[3] The Mission Diocese has its origins in the conservative movements of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) and it self-identifies as existing in the same continuum of Lutheran faith and congregational life of the ELCF whose spiritual heritage it cherishes, yet not being part of its administrative structures.
[9] Bishop Matti Väisänen had been consecrated in 2010 in order to serve the congregations in Finland,[10] which soon led to his being defrocked by the ELCF whose pastor he was.
[20][21][22] The Mission Diocese was founded in response to the perceived secularisation[23] and liberalisation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and "to spread, maintain and renovate the true faith, to revive and strengthen Christian life and to implement Christian charity and diaconia"[24] in Finland.
According to the Mission Diocese, the ELCF had in many ways distanced itself from its doctrinal foundation, the Bible and the Lutheran Book of Concord.
[25] The Mission Diocese continues to serve those left "spiritually homeless"[26] by the theological reforms in the ELCF.
[31] The Mission Diocese holds that "all teaching, practice and life should be tested, executed and guided by the word of God.