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 Introduction Any visitor to Sweden is bound to notice the many ancient medieval churches that dominate the countryside; and even in the towns a tall spire or bulbous German-like dome will show the presence of another church. There are 3 500 churches in this vast but sparsely populated country. Sweden has 8,8 million people, and more than 80 percent of them are members of the Church of Sweden. What sort of Church is this, where does it stand within world Christianity, what is its relationship to the state, and why do so many in this secularised country still belong to it? This booklet aims to answer these questions and to introduce this church which, especially in its earliest years and more recently, has had a close relationship with the English-speaking peoples. The church building and the services Passing through the manicured churchyards with rows of carefully tended headstones and meticulously raked gravel paths, step inside one of these churches. The basic shape will be familiar to all Christians but some features will strike most English-speaking people as unusual: the many medieval wall-paintings and fonts, the baroque furniture and decoration, the lack of much stained glass, the model of a fully-rigged schooner hanging from the roof. There are many churches of startling modern design, especially in the suburbs. The Swedish word mässa, like so much in Lutheranism, has been kept from medieval times, but it has traditionally meant the main Sunday morning service, in the past usually without communion. But with the great increase in eucharistic services world-wide in non-Roman Catholic churches, efforts have been made in Sweden to return more to ancient usage and this is what a church notice board might mean by the services it is announcing:
Participation in the distribution of bread and wine near the end of a mass is open in the Church of Sweden to all baptised persons, including children if they come forward with an adult. The communion service will always be conducted by a priest, man or woman, who will have been ordained by one of the Swedish bishops. Other services may have lay leadership. Catholic or Protestant or what? The official description of the Church of Sweden is: The Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran community of faith manifested in parishes and dioceses. The Church of Sweden also has a national organisation. The Church of Sweden is an open national church, which, working with a democratic organisation and through the ministry of the church, covers the whole nation. The description Evangelical Lutheran means that at the Reformation it adopted the reforms to the medieval teaching and organisation common to all Protestant churches, following the more moderate line of Martin Luther in preference to the stricter purging in teaching and practice associated with John Calvin. Accordingly, evangelical means much the same as Protestant in ordinary English, placing a higher priority on the Bible than on Tradition. As the Word of God to mankind the Bible is recognised as the unquestioned starting-point of all doctrine. The moderation of the Lutheran Reformation is nowhere better seen than in Sweden where the churches remained much the same, bishops were retained in charge of their dioceses and the liturgy only changed in certain respects. The character of the church can be well illustrated by its confessional documents. In addition to the Holy Scripture itself, there are the three catholic creeds, the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian and the Confessio Augustana or Augsburg Confession, all of which are said to summarize the faith, confession and teaching of the Church of Sweden. Other significant writings are the Book of Concord, the traditional confession of Lutheranism, which in fact includes the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, the Schmalkaldic Articles, the document about the pope, the Small and the Great Catechisms of Luther and the Formula of Concord. In addition to this there are the Decisions of the Uppsala Meeting of 1593, which give the Church of Sweden a character of its own particularly in confirming the regulations of church life produced by the first reformed Archbishop of Uppsala, Laurentius Petri, in 1571. By this the liturgy was reformed according to Swedish and not German practice. The description national church (folkkyrka) became popular in the 20th century as an alternative to state church and it denotes a church which embraces the whole country so that every part is in a parish with a local parish church; the Church of Sweden is not therefore a gathered church, ministering only to those who actively belong. The adjective democratic means that every fourth year elections are held for all the decision-making bodies within the church, at parish, diocese and national level. Every member of the Church of Sweden over the age of 16 is entitled to vote. To be a candidate for office one has to be a member, baptised and at least 18. Alongside this democratic element is the episcopal structure the Church of Sweden has inherited from the past. This ensures that the clergy, although they are employed by the parish, are bound by their ordination vows to the church's faith, confession and teaching and have a special ministerial relationship to their diocese and their bishop. The occasional services These are where the Church of Sweden comes into direct contact with the majority of the Swedish people, and when the description national church most truly applies. Some 70 percent of the population are brought for