court in this case decided to also hold new hearings.
The hearings today saw a new prosecutor in charge of the case, and observers noted a marked difference from proceedings in the lower courts. While in the past the prosecution has directly interrogated the defendants on their theological beliefs at trial, today’s hearings at the Supreme Court saw the prosecution abstain from questioning the defendants entirely.
The International Lutheran Council (ILC) continues to urge prayer for Dr. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola as they endure a fifth year of prosecution for their articulation of historic Christian doctrine. “We pray for an end to this legal persecution,” said ILC General Secretary Klaus Detlev Schulz. “Christians must be free to speak openly about their religious convictions without fear of prosecution. We pray that this third round of hearings would be the last, and that they would lead to the same conclusion as the lower courts: a unanimous acquittal of Dr. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola on all charges.”
The International Lutheran Council recently reaffirmed its support for Bishop Pohjola during the ILC’s 2025 World Conference in the Philippines, during which time members reelected Bishop Pohjola to a second term as ILC Chairman. The ILC also issued a public letter in 2021 signed by the leaders of 45 Lutheran church bodies and associations worldwide, protesting the unjust decision of Finnish prosecutors to charge Bishop Pohjola and Dr. Räsänen.
Bishop Pohjola and Dr. Räsänen expressed their continued thanks for the support of Christians around the world, including the ILC. “I am extremely thankful and grateful to all those who have supported me and Juhana,” Dr. Räsänen said. “Even though this process has been long—and of course there have been also dark moments during these years—my main experience is that I have gotten much more joy than any troubles… I think that God has been so good to turn bad things to good things.”
Bishop Pohjola likewise highlighted the good which God has brought forth out of evil. The trial is “bringing us closer to the Word of God and to prayer,” he said. “I also hope that this case has been an encouragement for many Christians,” he continued, to “say publicly: ‘I am a Christian. I’m not ashamed of it. This is what I believe, and this is what I want to share with you.’”
The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, grounded in the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.
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