Green Party in the Church of Sweden
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran
national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...
in
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 ...
. A former
state church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
in Sweden, the largest Lutheran denomination in Europe and the third-largest in the world, after the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. A member of the Porvoo Communion, the church professes Lutheranism. It is composed of thirteen dioceses, divided into parishes. It is an open
national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...
which, working with a democratic organisation and through the ministry of the church, covers the whole nation. The Primate of the Church of Sweden, as well as the
Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
of all Sweden, is the
Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...
. Today, the Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran church. It is liturgically and theologically " high church", having retained priests, vestments, and the Mass during the
Swedish Reformation The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and did not end definitively until the Uppsala Synod of 1593 and the following War against Sigismund, with ...
. In common with other Evangelical Lutheran churches (particularly in the Nordic and Baltic states), the Church of Sweden maintains the historical episcopate and claims
apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...
. Some Lutheran churches have congregational polity or modified episcopal polity 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. When
Eva Brunne Gerd Eva Cecilia Brunne (born 7 March 1954) is a bishop in the Church of Sweden. She served as the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden), Bishop of Stockholm from 2009 till 2019. She is the List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender firsts b ...
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 A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
. 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 instigated the Church of Sweden in 1536 during his reign as King of Sweden. This act separated the church from the Roman Catholic Church and its canon law. In 1571, the Swedish Church Ordinance became the first Swedish church order following the Reformation. The Church of Sweden became Lutheran at the Uppsala Synod in 1593 when it adopted 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 ...
to which most Lutherans adhere. At this synod, it was decided that the church would retain the three original Christian
creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
s: the Apostles', the
Athanasian Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
, and the
Nicene The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
. In 1686, the Riksdag of the Estates 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 Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
: * 1878 development of the
Catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
* 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 constitutions of World Council of Churches (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 , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...
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, Pietism ("Old Church") and Laestadianism, 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 Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 bill ...
and human rights. In 1957, the General Synod rejected a proposal for the
ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...
, but a revised Church Ordinance bill proposal from the
Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
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 Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
was approved on October 22, 2009 by 176 of 249 voting members of the Church of Sweden
Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
. In 2000 the Church of Sweden ceased to be a
state church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
, but there remains a strong tradition of community connection with churches, particularly in relation to rites of passage, with many infants
baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
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, not Christianized until around AD 1000, around the same time as the other
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
, 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 Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...
s, such as
St. Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
. 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 at Gamla Uppsala was evidently still in use in the late 11th century, while there was little effort to introduce the Sami of
Lapland Lapland may refer to: Places *Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) **Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region *** Lapland (former pr ...
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 Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...
. Uppsala was made Sweden's archdiocese in 1164, and remains so today. The papal diplomat William of Modena attended a church meeting in
Skänninge Skänninge () is a locality situated in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 3,140 inhabitants in 2010. It lies about 10 km north of the municipal seat Mjölby. Before the local government reform in 1971 the ''City of Skä ...
in March 1248, where the ties to the Catholic Church were strengthened. The most cherished national Catholic
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
s were the 12th-century King
Eric the Saint Eric IX, (Swedish: ''Erik Jedvardsson; Erik den helige; Sankt Erik''; d. 18 May 1160) also called Eric the Holy, Saint Eric, and Eric the Lawgiver, was a Swedish king in the 12th century, 1156–1160. The ''Roman Martyrology'' of the Catholic C ...
and the 14th-century
visionary A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, this can involve the supernatural. The visionary state is achieved via meditation, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. One example is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-c ...
Bridget, but other regional heroes also had a local cult following, including
Saint Botvid Saint Botvid was a Christian missionary in Sweden during the 11th and early 12th centuries. Biography Botvid, who was born in Södermanland, Sweden, went on a trade trip to England where he came into contact with Christianity and was converted to ...
and Saint Eskil in Södermanland, Saint
Helena of Skövde Helena of Sköfde (d. 1164, also called Helen or Elin) was a Swedish saint and patron to what is now Västergötland, in southwest Sweden, where she was born. Her father might have been a duke (or jarl) named Guthorm.Mershman, Francis (1913)"St ...
and Saint
Sigfrid Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
in
Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
. In their names, miracles were performed and churches were named.


