A preliminary investigation has been launched into a fire that completely destroyed a historic wooden church in the municipality of Rautjarvi in the region of South Karelia in southern Finland.
The authorities said they had “reason to suspect” that the blaze that razed the Rautjärvi church was started intentionally, which is why the incident is being looked into as a case of aggravated property damage.
According to the Police Department of Southeastern Finland, the fire in the Rautjärvi church broke out during a Christmas service on Sunday morning. While up to 40 worshippers had attended the service, everyone ended up being safely evacuated. The damage to the wooden church, however, was massive. The fire spread so quickly that authorities had no option but to let the blaze burn the building to the ground.
Ruokolahti Parish Vicar Leena Haakana also argued that the destruction was likely intentional, seeing “no other reasonable cause.”
At the same time, police are investigating whether the church fire may be linked to another one that broke out around the same time in a detached house at several kilometers’ distance which left one dead.
In the 1990s, Scandinavia saw dozens of church arson attempts associated with the nascent black metal scene, which embraced Satanism and saw Christianity as its nemesis. Among others, Burzum frontman Kristian “Varg” Vikernes served 15 years in prison for murder and arson of three churches.
In recent years, though, attacks and acts of vandalism against churches have occurred mostly in troubled suburban areas which often have a sizable immigrant population and a reputation for hardened crime and urban blight. For instance, in neighboring Sweden, the Spanga Church alone, one of the oldest in Stockholm, saw several attacks in recent years, including Molotov cocktails being hurled at it.
The wooden church in Rautjarvi was built in 1881 and designed by architect A.J. Jansson. It was built after the previous church on the same site, which, somewhat ironically, burned down in 1872.