Turku and Kaarina Parish Union

Turku and Kaarina Parish Union consists of the ten Evangelical Lutheran parishes of the Turku and Kaarina area. The number of members in the Turku and Kaarina Parish Union is approximately 140.000, which makes it the fourth largest parish union in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland after those of Helsinki, Espoo, and of Tampere.

The parish unions take responsibility for the centralized management of finances, maintenance of property, care and maintenance of cemeteries and burial functions, data administration, population registration and some forms of congregational activities.

Parishes have extensive operational, financial and administrative autonomy. The ten local parishes in Turku carry out the key basic tasks of parish work, such as services, ecclesiastical ordinances (baptism, marriage ordination and burial). In addition, each parish undertakes different forms of work in its area: Deacon work, teaching, youth work and parish music education in its area.

Democracy as principle 

Parish elections are held every four years for parish boards in the member parishes and for the parish union board in the Parish Union. The parish union board is responsible for appointing the joint parish board, the committees and other boards. The parish union board conducts and supervises the joint parish work.

The previous parish elections were held in November 2022.

More about Parish elections (the link opens in a new tab)