The Juror, nominated by the Executive Board of the Finnish Association of Architects, is a public figure who is a recognised expert in an area other than architecture. The winner is selected from a shortlist of projects chosen by the Pre-Selection Jury.
Kuva: Antti Partanen
Dr Tapio Luoma has served as Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland since 2018. In this role, he is responsible for chairing the church’s highest decision-making bodies: the Bishops’ Conference, the General Synod and the Church Council.
The Archbishop also manages the church’s international relations as well as oversees ecumenical links with other churches and religions. He is also the public face of the church and an active and influential participant in public debate. Although the Archbishop is one Bishop among many, he is also recognised as the primus inter pares, the first among equals. The Archbishop’s seat is in the southwestern city of Turku.
Tapio Luoma was ordained in 1987. He holds a PhD in Theology, having completed a dissertation on the relationship between theology and the natural sciences.
Prior to his election as Archbishop, Dr Luoma worked as Deacon, and later as Chaplain, in Peräseinäjoki from 1987 until 1998, as Chaplain in Ilmajoki from 1998 to 2002 and as a Parish Priest in Seinäjoki between 2002 and 2012. He served as Lapua Diocese’s cathedral chapter representative from 2001 to 2007 and as Dean of the Etelä-Pohjanmaa Deanery from 2010 to 2012. From 2012 until 2018, he served as Bishop of Espoo. He was elevated to the General Synod in 2008. In 2000, his work was recognised with the title of Pastor of the Year. Luoma and his wife have three adult children and six grandchildren.
Tapio Luoma has a podcast titled Arkkipiispan talossa (At Home with the Archbishop) where he and his guests, high-profile Finnish public figures, discuss their values and beliefs. During his tenure, Dr Luoma has made several public statements highlighting the impact of public spending cuts on people living in poverty and voiced his support for taxpayer-funded, independent media.
As Archbishop, Dr Luoma has also called for an end to the ban on same-sex marriage in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. In his free time, the Archbishop is a keen singer.