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From 1914 to 1917, Archim. Seraphim, having been [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] to the episcopate, was the Bishop of Sortavala in Karelia. After the declaration of Finnish national independence in late 1917, following the October Revolution and the declaration of autonomy by the Orthodox Church in Finland, Bp. Seraphim continued as the Finnish [[bishop]] of Sortavala from 1918 to 1920. Then, from 1921 to 1923, Abp. Seraphim was the [[archbishop]] of the autonomous Church of Finland as the Archbishop of Vyborg, the last Russian to head the church in Finland.
The years after the abdication of [[NIcholas Nicholas II of Russia|NIcholas II]] were difficult as the position of the remnants of Russian Orthodox Church in an independent Finland was in a state of reconciliation with the Finnish culture and government. The Finnish government recognized the Orthodox Church of Finland. In 1923, after a request by the Finnish Church, it was recognized as a autonomous church and came under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople. In 1925, Abp. Herman (Aav) was [[enthronement|enthroned]] by the Constantinople Patriarchate as the ruling hierarch of the Church of Finland as the Archbishop of Karelia, replacing Abp. Seraphim.
In 1926, Abp. Seraphim left Finland and joined the Russian emigrants in Western Europe, first to London and then to Paris. In 1937, he was appointed Metropolitan and Exarch of the Church of Russia representing the Moscow Patriarchate, a position from which he resigned in 1949. In 1954, Abp. Seraphim returned to the Soviet Union, to a [[monastery]] in Moldova where he reposed in 1959, at the age of 79.
after=?}}
{{succession|
before=[[Serguis Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Serguis I (Stragorodsky)]]|
title=Archbishop of Finland|
years=1921-1923|
