Saint Nikolaos Orthodox Community of Helsinki city comes within the canonic jurisdiction of Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is the ruling bishop of the community.
St.Nikolaos Orthodox community in all its Christian activities: the Teaching of faith, its Divine services and religious rites, its forms of spiritual and church management and internal daily life, steadfastly conforms to the confession of Orthodox faith, canonic rules and regulations, rites and practices of Holy Orthodox Church.
All Christian feasts are carried out according to Julian calendar in the two temples of the community (the main – St.Nikolaos and the Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg).
The community (then, the parish) was founded by Russian emigration in 1927.
At present St.Nikolaos Orthodox parish is the largest community of Moscow Patriarchy in Finland (according to the number of registered parishioners).
In legal aspect the parish is registered as a religious community based on the law of freedom of faith (uskonnonvapauslaki) 453/2003. In its financial, economic and organizational activities the community is guided by the laws and normative regulations of the Finnish Republic and European Union.
The title of the community in Finnish is (according to registration) ORTODOKSINEN PYHÄN NIKOLAUKSEN SEURAKUNTA. The type of registration is ”Registered religious community” (Rekisteröity uskonnollinen yhdyskunta). Registration № 900.015.
The community is in the state of dynamic growth. Its membership has soared more than twice in the last decade: from 1121 members (December 2002) to 2400 members (October 2012).
At present three priests perform Divine services on the regular basis in the two temples mentioned above. Liturgies are carried out in Church-Slavonic, sermons are performed in Russian. Occasional religious rites are delivered in Church-Slavonic and in Finnish.
One may apply on all matters of spiritual and church daily life to the following priests of the community:
- rector archpriest Nikolai Voskoboinikov, tel. +35850 4084446
- archpriest Orest Tschervinski, tel. +358503548829
- priest Vladislav Menshikov, tel. +358405439047
Almost all work in the community is being carried out as a voluntary activity of its members. Singing in the church choir, obedience at the candle-desk, librarian work, making food and refreshments for Christian feasts, diaconal and circle work, renovation of the home-page on the Internet and its translation/typing into different languages, routine and major repairs of the temples, sewing work, cleaning of the church and maintenance work on the territory of the churchyard, etc. are mainly carried out voluntarily by parishioners themselves.
Divine liturgies at St.Nikolaos Temple are always performed on Saturdays (start at 18:00 p.m.) and Sundays (start at 9:40 a.m.)
Services are also held on the eve of the festival day (start at 18:00 p.m.) and in the morning on the feast day. The time-table of public worship is available in the church and it is also pinned on the notice-board on the front door. One can easily find it on the Internet home page (in Russian and Finnish).
Confessions are made during the evening worship before the beginning of liturgy. It is recommended to agree the time for making a confession with the priest in advance if one has not confessed for a long time or makes it for the first time in life.
The Patronal feast (transference of Relics of St.Nikolaos of Myra, the Wonderworker) is celebrated on May 9/22.
There is a church library at the temple which is open for visitors when the Divine liturgy is over.
Archpriest Orest Tshervinski performs public prayers on regular basis at the church of the Blessed Xenia of St.Petersburg. An early liturgy starts every second Sunday at 8:00 a.m. On Mondays an acathistos and a public prayer take place in turn at 18.00 p.m. there.
Archpriest Nikolai Voskoboinikov has regular classes on the Holy Scripture with children on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Classes are organized for two age groups. They are held in the Crypt of St.Nikolaos temple where catechism talks on the Teaching of Orthodox faith are also carried out on the same days. They start at 18.00 p.m. on Wednesdays after an acathistos and before the night service on Saturdays correspondingly.
Analogous catechism talks and classes are systematically delivered by archpriest Orest Tschervinski on Mondays at the temple of the Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg.