Michael Russel Johannes Bjerkhagen (born 28 November 1966 in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 particu ...

. He is pastor of the Royal Court Parish and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Du ...

Early life

He left Sri Lanka in July 1972 when he was 5-years-old with his adoptive sister, having been adopted by a childless Swedish couple Christer Bjerkhagen. Both he and his adoptive sister were at the same orphanage, Evelyn Nurseries Orphanage, in Kandy. His adoptive father, Michael Bjerkhagen, was a Colonel of the Royal Cavalry Regiment and his adoptive mother was an economist. He did not have difficulty communicating with his adoptive parents as he was fluent in English from his childhood as his biological mother was of

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

descent; his birth father came from a Buddhist family with a long tradition in Sri Lanka. He had a prosperous upbringing in Sweden. His family has been equestrian competitors leading him to develop riding skills. He was taught to respect the Throne, the Cross and the Sword (meaning the

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

, the Church and the Armed Forces), as well as learning to help others and caring for those who are less fortunate. Ten years after his arrival in Sweden, his family adopted his other sister.

Education

His primary education was at Stenstorp School in the west of Sweden. Then he went to Ålleberg High School in Falköping where he studied both Latin and Greek, which alongside religion studies were his favourite subjects. He had a good singing voice and was a boy soprano before he became a tenor. After he graduated from high school and finished basic military training, he decided to further his studies to become a priest. He studied to theology at Sweden’s oldest university in Uppsala (founded in 1477) with the intentions of becoming a priest. He also spent a year at an English theological college in Lincoln in Northeastern England. At Uppsala, his specialist subjects were New Testament Exegesis and classical Greek. Old Testament Exegesis and Hebrew as well as Psychology of Religions and Church History. His other great interests during the study period were ecumenism and the so- necessary dialogue between religions. In 1990, he took a master's degree in Theology in 1991 was ordained as priest in the Church of Sweden, Diocese of Stockholm, and Stockholm Cathedral. He immediately hired by one of the inner-city congregations St. Johannes, and after that Högalid. In 2002–2003, he began his graduate studies in Liturgy and Ecumenism at the Pontifical University Angelicum in Rome. He stayed at a home for priests in the Vatican. Hebecame conversant in the Italian language devoted himself to my hobbies: history and archeology.

Personal life

According to Bjerkhagen, his dream since childhood was to become a priest. His parents supported his wish and helped him to become a priest. He found information about his birth parents through the Evelyn Nurseries his godparents in Sri Lanka. They helped him to find the details of his parents from the files of the Evelyn Orphanage. He went to Sri Lanka for the first time in the summer 2011 to discover his family. He discovered that his parents had died. However, he met his godparents and seven siblings, spending about two weeks with them before returning to Sweden. But since his visit, he thinks about his family and his country and feels that he has two homes; one in Sweden and one in Sri Lanka.

Work as a priest

He was ordained as priest in the Church of Sweden in 1991. In March 2013, he did liturg at the funeral of Princess Lilian and June 8, 2013 one of the two priests at the

wedding of Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill The wedding of Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, and the British-born American financier Christopher O'Neill took place in Stockholm on 8 June 2013. Background Princess Madeleine is the second daughter and younge ...

and also one of the two priests at the wedding between Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist June 13, 2015. He also wants to work for the people of Sri Lanka to share knowledge to help people and to develop his country. One of his causes Father Michael Bjerkhagen is helping orphanages in Sri Lanka. One of them is The St. Johns boys home in Kegalle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjerkhagen, Michael 1966 births Living people Swedish chaplains 20th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Swedish people of Sri Lankan descent 21st-century Swedish Lutheran priests