The Church of Greenland ( kl, Ilagiit, literally: "The Congregation"), consisting of the Diocese of Greenland is the official

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

under the leadership of the

Bishop of Greenland The Bishop of Greenland is a diocesan bishop of the Church of Denmark, and the leader of the Church of Greenland, which is an episcopal church in the Lutheran tradition. History Historically (before the Reformation) the Bishop of Greenland was kno ...

Paneeraq Siegstad Munk Paneeraq Siegstad Munk (born 30 January 1977) is the current Bishop of Greenland for the Evangelical Lutheran Church. She was elected as bishop in 2020, and officially sworn in the next year. Early life Paneeraq Siegstad Munk was born on 30 Ja ...

became Bishop in 2020. The Church of Greenland is semi-independent from the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

, but is still considered a diocese of the Church of Denmark.

History

Historically (before the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

) the Diocese of Greenland was known as the Diocese of Garðar. This ancient diocese fell into disuse in the 14th century with the death of Bishop Álfur in 1378. Nonetheless, bishops were still appointed up until 1537, though none of these ever made it to Greenland. From 1905 to 1923 Greenland was part of the now defunct

Diocese of Zealand The Diocese of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjællands Stift'') was a protestant diocese in Denmark that existed from 1537 to 1922. The diocese had been formed in 1537 following the Reformation of Denmark, and was dissolved in 1922 when it was divided into ...

. From 1923 to 1993 it was part of the

Diocese of Copenhagen The Diocese of Copenhagen (Danish: ''Københavns Stift'') is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. The Bishop of Copenhagen is currently Peter Skov-Jakobsen, who replaced Erik Normann Svendsen in 2009. The main cathedral of ...

. In 1980 a bishop was appointed for Greenland on behalf of the Bishop of Copenhagen. The Diocese was only re-established in 1993 when it was renamed as the Diocese of Greenland, independent from the Diocese of Copenhagen.

Independent status

The Church of Greenland, in common with other institutions within the territory, is governed from Denmark, but with a large measure of autonomy. The Church of Greenland consists of a single diocese, which is part of the Danish church, but is moving towards full independence. In this respect it is following the example of the

Church of the Faroe Islands The Church of the Faroe Islands ( fo, Fólkakirkjan , lit= people's church; da, Færøernes folkekirke) is one of the smallest state churches in the world. Prior to becoming independent on 29 July 2007, it was a diocese of the Church of Denmar ...

, which is also a single diocese, and achieved full independence from the Church of Denmark in July 2007. On June 21, 2009, the Church of Greenland was taken over by the local government of Greenland, where both funding and legislation now falls under the government of Greenland as opposed to other dioceses in the Church of Denmark who fall under the authority of the Danish parliament. Nonetheless, the Church of Greenland is still a diocese of the Church of Denmark.

Church structure

In common with other evangelical episcopal Lutheran churches, the Church of Greenland recognises the historic three-fold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons; it acknowledges the two dominical sacraments of baptism and the eucharist; it provides liturgies for other rites including confirmation, marriage, ordination, confession, and burial; its faith is based on scripture, the ancient creeds of the Church, and the

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...

. It is in full communion with the other Lutheran churches of the Nordic and Baltic states, and with the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

churches of the British Isles. The clergy, who work with local parish councils, but are ordained and supervised by the bishop, work in a network of seventeen parishes, with churches and chapels across Greenland. Four senior priests hold the title of 'Dean' - one as Dean of the cathedral church, and three as Area Deans for the three

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, an administrative structure between the level of the diocese and that of the local parishes.Statistics reference
here
.

References

External links

* http://www.ilagiit.gl {{Christianity in Greenland

Lutheranism in Greenland Lutheran World Federation members National churches Members of the World Council of Churches Church of Denmark

History

Independent status

Church structure

See also

References

Further reading

External links