Reformation

Shortly after seizing power in 1523, Gustav Vasa addressed the Pope in Rome with a request for the confirmation of
Johannes Magnus Johannes Magnus (a modified form of Ioannes Magnus, a Latin translation of his birth name Johan Månsson; 19 March 1488 – 22 March 1544) was the last functioning Catholic Archbishop in Sweden, and also a theologian, genealogist, and histori ...
as
Archbishop of Sweden The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church. Historical ove ...
, in the place of Gustav Trolle who had been formally deposed and exiled by the Riksdag of the Estates. 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 Laurentius Petri Nericius (1499 – 27 October 1573) was a Swedish clergyman and the first Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden. He and his brother Olaus Petri are, together with the King Gustav Vasa, regarded as the main Lutheran reformers ...
, and Laurentius Andreae. 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 The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
called by the king at Västerås in 1544. Encyclopædia Britannica 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; as in Germany, Swedish churches kept not only
crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...
and crucifixes, but also icons and the traditional liturgical vestments which in Germany were usually discarded in favor of the black
preaching gown A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
and stole used until recent times. Many holy days, based on saints days, 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, who was also ruler of Catholic Poland. 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 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 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 Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
, and combines traditional hymns with songs from other Christian denominations, including Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, Catholic, Mission Covenant, Methodist, Pentecostalist, and the
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
. In October 2013, the Church of Sweden elected Antje Jackelén 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 beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
s 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 The Archdiocese of Uppsala ( sv, Uppsala ärkestift) is one of the thirteen dioceses of the Church of Sweden and the only one having the status of an archdiocese. Lutheran archdiocese Uppsala is the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala. Th ...
. 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, based on the royal crowns used in medieval times and corresponds in form to the crowns in the Swedish coat of arms and to that resting on the head of Saint Eric in the coat of arms of
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.


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 Elections in Sweden are held once every four years. At the highest level, all 349 members of Riksdag, the national parliament of Sweden, are elected in general elections. Elections to the 20 county councils ( sv, landsting) and 290 municipal ...
). 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 Nominating groups ( sv, nomineringsgrupper) are political parties and other organisations that take part in the elections to the various governing bodies of the Church of Sweden. The Church of Sweden adopted, at the time that it was still a state c ...
( sv, nomineringsgrupper). In some cases the nationwide
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
take part in the elections, such as the Social Democrats and the Centre Party. After the formal separation of Church of Sweden from the State of
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 ...
, 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 Frimodig kyrka (en: Bold or Fearless Church) is a nominating group for the church elections in Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquart ...
.


Ordained ministry

The Church of Sweden maintains the historic threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, 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. 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 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 dioceses ( sv, stift), each with a bishop and
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
(Swedish: '' domkapitel''). A bishop is elected by priests, deacons and some
laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
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), 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 level a parish is called '' församling''. A more archaic term for a parish in Swedish is '' socken'', 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 Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
). 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, 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. The
Diocese of Kalmar The Diocese of Kalmar ( sv, Kalmar stift) was a division of the Church of Sweden between 1603 and 1915, when it was merged into the diocese of Växjö in order to allow the new diocese of Luleå to be formed. It was created as a subdivision to the ...
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 inclu ...
. Another diocese which no longer exists is the Diocese of Mariestad which existed as ''superintendentia'' between 1580–1646 and was replaced by the Diocese of Karlstad. 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 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. * 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. * The Sisters of St. Francis (''Helige Franciskus systraskap''), Franciscan nuns who live in Klaradals kloster in
Sjövik Sjövik is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Lerum Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 905 inhabitants in 2010. References

Populated places in Västra Götaland County Populated places in Lerum Municipa ...
. * 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 Linköpings may refer to: *Linköpings ASS, Linköpings Allmänna Simsällskap is a Swedish swim team *Linköpings FC, an association football club *Linköpings FF, premier men's football team *Linköpings HC, Linköpings Hockey Club See also ...
in Linköping, 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.


Partner churches

Since 1994, the Church of Sweden has been part of the Porvoo Communion, bringing it into full Communion with the
Anglican churches 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 ...
of the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula, 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 , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...
. 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 churches within the Union of Utrecht.Reference


See also

*
Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...
* Church of Sweden Abroad * List of Lutheran dioceses and archdioceses * Church of Sweden Parishes * Swedish churches in London * List of the largest Protestant bodies


Other Nordic national Lutheran churches

* Church of Denmark *
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 ...
* Church of Iceland *
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


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 ...