Vartija was founded in 1888 by a group of young priests who had left the Finnish Lutheran Church, including Elis Bergroth, Karl August Hildén and
Aleksander Auvinen. In 1911 and 1913 Antti J. Pulkkinen and Aukusti Oravala published articles in the magazine on the work by Danish philosopher and theologian
Søren Kierkegaard. During
World War II Vartija became a church discussion forum Psychiatrist
Martti Siirala and his theologist brother Aarne Siirala were among the frequent contributors of the magazine in the 1950s.{{cite thesis|author=Eve-Riina Hyrkäs|url=https://oula.finna.fi/Record/oy.9917773045906252?lng=en-gb|degree=PhD
Irja Askola was the first female editor-in-chief of
Vartija who appointed to the post in 1982 along with Simo Knuuttila. As of 2018 the editors-in-chief were Matti Myllykoski and Mikko Ketola. The magazine publishes articles on a wide variety of topics such as religion, theology, philosophy, psychology, culture and society. ==References==