Bertil Werkström (9 June 1928 – 10 July 2010) was Archbishop of Uppsala from 1983 to 1993.

Early years and education

Bertil Werkström was the son of the Gunnar Werkström (1904-1975) and Ingar Hedenskog (1908-1971). He grew up in

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and ...

and studied theology at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

between 1959 and 1960. He became a doctor of theology in 1963 with the dissertation ''Bekännelse och avlösning. En typologisk undersökning av Luthers, Thurneysens och Buchmans biktuppfattningar'' (Confession and Relief. A Typological Examination of Lutheran, Thurneysen and Buchman's Concept of Conflict). In 1959 he married Brita Caroli, who died in 2013. During his time as Archbishop he supported ecumenical efforts and in international affairs favored sanctions against

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. In 1984 he also maintained that homosexuality was "against the orders of creation."

Ministry

Werkström was a hospital priest in Sundsvall between 1964 and 1970 and Rector of Sköndalsinstitutet between 1970 and 1975. He became the royal chief predictor in 1974. In 1975 he was elected

Bishop of Härnösand 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 ca ...

, a post he kept till 1983 when he was elected Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of Sweden. He retired in 1993. He died in 2010 after a long-term illness.

Porvoo Communion

Werkström was active in the creation of the

Porvoo Communion The Porvoo Communion is a communion of 15 predominantly northern European Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches, with a couple of far-southwestern European (in the Iberian Peninsula) church bodies of the same denomination. It was establish ...

, which is a recognition and an agreement of unity between Lutheran churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries and Anglican churches on the British Isles. The so-called Porvoo agreement was signed in 1992 in the city of

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Rome visit

In 1991, he visited

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the canonization of

Bridget 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 mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after ...

together with the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

pope.

References

Lutheran archbishops of Uppsala 20th-century Lutheran archbishops 1928 births 2010 deaths Bishops of Härnösand {{bishop-stub