baptism by their parents and about 50 percent go forward for confirmation in their early teens. About the same percentage are married by the church and some 90 percent are buried with a Church of Sweden service. Baptism Baptism is open to all children and is regarded as one of the two sacraments of the universal church. Baptism of adults, at confirmation or later is now becoming quite common, and this involves a course of preparation. It is customary, where possible and desirable, to have the service with the congregation present in a normal service. Baptism is by pouring water three times over the forehead, "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" at the font often of medieval date and richly carved. Confirmation Confirmation is still popular in Sweden for those in their early teens. Great stress is laid on the long course of preparation, in which the doctrine and practice of the church is explained, and discussion encouraged on ethical and social problems. There is no examination at the end and this is linked to the emphasis that God's grace is freely given, human achievement not being a pre-requisite. This course is most often held in the parish but sometimes also in a camp during the long summer holiday. Confirmation is not an episcopal act in the Church of Sweden, and the heart of it is the passage in the service when the candidates give an account of what they have experienced and been taught during their training, the laying on of hands by the priest in charge, followed usually by the first communion. It is not regarded as a sacrament but as a solemn confirming, at the age of discretion, by the candidate of what was done for him or her as a baby. The candidates wear alb-like garments as a symbol of the white dress worn when they were baptised as babies for this ceremony and many remember it as a solemn moment in their lives. Marriage A marriage in church involves vows of life-long partnership, in sorrow as well as in joy. It is not regarded as a sacrament but as vows made by the bride and groom in the presence of God and whereby they have the church's intercession and blessing. It must take place before witnesses and after the state has certified that they are legally free to marry. Funeral Funerals in church are for all members of the Church of Sweden. It is assumed that a person who has come out of the church does not want to have a church service, and the principle of giving preference to the will of the deceased means that this is the starting point whenever a church funeral is asked for. The service expresses the sorrow of the bereaved, the seriousness of death, but also the hope and promise of new life, trust in God's mercy and the proclamation of resurrection. Since the Church of Sweden is responsible for almost all cemetaries, every parish has to provide a burial ground, access to cremation and a locale for a non-religious ceremony for those who wish it. There is no charge for the service itself but the undertaker's expenses have to be paid by the next-of-kin. Confidential help Confidential help and advice is offered by every Swedish priest to whoever desires it, irrespective of membership of the Church of Sweden. Priests are trained in counselling, and can, when the person desires it, move the conversation into private confession, when the person confesses their sins before God with the priest as witness. The priest then pronounces God's forgiveness for the sins confessed and the person knows a reconciliation with God and themselves. Telephone help is available on a 24-hour basis with a duty priest. The state law prohibits the legal system from calling a priest as a witness in court. This means that under no circumstances can he or she be compelled to divulge that which has been said during a confession and the priest is bound by his or her ordination vows to observe this obligation. The ministry of the deacon The diaconate is not merely a year's probation before priesthood; it is a separate order dedicated to care of the sick and to pastoral work. It originated following the pattern of the German churches, in which at first mainly women were trained in certain church institutions and made vows of service and faithfulness to the mother house; in this way it was similar to a religious order with distinctive dress, not wholly dissimilar from that of a nun. This element has now been abandoned, and the deacons are more closely tied to the diocese and parish. The vows made at ordination involve seeking and helping anyone in bodily or spiritual need, defending the rights of all, standing beside the oppressed, and exhorting God's people to all good works so that the love of God is made visible in the world. The existence of such formalised church social work has in the past tended to mean that voluntary work has not been such an obvious part of being a member of a Christian congregation; but today this element is increasing and in many parishes volunteers carry out much of this work, often co-ordinated and led by a deacon. The church and its structure The Parish council (kyrkoråd) exists in every one of the approximately 2 500 parishes and, together with the rector (kyrkoherde) is responsible for the liturgy, and for the educational, social and evangelistic work. There are employed persons in every parish: a priest, a musician and often also a deacon. In the smaller, often rural, settings these officers are responsible for services and pastoral care in several parishes. Others can be employed according to the needs of the parish, such as church workers, teachers, virgers, sextons, office personnel, children and youth