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The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an
Evangelical 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 ...
national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...
, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest Lutheran denomination in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and the third-largest in the world, after the
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY; also called Mekane Yesus Church) is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest individual member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some ...
and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) is the federation of Lutheran churches in Tanzania and one of the largest Lutheran denominations in the world, with more than 6 million members, or 13% of the Tanzanian population. It is the secon ...
. A member of the Porvoo Communion, the church professes
Lutheranism 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 ...
. It is composed of thirteen
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
s, divided into parishes. It is an open national church which, working with a democratic organisation and through the ministry of the church, covers the whole nation. The
Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...
of the Church of Sweden, as well as the Metropolitan of all Sweden, is the Archbishop of Uppsala. Today, the Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran church. It is liturgically and theologically "
high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
", having retained priests,
vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...
s, and the
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
during the Swedish Reformation. In common with other Evangelical Lutheran churches (particularly in the Nordic and Baltic states), the Church of Sweden maintains the
historical episcopate The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a church who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the r ...
and claims apostolic succession. Some Lutheran churches have
congregational polity Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or " autonomous". Its first articu ...
or modified
episcopal polity An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. (The word "bishop" derives, via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term ''*ebiscopus''/''*b ...
without apostolic succession, but the historic episcopate was maintained in Sweden and some of the other Lutheran churches of the Porvoo Communion. The canons of the Church of Sweden states that the faith, confession and teachings of the Church of Sweden are understood as an expression of the catholic christian faith. It further states that this does not serve to create a new, confessionally peculiar interpretation, but concerns the apostolic faith as carried down through the traditions of the church, a concept similar to the doctrine of "reformed and catholic" found within the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. When Eva Brunne was consecrated as Bishop of Stockholm in 2009, she became the first openly lesbian bishop in the world. Despite a significant yearly loss of members (lately 1-2% annually), its membership of 5,628,067 people accounts for 53.9% (yearend 2021) of the Swedish population. Until 2000 it held the position of state church. The high membership numbers arise because, until 1996, all newborn children were made members, unless their parents had actively cancelled their membership. Approximately 2% of the church's members regularly attend Sunday services. According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2009, 17% of the Swedish population considered religion as an important part of their daily life.


Theology

King
Gustav I Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...
instigated the Church of Sweden in 1536 during his reign as
King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...
. This act separated the church from the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and its
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
. In 1571, the Swedish Church Ordinance became the first Swedish church order following 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 Church of Sweden became
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
at the
Uppsala Synod The Uppsala Synod in 1593 was the most important synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Sweden had gone through its Protestant Reformation and broken with Roman Catholicism in the 1520s, but an official confession of faith had never been decla ...
in 1593 when it adopted the Augsburg Confession to which most Lutherans adhere. At this synod, it was decided that the church would retain the three original Christian creeds: the Apostles', the Athanasian, and the Nicene. In 1686, the
Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...
adopted the Book of Concord, although only certain parts, labelled ''Confessio fidei'', were considered binding, and the other texts merely explanatory. ''Confessio dei'' included the three aforementioned Creeds, the Augsburg Confession and two Uppsala Synod decisions from 1572 and 1593. During the 19th and 20th centuries, a variety of teachings were officially approved, mostly directed towards ecumenism: * 1878 development of the Catechism * the Uppsala Creed of 1909, preparing for
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
ic communion with the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
* the constitutions of
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
(WCC) * the constitutions of Lutheran World Federation (LWF) * Church of Sweden's official response to the "Lima document" * a ''Council of the Bishops Letter in Important Theological Questions'' * the 1995 Treaty of Communion with the Philippine Independent Church In practice, however, the Lutheran creed texts play a minor role, and instead the parishes rely on Lutheran tradition in coexistence with influences from other Christian denominations and diverse ecclesial movements such as Low Church,
High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
, Pietism ("Old Church") and
Laestadianism Laestadianism, also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and temperance ...
, which locally might be strongly established, but which have little nationwide influence. During the 20th century, the Church of Sweden oriented itself strongly towards liberal Christianity and
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
. In 1957, the General Synod rejected a proposal for the ordination of women, but a revised Church Ordinance bill proposal from the Riksdag in the spring of 1958, along with the fact that, at the time, clergy of the Church of Sweden were legally considered government employees, put pressure on the General Synod and the College of Bishops to accept the proposal, which passed by a synod vote of 69 to 29 and a collegiate vote of 6 to 5 respectively in the autumn of 1958. Since 1960, women have been ordained as priests, and in 1982, lawmakers removed a “conscience clause” allowing clergy members to refuse to cooperate with female colleagues. A proposal to perform same-sex weddings was approved on October 22, 2009 by 176 of 249 voting members of the Church of Sweden Synod. In 2000 the Church of Sweden ceased to be a state church, but there remains a strong tradition of community connection with churches, particularly in relation to rites of passage, with many infants baptized and teenagers confirmed (currently 40% of all 14 year olds) for families without formal church membership.


