Finnish Sleep-Preachers: An Example of Women's Spiritual Power
Kirsi Stjerna
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions October 1, 2001 DOI: 10.1525/nr.2001.5.1.102 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that women leaders and teachers in Christian history, including the Finnish 'sleep-preachers' such as Helena Konttinen (1871-1916), drew spiritual authority from extraordinary religious experiences, and that gender and authority related to religious experience and empowerment explain these laywomen's rise, emancipation, and influence as lay theologians and unofficial ministers in Finnish grassroots religiosity. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT: A remarkable number of women leaders and teachers in the history of Christianity have relied on the ‘supernatural,’ spiritual authority received through extraordinary religious experiences. Among them were the Finnish ‘sleep-preachers,’ laywomen who felt called to preach and prophesy while asleep. This article introduces the most famous of these preachers, Helena Konttinen (1871-1916), and through her story discusses the phenomenon of sleep-preaching in turn-of-the-century Finland. Links are made to similar individuals earlier in Christianity, such as medieval mystics and Victorian Spiritualists, and to evidence from other women-led religions. Special attention is paid to the issues of gender and authority as related to religious experience and empowerment in explaining these pioneering women's rise, emancipation and contributions as lay theologians and unofficial ministers who significantly influenced grassroots religiosity in Finland.