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Freemasonry in Finland began in the mid-18th century, during the period ofSwedish rule in Finland.
The firstSwedish Order of Freemasons lodge in Finland was founded in 1756, in connection with the military fortification works atSveaborg (Suomenlinna) and the officers stationed there.[1] TheS:t Johannes logen S:t Augustin lodge worked partly inStockholm, partly inTurku, but later moved toHelsinki.[1] Known Freemasons in Finland during the 18th century includedGustaf Björnram.[2] Anti-Masonic sentiments were already present among the FinnishLutheran clergy and laity: the 1769 diocese meeting ofPorvoo criticized the worldview of Freemasons and their activities.[1]
As the result of theFinnish War of 1808–1809, Sweden ceded its eastern provinces to Russia. These territories came to constitute theGrand Duchy of Finland under theRussian Empire. Lodge activities continued until 1813, but from 1822 onward, regulations banning secret societies in the Russian Empire made it impossible for Freemasons to operate in Finland.[1]
After theFinnish Declaration of Independence in 1917, Freemasonry was again free to operate in the country. In the early 1920s, the possibility of restoring Freemasonry to Finland was discussed amongFinnish American Masons.[3] Unlike other European countries of the time, Finland adopted Freemasonry from the United States and not from England or Central Europe. TheSuomi Lodge 1 opened in Helsinki in August 1922.[3] Finnish lodges initially operated under theGrand Lodge of New York.[3] The Independent Finnish Grand Lodge Association was founded in 1924.[3] In the European Masonic circles, the orientation of Finnish Freemasons to the United States caused bitterness: theUnited Grand Lodge of England did not recognize the Finnish Grand Lodge until 1927 while the Swedish Order of Freemasons withheld recognition until 1948.[4][1]
The Grand Lodge was registered on 12 August 1935 under the name of the Grand Lodge of F. & A. Masons of Finland.[3] The name was changed to the Grand Lodge of Finland on 30 November 1983.[3]
In 1920, theCo-MasonicLe Droit Humain began its activities in Finland in connection with the FinnishTheosophical Society.[5]
In 1923, there was a revival of theSwedish Rite in Finland, when the Swedish Order of Freemasons reopened theS:t Augustin lodge and established operations in theSwedish-speaking parts of Finland.[1]
In the 1930s, Finnishfar right groups, inspired by theFascists and theNazis, campaigned prominently against Freemasonry and similar organizations, such as theOdd Fellows.[1] There were also efforts to ban Masons from the officer corps of the Finnish Armed Forces and from the Lutheran clergy.[1] Due to the negative publicity, the number of Finnish Freemasons dropped from slightly under 1,000 to around 500 during the pre-war years.[1]
In 1941, Finnish lodges voluntarily ceased activities, to avoid complicating relations withNazi Germany during theContinuation War against theSoviet Union.[1]
Masonic activities resumed in Finland after the Second World War, although not seriously until the early 1950s.[1] In the 1980s, inspired by the ItalianP2 lodge scandal, the Finnish media published a number of stories about the alleged corruption of Finnish Freemasons active in politics and business.[1] Negative articles on Freemasonry were published in the large dailies in Helsinki, in the left-wing press, and in papers associated with certain religious groups.[1] The matter was also raised in theFinnish Parliament, but the government noted that Freemasonry was a lawful and accepted civic activity.[1]
In the decades since, Finnish Freemasonry has striven to decrease the secrecy surrounding it by, for example, opening a museum of Finnish Freemasonry and by cooperating with academic researchers.[1] The Finnish Grand Lodge system had 7,400 members in 2014 while the Swedish Rite system had 1,400 members in 2018.[3][6] Le Droit Humain Finland had about 200 members in 2007.[5]
