Societas Sanctæ Birgittæ (SSB) is a High Church Lutheran religious society with character of third order for

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 laity, men and women in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

. Societas Sanctæ Birgittæ was founded in 1920 as a refuge for those who in a time of liturgical and theological decline of the Church of Sweden in early 20th century longed for more ceremonial celebration of 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 ...

, sincere worship and scriptural preaching. The initiative of the founding of SSB was made by archbishop

Nathan Söderblom Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (; 15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish clergyman. He was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala between 1914 and 1931, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Cale ...

, for there was need to a religious society for both men and women. Söderblom introduced members of ''S:t Sigfrids Brödraskap'' (Brotherhood of St Sigfrid, SSB) – a High Church confraternity of priests influenced by

Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

– to Count and Countess

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

and Mary von Rosen and others like them, who treasured the memory of St Birgitta of Sweden. Söderblom was not himself later involved. Members of Societas Sanctæ Birgittæ, in reverence to

Saint Birgitta of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a Mysticism, mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and mon ...

and following her example, want to serve the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in Sweden (that is the

). SSB has good relations to the Roman Catholic

Bridgettine Order The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Savior (; abbreviated OSsS), is a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta or Bridget of Sweden in 1344, and approved by Pope Urban ...

. SSB tries to renew the Church from within by revival of the practice of Holy Communion and

Prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

both by the individual members of the Church and in 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 o ...

es, by the preaching and teaching to the Church faithful the Word of God and the Creed of the Church, and by the increased use of private

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

and pastoral care. SSB holds its

General Chapter A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the re ...

, at

Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden, with 5,613 inhabitants in 2010. From 1974 to 1979 Vadstena was administered as part of Motala Municipality. Despite its small population, Vadstena ...

, every year during a week around the time of "the Heavenly Birthday" of

Saint Birgitta Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after ...

(23 July). It is observed in

Pontifical High Mass A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word "pontifical" is almost exclusively associated with the pope, an ...

in the church of

Vadstena Abbey The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Ord ...

. The General Chapter is one of the biggest annual events of the High Church Movement in Sweden. As a rule conventions are organized three times a year at different places in the country and sometimes abroad. SSB is also a prayer fellowship, in which Brothers and Sisters are remembered in the daily worship. SSB is headed by one of its priests as Father

Confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Visitor. The Society also has its own chaplain and

Novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

Masters for both men and women. Although most members are members of the

, SSB also has members e.g. from

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 ...

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 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 ...

and churches in the USA. Today SSB has about 200 members.

Confessors of SSB

*Hugo Berggren 1920 - 1944 *Simon Lüders 1945 - 1964 *Alf Corell 1965 - 1983 *Karl-Olof Berglund 1983 - 2001 * Bo Brander 2001 -

Mothers Superior of SSB

* Mary von Rosen 1920 - 1964 *Ingrid af Ekenstam 1964 - 1983 *Anna-Greta Roos 1983 - 1990 *Anna Greta Norén 1990 - 2014 *Anna Greek 2014 -

Visitors of SSB

*The Right Reverend

Gustaf Aulén Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén (15 May 1879 – 16 December 1977) was the Bishop of Strängnäs in the Church of Sweden, a Lutheran theologian, and the author of '' Christus Victor'', a work which still exerts considerable influence on conte ...

1935 - 1959 (Bishop of Strängnäs) *The Right Reverend

Olof Herrlin Gunnar Olof Johan Herrlin, Bishop of Visby 1962 - 1980, born 1914 in Lund, Swede died 1992. Bishop Herrlin was one of the leaders of High Church Lutheranism, High Church movement in Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) i ...

1962 - 1972 (Bishop of Visby) *The Right Reverend

Bertil Gärtner Bertil Edgar Gärtner (13 December 1924 – 20 September 2009) was a Swedish Lutheran bishop of Gothenburg (1970–1991) and professor of New Testament exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary, United States. In 1969 Gärtner became provost ...

1972 - 2009 (Bishop of Gothenburg)

Literature

*''"Gör också våra kalla hjärtan brinnande." Societas Sanctæ Birgittæ 1920-2020.'' Ed. by

Oloph Bexell Oloph Eric Fingal Bexell (born 6 June 1947) is a Swedish priest (Church of Sweden) and professor emeritus in church history at Uppsala University. Biography Oloph Bexell received his bachelor of theology in 1974 and was ordained in the Diocese ...

, Gunilla Gren-Eklund, Fredrik Santell and Andreas Wejderstam. Skelleftea: Artos 2020, 550 pages. ISBN 978-91-7777-152-4. * B.I. Kilstroem: "Societas Sanctae Birgittae and the renaissance of the remembrance of St Birgitta." Publ. in ''Spiritualität heute und gestern / Internationaler Kongress vom 4. bis 7. August 1982 m Kloster Lilienfeld'' Bd 19:2. Salzburg : Inst. für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Univ. Salzburg, 1993 (Analecta cartusiana 35:19),

External links

Societas Sanctæ BirgittæPhotographs from the SSB General Chapter, 2007A REPORT ON A TRIP TO THE CHURCH IN SWEDEN 19 – 30 July 2004. The Rev. Paul C. Hewett, SSC
{{Portal bar, Christianity, Sweden Church of Sweden Lutheran orders and societies Christian organizations established in 1920 1920 establishments in Sweden