 After Helsinki was made into the capital of Finland in 1812, Alexander I decreed in 1814 that 15 percent of the salt import tax were to be collected into a fund for two churches, one Lutheran and one Orthodox.Helsinki's Orthodox Church, considered to have formed in 1827 with the construction of the Holy Trinity Church, Helsinki, was in need of a larger church than before for a growing Orthodox parish.The construction of Uspenski Cathedral was largely funded by parishioners and private donors.