Ilkka Tapala Kantola ( Fin. Ilkka Tapani Kantola ) (born March 17, 1957 , Ryumyattyulya , Finland ) is a former bishop of Turku , currently a member of parliament from the Social Democratic Party of Finland .
| Bishop of Turku Ilkka Tapala Cantola | |
|---|---|
| fin. Ilkka Tapani Kantola | |
 | |
| Church | Church of finland |
| Diocese | diocese of Turku |
| Predecessor | position established |
| Successor | Kari meakinen |
| Ordination | 1985 - pastor 1998 - Bishop |
| Academic rank | doctor of theology |
| Date of Birth | March 17, 1957 (aged 62) |
| Place of Birth | Ryumyattyulya ,  Finland |
| http://www.ilkkakantola.net/ | |
Biography
Ilkka Kantola graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1985 with a bachelor of theology. In 1991, he became a licensee, and in 1994 a doctor of theology. In 1985, he was ordained a pastor, and in 1994, he was elected Secretary General of the Archbishop of Turku. When, in 1998, in the archdiocese of Turku, it was decided to create, along with the post of archbishop, the post of assistant bishop, Cantola was elected to this place.
In 2006, it became known that Cantola had been cheating on his wife with a female pastor for several years. After that, he decided to resign. This decision was also welcomed by the Archbishop of Finland Jukka Paarma , who stated that higher demands are placed on the bishop than on other people. In Finland, this was the first time since 1917 when a bishop resigned [1] .
Then Cantola began his political activities under the SDPF. He became a member of parliament from the Social Democrats, and in 2008 was elected deputy chairman of the party.
In 2011, as the chairman of the parliamentary group on human rights, he participated in the organization of memorial days for Anna Politkovskaya in Helsinki [2] .
In 2012, before the presidential election in Finland, he participated in the internal party elections and won 11% of the votes of the SDPF members [3] .