FELM before and today - 150 years of history

For centuries, Finland had been a part of the Swedish realm. When Sweden lost the war it had been waging with Russia in 1808-1809, Finland was ceded to the Russian Empire, but it did receive an autonomy.

The Finnish language had been written from the 16th century onwards, when Mikael Agricola translated the Bible into Finnish.

Swedish, however, was the language of speech and writing among the intellectuals, whereas only a few of them were fluent in Russian. The equal status of Finnish and Swedish was established in the 1860's when the school system of the country was revised with the beginning of compulsory primary education.

This, in turn, meant an enhancement of the Finnish national identity. With the rising awareness of the nation, Finns were now willing to carry their share of the responsibility for mission. The spread of Christianity was seen as the duty of the Christian nations.