History


Middle Ages

While some Swedish areas had Christian minorities in the 9th century, Sweden was, because of its geographical location in northernmost
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, not
Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
until around AD 1000, around the same time as the other Nordic countries, when the Swedish King Olof was baptized. This left only a modest gap between the Christianization of Scandinavia and the Great Schism, however there are some Scandinavian/Swedish saints who are venerated eagerly by many Orthodox Christians, such as St. Olaf. However, Norse paganism and other pre-Christian religious systems survived in the territory of what is now Sweden later than that; for instance the important religious center known as the
Temple at Uppsala The Temple at Uppsala was a religious center in the ancient Norse religion once located at what is now Gamla Uppsala (Swedish "Old Uppsala"), Sweden attested in Adam of Bremen's 11th-century work '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' and ...
at Gamla Uppsala was evidently still in use in the late 11th century, while there was little effort to introduce the
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
of Lapland to Christianity until considerably after that. The Christian church in Scandinavia was originally governed by the archdiocese of Bremen. In 1104 an archbishop for all Scandinavia was installed in Lund. Uppsala was made Sweden's archdiocese in 1164, and remains so today. The papal diplomat
William of Modena William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat.
attended a church meeting in Skänninge in March 1248, where the ties to the Catholic Church were strengthened. The most cherished national Catholic saints were the 12th-century King Eric the Saint and the 14th-century visionary
Bridget Bridget is an Irish female name derived from the Gaelic noun ''brígh'', meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternate meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of ...
, but other regional heroes also had a local cult following, including Saint Botvid and
Saint Eskil Saint Eskil (11th century) was an Anglo-Saxon monk particularly venerated during the end of the 11th century in the province of Södermanland, Sweden. He was the founder of the first diocese of the lands surrounding Lake Mälaren, today the Dioces ...
in Södermanland, Saint Helena of Skövde and Saint Sigfrid in Småland. In their names,
miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
s were performed and churches were named.


Reformation

Shortly after seizing power in 1523,
Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...
addressed the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in Rome with a request for the confirmation of Johannes Magnus as Archbishop of Sweden, in the place of
Gustav Trolle Gustav Eriksson Trolle (September 1488 – 1535) was Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, in two sessions, during the turbulent Reformation events. He was the son of Eric Arvidsson Trolle, a former regent of Sweden during the era of the Kalmar Union. ...
who had been formally deposed and exiled by the
Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...
. Gustav promised to be an obedient son of the Church, if the pope would confirm the elections of his bishops. But the pope requested Trolle to be re-instated. King Gustav protested by promoting the Swedish reformers, the brothers Olaus and Laurentius Petri, and
Laurentius Andreae Laurentius Andreae ( Swedish: Lars Andersson ) (c. 1470 – 14 April 1552) was a Swedish Lutheran clergyman and scholar who is acknowledged as one of his country's preeminent intellectual figures during the first half of the 16th century. In h ...
. The king supported the printing of reformation texts, with the Petri brothers as the major instructors on the texts. In 1526, all Catholic printing presses were suppressed, and two-thirds of the Church's tithes were appropriated for the payment of the national debt. A final breach was made with the traditions of the old religion at the Riksdag called by the king at Västerås in 1544.
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
Eleventh Edition, article ''Sweden''
Other changes of the Reformation included the abolition of some Catholic rituals. However, the changes were not as drastic as in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
; as in Germany, Swedish churches kept not only crosses and
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
es, but also icons and the traditional liturgical vestments which in Germany were usually discarded in favor of the black preaching gown and stole used until recent times. Many holy days, based on
saints day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does ...
s, were not removed from the calendar until the late 18th century due to strong resistance from the population. After the death of Gustav Vasa, Sweden was ruled by John III, who had Catholicizing tendencies, and then by his more openly Catholic son,
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
, who was also ruler of Catholic
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. The latter was eventually deposed from the Swedish throne by his uncle, who acceded to the throne as Charles IX, and used the Lutheran church as an instrument in his power struggle against his nephew. He is known to have had
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
leanings. The New Testament was translated to Swedish in 1526 and the entire Bible in 1541. Revised translations were published in 1618 and 1703. New official translations were adopted in 1917 and 2000. Many hymns were written by Swedish church reformers and several by
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
were translated. A semi-official hymnal appeared in the 1640s. Official hymnals of the Church of Sweden ( sv, Den svenska psalmboken) were adopted in 1695, 1819, 1937 and 1986. The last of these is ecumenical, and combines traditional hymns with songs from other Christian denominations, including
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, Baptist, Catholic, Mission Covenant, Methodist, Pentecostalist, and the Salvation Army. In October 2013, the Church of Sweden elected
Antje Jackelén Antje Jackelén (; born 4 June 1955) is archbishop emerita and primate emerita (''prima inter pares'') of the Church of Sweden, the national church. On 15 October 2013, she was elected the 70th Archbishop of Uppsala and formally received through ...
as Sweden's first female archbishop.


