Matti Salomäki elected next Bishop of Lapua

Matti Salomäki was elected the next Bishop of the Diocese of Lapua, having received 54.9% of the votes in the second round of the episcopal elections on 23 November 2021. Born in 1968, Salomäki is currently Dean of Lapua Parish.

In the vote recount, Salomäki received 478 votes (54.9%) and Terhi Kaira, Dean of the Diocese of Lapua, received 393 votes (45.1%). No blank votes were cast, but five ballots were rejected as invalid. Voter turnout in the episcopal elections was 91.5%. 

Matti Salomäki has acted as Dean of Lapua Parish since 2021. From 1994 to 2012 he worked as a pastor in Pielavesi Parish, acting as vicar since 2003. Salomäki, who has held a seat in the General Synod since 2016, was ordained in 1994.

In the elections, a total of 957 people were entitled to vote. All the pastors and lecturers of the Diocese of Lapua were entitled to vote in the election, along with a corresponding number of lay voters.

Matti Salomäki will take office on 1 February 2022 upon the retirement of the current Bishop of Lapua, Simo Peura. Archbishop Tapio Luoma will consecrate Salomäki in Lapua Cathedral on Sunday, 6 February 2022. 

Salomäki will be the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Lapua, which was established in 1956.