 He was ordained to the priesthood in Oulu in 1974, after which he completed a pastoral diploma in Oulu Cathedral in 1976.He completed the upper pastoral examination in Oulu Cathedral in 1983.Salmi became a Licentiate of Theology at the University of Helsinki in 1983, where he continued his studies and completed his doctoral thesis in 1990 with his dissertation "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism".