Irja Askola

Irja Kaarina Askola (born 18 December 1952 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is the Bishop of Helsinki. She is the first female Finnish bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Askola first became involved with the Church as a child after the early death of her father. She started her theological studies at the University of Helsinki 1971 and continued them as an academic research assistant until 1981.

She graduated as Master of Theology in 1975, and was ordained as a priest in 1988.

Askola has worked as an executive secretary for the Conference of European Churches, based in Geneva, Switzerland from 1991 to 1999. She has also worked as a Special Advisor in Theological Affairs to the Bishop Mikko Heikka.

She was elected Bishop of Helsinki on June 2010 as successor to Eero Huovinen; she was chosen on the second round of the election with 591 votes.

Askola was installed on 12 September 2010 by the Archbishop of Turku, Kari Mäkinen. He was assisted by other bishops from Finland (Matti Repo and Mikko Heikka from the Diocese of Espoo); Norway (Olav Skjevesland); Denmark (Elisabeth Dons Christensen) and Namibia (Thomas Shivute). The Anglican Co-Consecrator was Edward Darling, the former Bishop of Limerick in the Church of Ireland.

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