leaders, cleaners etc. There are 13 dioceses in the Church of Sweden. Each is led by a bishop, whose tasks include ordaining the newly trained candidates to the priesthood and diaconate, and holding visitations regularly in every parish. The bishop is under the new system elected by the priests of the diocese together with an equal number of lay delegates. He is assisted by the chapter (domkapitlet) and by a diocesan synod (stiftsstyrelse). The chapter, consisting of clergy and laity, oversees the parishes and clergy, ensuring that they keep to the doctrine and practice of the Church of Sweden; since there are no suffragan bishops or archdeacons, the dean of the cathedral is the bishop's deputy in the diocese. On the national level the church is led by the Archbishop of Uppsala, who represents the Church of Sweden in international and ecumenical matters and speaks for the Bishops' Meeting, of all bishops. But the decision-making body for the Church of Sweden is the Church Assembly (Kyrkomötet); it consists of 251 members, meeting twice annually and decides all matters concerning the regulation of church life (kyrkoordning). The Church Assembly elects the Central Board. The financial affairs of the Church of Sweden illustrate the long connection with the state. All members are liable to pay church dues, collected by the state with the taxes and, under the new system, handed over to the church to finance all its operations, which include the maintenance of all its historic buildings. For this latter item the church is to receive extra money from the state and has to obtain expert agreement to any restoration or alteration. The church dues are made up partly of the parish element, decided in each parish for its own members, and partly of the diocesan contribution; the size of that is decided by the diocesan synod. The same arrangement is now available for all other registered faith-communities, such as for example the Roman Catholic Church. Since the Church of Sweden also retains the responsibility for funerals and burial grounds for every citizen, every taxpayer pays a sum to defray the expenses of that work; it also is collected through the state system and paid over to the church. Church and State The Church of Sweden has been an established church. Until the 19th century it was the only church recognised by the state and its affairs were regulated by the parliament (riksdag). Meetings for other kinds of worship were strictly prohibited except for certain immigrant communities who, during the 17th century won the right to worship according to their beliefs as long as they did so in private buildings. The 19th century also saw the first questioning of the propriety of having the church's affairs decided only by king and parliament but it was only in the second half of the century that a Church Assembly was established. It was to consist of 30 clergy, including the bishops, and 30 laypeople and was chaired by the archbishop. In 1949 this was increased to 43 clergy and 53 laypeople. It was given the right to decide, advise or give its consent in church matters, at a time when power to a large extent still rested with parliament. Much further debate has taken place during this century and various adjustments have been made loosening the close connection with the state. The present situation is controlled by a radical set of laws, which came into force on 1st of January 2000. The Church of Sweden was then declared a "faith-community" which, along with others, like the free churches, Roman Catholics, Jews, Moslems etc, could register themselves as such with the state and can have their church dues collected by the state along with income tax. All of them except the Church of Sweden look after their own affairs as private, voluntary societies but church affairs are still to some extent regulated by state law. Only elected persons can sit and vote in the Church Assembly, so the bishops are present but have no vote and the clergy are now employed by the parish, no longer by the diocese. As majority members of the Doctrinal Commission of the Church Assembly, the position of the bishops as custodians of the tradition and teachings of the church is still strong. Some history Sweden was one of the last areas of Europe to become Christian. Traders would have brought knowledge of the faith but it is unlikely that many native Swedes were Christian until the 8th century. The first recorded missionary attempt was that of the monk Ansgar from Germany, called the Apostle of Sweden, who visited Birka near Stockholm in the first half of the 9th century and helped to organize a church there. After returning and being appointed first Archbishop of Hamburg, he consecrated Gautbert as a bishop for Sweden, but the community at Birka seems to have remained small for the rest of the century. The real contacts came during the Viking expansions of the 9th and 10th centuries when Swedes encountered the full extent and wealth of the western and eastern churches during their raids along the coasts of Europe and in their settlements in Britain, Normandy, and Russia. Many were converted and returned to promote their new faith among their kinsmen and the missionary zeal of English, French and German Christians became directed towards this part of Europe. Although at first there was some influence from the eastern possessions, where contact was made with Eastern Orthodoxy, the main thrusts were from England and Germany, sometimes conflicting, but mostly working in different areas. The conversion of the first Swedish king, Olov Skötkonung, is accredited to the English missionary St Sigfrid; the king was supposedly baptised in the well at Husaby, a royal residence near Skara, about the year 1000. English origins were claimed throughout the 11th century for many of the first bishops, notably Sts Eskil of Eskilstuna, David of Västerås and Henry, the first archbishop of Uppsala and Osmund, buried in Ely Cathedral. The English character of much of the early church architecture and the liturgical rites and customs, as evidenced by surviving manuscripts, supports the extent of this influence. But gradually during the 12th and 13th centuries the ties with the German mainland became stronger, and were the predominant foreign influence. The Church of Sweden however became a strong indigenous institution, closely linked with the crown and the nobility, contributing to world Christian history mainly with St Birgitta (Bridget) of Sweden, mystic, and founder of an order of nuns; her much-venerated remains are in Vadstena Abbey Church. When the Reformation came it was Lutheran teachings that spread rapidly northwards, helped by the education of many of the Swedish clergy in North Germany, by the invention of printing, and by the aspirations to independence from the power of Rome focused on the Henry VIII - like figure of King Gustaf Vasa. But the moderation of the Swedish reformation meant that interest in and from England did not die out and there were sporadic contacts, particularly with Johannes Gezelius in the 17th century, who argued that the two churches were so alike that an exception was made to the then uniform policy throughout the kingdom that no other worship was allowed than that of the Church of Sweden - the British merchants at Narva, near the Russian border were allowed to hold services according to the Book of Common Prayer. Other Anglophiles were Jacob Serenius, rector of the Swedish church in London, and Jesper Svedberg, Bishop of Skara. John Robinson, Bishop of London, even fostered a plan for the union of the English and Swedish churches in 1718, supported by Count Gyllenberg, Swedish Ambassador to London. The plan fell through because of the opposition of most Swedish bishops, although Svedberg of Skara and Gezelius, by now Bishop of Turku (Finland) were in favour. The reason for the opposition was that the Church of England was too Calvinist for them, a worse error than Roman Catholicism to an orthodox Lutheran! Another well-known Swede of the next century was Emanuel Swedenborg, but he founded his own church and in that sense is hardly part of the history of the Church of Sweden. The Pietist revivals in Lutheranism, and in other Protestant churches, had their effect even in Sweden, mainly in the 19th century. It is focused in the figure of Carl Otto Rosenius, a lay preacher from a revivalist movement in the north of Sweden, who came in contact with an English Methodist preacher in Stockholm, George Scott. Rosenius became an influential writer among the pietist groups who banded together in the "National Evangelical Institute" (Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelsen) a free church in the sense that they had their own chapels, preachers, periodicals and overseas mission, but its adherents stayed as members of the Church of Sweden, although later there was a split and the Swedish Covenant Church (Svenska Missionsförbundet) became a free church in the true sense. Also world-wide churches and groups, like the Methodists, Baptists, Salvation Army and Quakers, became represented in Sweden, and with the recent growth of the local Roman Catholic church, mainly because of the influx of catholic immigrants but also with those disaffected with the Church of Sweden, there is now quite an ecumenical scene. There are 23 members of the Christian Council of Sweden (Sveriges Kristna Råd) and, although many of them are small in numbers, the uniformity of previous centuries has vanished. The ecumenism of the 20th century. It is not only inside the country that Sweden has been active to improve inter-church relations. In the 19th century the feeling that Anglicanism and the Swedish version of Lutheranism were very close indeed received a boost in the growing influence of the Oxford movement in Britain and America. This movement placed special emphasis on the fact that the Swedish bishops, like the Anglican, were consecrated in a continuous line back to the early church, unbroken at the Reformation and that the liturgy and other practices in the Swedish church were more conservative than many other Lutherans. This was recognised quite widely. Many Swedish immigrants to the USA worshipped in Anglican churches where the ministrations of their own church were not available and when the Bishop of Illinois, H.J. Whitehouse, came to consecrate the new English church in Stockholm in 1866, the Archbishop of Uppsala and three other Swedish bishops took a full part in the service - an unprecedented event at that time. That began a whole series of visits and fellowship notably between people like the Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, the Bishop of Salisbury, John Wordsworth who wrote a history of the Swedish church, for several decades a text book, the Bishop of Gloucester, A.C. Headlam, and on the Swedish side the Bishop of Kalmar, Henry W. Tottie. But head and shoulders over all these figures as an ecumenical pioneer must stand Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala from 1914 to 1931. His initiative principally in the Stockholm Conference which he convened in 1925, was one of the major steps in creating the World Council of Churches in 1945 and making the ecumenical movement a major