Dr. Samuli Siikavirta

Samuli Siikavirta [SAH-moo-lee SEE-kah-veer-tah] began his service as Assistant Professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in 2024.

Originally from Finland, he studied for eight formative years at the University of Cambridge, UK, earning a BA (Hons) (2008) and an MPhil (2010) in theology and religious studies (2008), an MA (2012), and a PhD in Divinity (2015). Between his undergraduate and graduate degrees, he spent a year at the University of Helsinki studying Latin and exegetical and practical theology. He has also taken courses in archaeology at the Open University in Helsinki. His PhD dissertation was published by Mohr Siebeck in 2015, entitled, Baptism and Cognition in Romans 6–8. Paul’s Ethics beyond ‘Indicative’ and ‘Imperative.’

Dr. Siikavirta was ordained and installed as associate pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Helsinki, Finland, in 2014, becoming interim head pastor in 2015 and head pastor in 2016. He served the mother parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF) until joining CTSFW in 2024. He was also involved with the national and international work of the ELMDF in publishing, young adults’ ministry, mission and doctrinal committees. Since 2016, he has chaired the Corpus Christi Association that hosts annual Lutheran conferences for European young adults inspired by Higher Things.

In addition to his published dissertation, he has published articles in TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism and in the Yearbook of the ELMDF. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and has been a presenter at SBL and at multiple other academic and Lutheran conferences on both sides of the Atlantic.

He and his wife, Māra, have been blessed with a daughter, Lidia, and in their family, they speak Finnish, Latvian, and English.