Emigration aspects

In the 1800s–1900s, the Church of Sweden supported the Swedish government by opposing both emigration and preachers' efforts recommending sobriety ( alcoholic beverages are sold in Sweden by a government monopoly). This escalated to a point where its ministers even were persecuted by the church for preaching sobriety, and the reactions of many congregation members to that contributed to an inspiration to leave the country (which however was against the law until 1840).


Lutheran orthodoxy


Coat of arms

The 19th century coat of arms is based on that of the Archdiocese of Uppsala. It is blazoned ''Or on a cross Gules an open crown of the field'' and thus features a gold/yellow field with a red cross on which there is a gold/yellow crown. The crown is called the victory crown of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, based on the royal crowns used in
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
times and corresponds in form to the crowns in the
Swedish coat of arms The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges riksvapen) has a greater and a lesser version. Regulated usage The usage of the coats of arms is regulated by Swedish Law, Actbr>1970:498 which states (in unofficial translation) tha ...
and to that resting on the head of Saint Eric in the coat of arms of Stockholm.


Synodical structure

The Church adopted, at the time that it was still a state church, an administrative structure largely modelled after the state. Direct elections are held to the General Synod ( sv, Kyrkomötet, The Church Assembly), and the diocesan and parish ( sv, Församling) assemblies (and in some cases, confederation of parishes ( sv, kyrklig samfällighet, 'church association') assemblies and directly elected parish councils). The electoral system is the same as used in the Swedish parliamentary or municipal elections (see Elections in Sweden). To vote in the Church general elections, one must be member of the Church of Sweden, at minimum 16 years of age, and nationally registered as living in Sweden. The groups that take part in the elections are called nominating groups ( sv, nomineringsgrupper). In some cases the nationwide political parties take part in the elections, such as the
Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
and the Centre Party. After the formal separation of Church of Sweden from the State of Sweden, the growing tendency in the elections is towards independent parties forming for candidature, either based on a political conviction, for example Folkpartister i Svenska kyrkan founded by Liberal People's Party members, or a pure church party such as the political independents' Partipolitiskt obundna i Svenska kyrkan (POSK) and Frimodig kyrka.


Ordained ministry

The Church of Sweden maintains the historic threefold ministry of
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
s,
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
s, and
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
s, and has approximately 5,000 ordained clergy in total. It practices direct ordination, also called ordination ''per saltum'' (literally, ordination by a leap), in which candidates are directly ordained to the specific Order of ministry for which they have trained. This is an alternative approach to the sequential ordination of other historic churches (including the Anglican, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic churches) in which candidates must be ordained in the strict sequence of deacon, then priest, then bishop. A Church of Sweden priest will be ordained directly to that office, without any previous ordination as a deacon. All deacons of the Church of Sweden are, therefore,
permanent deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
. The order of bishop is not entered through direct ordination, however, and a Church of Sweden bishop is required to be a validly ordained priest prior to their consecration (if a deacon or lay person were to be selected for the position, they would first be ordained as a priest). After the Reformation, the Swedish Church seems to have practiced variously both direct ordination and sequential ordination. Although direct ordination was more widespread, and became normative, the practice of sequential ordination is attested in the seventeenth century Swedish Church. Bishop Johannes Rudbeckius (1619-1646) habitually ordained men to the diaconate in advance of ordaining them to the priesthood, and this was said by Archbishop Johannes Lenaeus of Uppsala (in 1653) to be usual Church of Sweden practice. In the Evangelical Lutheran churches, including the Church of Sweden, ministerial function is indicated by the usual vestments of western tradition, including the stole, worn crossed by priests (wearing the stole straight by priests is only permitted when in choir dress, i.e a surplice rather than an alb, as no cincture is then used that would permit crossing the stole), and diagonally across the left shoulder by deacons. However, whereas in Roman Catholic or Anglican ordinations the candidates for priesthood will already be wearing the diagonal deacon's stole, in the Church of Sweden candidates for both diaconate and priesthood are unordained at the start of the service. Dr Tiit Pädam, of Uppsala University and a Swedish-based priest of the
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Church ...
writes: "At the beginning of the vangelical Lutheranordination service, the candidates are dressed in white albs and no one wears a stole at the beginning of the rite. In this way the churches express a significant aspect of their understanding of ordination. The white alb, used both by the ordinands to the diaconate as well as to the priesthood, is a sign that the ordination is a new beginning, rooted in the priesthood of all the baptised." The Church of Sweden employs full-time deacons to staff its extensive outreach and social welfare ''diakonia'' programme. Whilst deacons have the traditional liturgical role (and vesture) in the Swedish Church, their principal focus of work is outside the parish community, working in welfare roles. Nonetheless, deacons are attached to local parishes, and so connected with church communities, and with a parish priest. In common with other western rite churches, the clergy of the Church of Sweden wear clerical shirts which are black for priests and purple for bishops. Unlike other denominations, however, the Church of Sweden officially promotes green clerical shirts for its ordained deacons, as a further distinctive sign of their ministry.


Dioceses and bishops

The Church of Sweden is divided into thirteen
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
s ( sv, stift), each with a bishop and cathedral chapter (Swedish: '' domkapitel''). A bishop is elected by priests,
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
s and some laity in the diocese and is the chairman of the cathedral chapter. Priest and deacon members of a cathedral chapter are elected by priests and deacons in the diocese and its lay members by ''stiftsfullmäktige'', a body elected by church members.''Kyrkoordningen'' (in Swedish)
(internal church regulations).
A diocese is divided into "contracts" '' kontrakt'' (
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 ...
), each with a '' kontraktsprost'' ( provost), as the leader. Deaneries with a diocesan cathedral are called ''domprosteri''. Titular provosts can also sometimes be appointed, in Swedish called '' prost'' or ''titulärprost''. The dean and head minister of a cathedral is called '' domprost'', "cathedral dean" or "cathedral provost", and is a member of the cathedral chapter as its vice chairman. At the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
level a parish is called '' församling''. A more archaic term for a parish in Swedish is ''
socken Socken is the name used for a part of a county in Sweden. In Denmark similar areas are known as ''sogn'', in Norway ''sokn'' or ''sogn'' and in Finland ''pitäjä'' ''(socken)''. A socken is a country-side area that was formed around a church, ...
'', which was used both in the registry and in the church administration. After the municipal reforms in 1862 the latter usage officially was replaced with ''församling'', a term somewhat meaning "congregation", originally and still used for the Lutheran territorial and nonterritorial congregations in cities and also for other religious congregations. One or several parishes are included in a ''pastorat'' with a head minister or vicar called '' kyrkoherde'' (literally "church shepherd") and sometimes other assistant priests called '' komminister'' ( minister). At a cathedral an assistant minister is called ''domkyrkosyssloman''. In addition to the 13 dioceses, the Church of Sweden Abroad ( sv, Svenska kyrkan i utlandet - SKUT) maintains more than 40 overseas parishes. Originally a collection of overseas churches under the direction of a committee of the
General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...
, SKUT was remodelled from 1 January 2012 with a quasi-diocesan structure. Under this remodelling it gained a governing Council, constituent seats on the General Synod of the Church of Sweden (like the 13 mainland dioceses), and for the first time full-time deacons to provide a programme of social welfare alongside the work of priests and lay workers. However, SKUT does not have its own bishop, and is placed under the episcopal oversight of the Bishop of
Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...
. The Diocese of Kalmar existed as superintendentia 1603–1678 and as a diocese between 1678–1915 when it was merged with the
Diocese of Växjö The Diocese of Växjö ( sv, Växjö stift) is one of the 13 dioceses or regional units of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was also a former Roman Catholic bishopric. Lutheran diocese Diocese of Växjö is situated in southern Sweden and incl ...
. Another diocese which no longer exists is the
Diocese of Mariestad The Diocese of Mariestad ( sv, Mariestads stift) was a division of the Church of Sweden between 1583–1646. The diocese was never an episcopal see, as it was under the supervision of a superintendent rather than a bishop. Mariestad cathedral is th ...
which existed as ''superintendentia'' between 1580–1646 and was replaced by the
Diocese of Karlstad The Diocese of Karlstad ( sv, Karlstads stift) is a diocese of the Church of Sweden. It covers most of the provinces Värmland and Dalsland. Its current borders are from 1693. List of Bishops * Sveno Benedicti Elfdalius : 1647~1666 * Andreas B ...
. The dioceses of Uppsala, Strängnäs, Västerås, Skara, Linköping, Växjö and the now Finnish diocese of Turku, are the original seven Swedish dioceses, dating from the Middle Ages. The rest have come into existence after that time and the Swedish reformation in the 16th century. The Diocese of Lund was founded in 1060, became an archdiocese in 1104 and lay in Denmark. The Province of Lund consisted of Denmark, Sweden and Finland throughout the Middle Ages (originally also Norway and Iceland), although Uppsala had their own subordinate
ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...
and archbishop from 1164.