factor in the church history of the 20th century. He also adopted a pan-Scandinavian and Baltic church policy to try to make the Church of Sweden a bridge church to gradually reunite Lutherans, Anglicans and Catholics by taking advantage of the recognition which his episcopal succession gave externally. Estonia and Latvia received bishops consecrated by Söderblom and this led, in the early decades of this century, to agreements under which the Church of England established very close relationships, virtually intercommunion and recognition of each others' ministries with the Churches of Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia, and less close relationships with Denmark, Norway and Iceland. These were the direct predecessors of the Porvoo Agreement of 1993, which established total mutual recognition between on the one hand the Anglican churches of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and on the other between the Lutheran churches of Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania. A current episcopal ordering is recognised as necessary for such a close relationship but continuous historic succession is declared desirable but not so necessary if other more important factors prevail and the break in succession was for understandable reasons. The whole world ecumenical endeavour in the last two decades has stemmed from the crucial report "Baptism, Eucharist & Ministry" from the World Council of Churches in 1982. This presented new agreed definitions of the three elements in its title, and Porvoo has drawn directly on the Ministry section and gone further; it therefore is one of the most important steps forward in the ecumenical history of the 1990s. But the Church of Sweden has not been active only with Anglicans in its external relations. The Lutheran World Federation has always been the major fellowship, so all its ecumenical concerns have been those of the Church of Sweden also. Inspired also by the BEM report discussions with the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox churches have made great strides in mutual understanding and practical agreements. Outside Sweden There are some 40 Church of Sweden churches in 25 countries in the world. These minister to students, tourists and Swedes living abroad, where people can find friendship, warmth, worship and activities in their own language. Apart from the usual worship, pastoral and fellowship activities of a parish church, these have an additional ministry to seamen, and fellow countrymen in prisons and hospitals. These churches depend on grants from the Church of Sweden and money raised either by themselves or in the home parishes. Some 3 300 people at home volunteer to work to support the work of the Church of Sweden Abroad (Svenska kyrkan i utlandet) The Church of Sweden is engaged in diaconal work beyond the boundaries of Sweden. Through the organisation Church of Sweden Aid (Lutherhjälpen) much is done in working with long-term development and emergency relief. The aim of this work is always to co-operate with the local churches, to purchase what is needed locally instead of bringing it from Sweden, to offer credit to poor people to whom their banks will not lend, to improve the environment ecologically so that eventually the people can look after themselves and be independent of foreign help. Church of Sweden Aid also works for such causes as debt cancellation for poor countries, ensuring a just trade and monitoring the EU's agricultural policy. Roughly £13 million are contributed every year in Sweden for Church of Sweden Aid for this work and some 4 000 people offer their time in giving information, collecting money and shaping opinion. Foreign missionary work was organised in 1874 with the founding of the Church of Sweden Mission (Svenska kyrkans mission). This work is carried on in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, now always at the invitation of and in co-operation with the local churches and ecumenical organisations. Church of Sweden Mission employs about 60 people working in 15 countries, primarily in helping to build up Christian congregations and looking after the sick. They also are concerned about human rights issues. In Sweden some 4 000 volunteers are engaged as local representatives of the Church of Sweden Mission. Conclusion So this is the Church of Sweden! English-speaking visitors will find a warm welcome for almost all Swedes speak some English. Because of recent advances in worldwide liturgical revision, much of the service will be understandable too because the pattern is now similar to all of us. You may even find a familiar hymn tune, and recognize "Holy, holy, holy" or "Abide with me" in its foreign dress. So open the ancient door and go in to meet the clergy and people! To know more? "Churches in Northern Europe in Profile" by Lars Österlin, Canterbury Press, Norwich, UK, 1995, ISBN 1-85311-128-7 "Together in Mission and Ministry; the Porvoo Common Statement with essays", Church House Publishing, London, UK, 1993, ISBN 0-7151-5750-7 "Quo Vaditis?; the state churches of Northern Europe" ed John Broadhurst, Gracewing, Fowler Wright Books, Leominster, UK, 1996, ISBN 0-85244-382-X "Scandinavian Perspectives" by John Toy, York Minster Bookshop, York, UK, 1998, ISBN 1-901962-04-0 For further information, please contact the Church of Sweden Information Service, SE -751 70 Uppsala, Sweden. Phone: +46 (18) 16 96 00. The Church of Sweden wishes to express its thanks to The Revd Dr John Toy, Canon Emeritus of York, formerly Chancellor of the Minster, for his assistance in the production of this information. |