Archbishop Herman (Aav), the first primate of the Orthodox Church of Finland

In this article, the author presents a characterization of the first Primate of the Orthodox Church of Finland, Herman (Aav), Archbishop of Karelia and all Finland, on the basis of materials at the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Archive of the New Valamo Monastery, and Russian and foreign publications. Archbishop Herman is usually associated with the transfer of the Orthodox Church of Finland from the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church into the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the reform of the calendar, the tragic division of the brotherhood of Valaam Monastery into “old calendarists” and “new calendarists”, and the finnicization and liberalization of parish liturgical practice. However, litle is known about his fruitful and active pastoral activities. Archbishop Herman headed the Church of Finland for 35 years, during which he, together with his flock, lived through the revival of church life in the 1920’s and 30’s, two wars, the evacuation of his diocese from the Karelian Isthmus into Finland proper, and the restoration of Eucharistic communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. It is largely through his work that the Orthodox Church of Finland has been able to maintain its autonomous status and existing traditions and culture