Monasteries and convents

The Church of Sweden has several monastic communities. * The Sisters of the Holy Paraclete (''Helgeandssystrarna''), who live in
Alsike Convent Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...
. * The Brothers of the Holy Cross (''Heliga korsets brödraskap''), Benedictine monks who live at the
Östanbäck Monastery Östanbäck Monastery is a Lutheran Benedictine monastery for men in the Church of Sweden, located outside Sala in Sweden. History The background of the monastery lies in the Lutheran High Church Movement. On 14 February 1960, four theological ...
in Sala,
Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...
. * The Sisters of St. Francis (''Helige Franciskus systraskap''), Franciscan nuns who live in Klaradals kloster in Sjövik. * The Sisters of the Risen Saviour (''Uppståndne frälsarens systraskap'') who live in Överselö klostergård. * The Daughters of Mary (''Mariadöttrarna av Den Evangeliska Mariavägen'') in Vallby. * Linköpings kloster in
Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
, approved by the Bishop of Linköping in 2006, and inaugurated in 2014, a small contemplative and vegetarian convent, focused on climate issues; it has links with the Anglican
Society of Saint Margaret The Society of Saint Margaret (SSM) is an order of women in the Anglican Church. The Order is active in England, Haiti, Sri Lanka, and the United States and formerly Scotland. History The Sisters of St Margaret were founded in 1855 by Dr John ...
.


Partner churches

Since 1994, the Church of Sweden has been part of the Porvoo Communion, bringing it into full Communion with the Anglican churches of the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
and the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, together with the other Lutheran churches of the Nordic nations and the Baltic states. In 1995, full communion was achieved with the Philippine Independent Church. Since 2015, the Church of Sweden has also been in full communion with the Episcopal Church of the United States. In 2016, the Church of Sweden reached full communion with the
Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
churches within the
Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht ( nl, Unie van Utrecht) was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain. History The Union of Utrecht is r ...
.Reference


See also

* Archbishop of Uppsala *
Church of Sweden Abroad The Church of Sweden Abroad ( sv, Svenska kyrkan i utlandet) is an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden. The Church of Sweden Abroad (SKUT) has more than 40 parishes throughout the world, concentrated in Western Europe. Another ...
*
List of Lutheran dioceses and archdioceses This is a list of Lutheran dioceses and archdioceses currently active, grouped by national (or regional) church, and showing the titles of the bishops of those dioceses. Where relevant, the metropolitan bishop or primate is listed first. As i ...
* Church of Sweden Parishes * Swedish churches in London *
List of the largest Protestant bodies This is a list of the largest Protestant denominations. It aims to include sizable Protestant communions, federations, alliances, councils, fellowships, and other denominational organisations in the world and provides information regarding the me ...


Other Nordic national Lutheran churches

*
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, ...
* Church of the Faroe Islands *
Church of Iceland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland ( is, Hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja), also called the National Church ( is, Þjóðkirkjan), is the officially established Christian church in Iceland. The church professes the Lutheran faith an ...
*
Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
*
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...


References


Citations


Sources

*


External links

* {{coord, 59, 51, 35, N, 17, 37, 50, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-nowiki, display=title 1526 establishments in Sweden Members of the World Council of Churches National churches History of Lutheranism in Sweden Lutheran World Federation members Christian denominations in Sweden
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...