Korpela movement
The Korpela movement, or the Siikavaara sect was a religious sect movement started by Laestadian preacher Toivo Korpela in Sweden during the 1920s. It saw its decline later during the next decade as its practices involved sexual lewdness and heavy drinking towards the end of its existence, which subsequently led to the conviction of 60 its followers.How did it start?
The grounds for the Korpela movement were laid in 1928 when Toivo Korpela, a self-proclaimed Laestadian preacher who had been rejected from his community in central Finland started to travel around the Torne Valley to preach. When Korpela stopped preaching in 1934 due to conflicts with the Swedish Laestadian church, the movement survived without his leadership and new leaders would emerge from its community.
One of the new leaders of the cult was Sigurd Siikavaara, who officially started the movement following Korpela's exile (thus the alternative name of the movement). More sect-like elements such as apocalyptic beliefs and ecstatic rituals were introduced following the change of leadership. These beliefs and practices were later denounced by Korpela himself in an interview given in 1935. Following the involvement of Swedish authorities Siikavaara was institutionalised to an asylum for 67 days, upon his release the practices of the movement took a turn towards sexual rituals rather than spirituality, which would ultimately lead to its demise.
Following the radical change in practices, the Swedish government involved itself further, previously being tolerant towards religion, now targeting the lewd sexual rituals, especially with concern for the involvement of minors. In 1939, police interfered and arrested 60 people, leading to the end of the movement, which at its peak had gained around 600 followers in total.
Beliefs and practices
The spiritual beliefs of the movement were initially similar to those of Laestadianism, although apparently not accepted by the Laestadian community as a whole, hence Korpela's initial reaction from central Finland.
Following the exile of Korpela, his two closest preachers, Sigurd Siikavaara and Arthur Niemi began to introduce the belief that a flying ark would bring 666 true believers to Palestine and that the last 1,335 days of the world had begun, one date set for the arrival of the ark reported by newspapers at the time was March 14, 1935. It was later taught that the ark would not be an actual physical ark, but the spirit of Christ, granted to the followers of the Korpela movement. All claims and beliefs were more or less loosely based on interpretations of an old version of the bible, as the new translation of the bible at the time was preached as an abomination.
Following Siikavaara and Niemi's brief confinement to mental asylums the beliefs and practices lost much of its spirituality, Siikavaara claimed to be Christ and gave the followers of the movement forgiveness for their sins, thus enabling them to engage in excessive swearing, drinking, gambling and lewd sexual rituals. Upon his arrest in 1939, Siikavaara was alcoholic and had allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with 30 women other than his wife.