Military bishop

{{about|military rank in Finnish army|worldwide Catholic use|Military ordinariate}}

{{Expand Finnish|date=December 2008|topic=mil}}

Military Bishop{{cn|date=October 2024}} ({{langx|fi|Kenttäpiispa}}; {{langx|sv|Fältbiskop}}) is a military rank and position within the Finnish Defence Forces. The Military Bishop is the leader of both Lutheran and Orthodox priests and deacons serving in the army as military chaplains. The office was founded by President Risto Ryti in 1941. The position of military bishop is comparable to that of a brigadier general.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2012-08-24|title=Kirkkoherrasta kenttäpiispaksi|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/kirkkoherrasta_kenttapiispaksi/6268541|access-date=2021-01-04|website=Yle Uutiset|language=fi}}{{Cite web|title=Sanasto|url=https://evl.fi/sanasto/-/glossary/word/Kentt%C3%A4piispa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112124141/https://evl.fi/sanasto/-/glossary/word/Kentt%C3%A4piispa|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 12, 2019|access-date=2021-01-04|website=evl.fi|language=fi-FI}}

Though the Military Bishop is styled "bishop" and is a member of the Synod of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, he is not a "bishop" in the doctrinal sense of the term. Military bishops are not ordained as bishops and cannot in turn ordain priests. Their jurisdiction, the Finnish Defence Forces, does not constitute a diocese, and military chaplains belong to the dioceses of their assigned stations. Similarly, the service members belong to the parishes of their domiciles.