Church Structures and Regulations

The bond between state and church in Sweden is in transition. According to the current Swedish constitution, the riksdag alone makes laws. Since 1983, this applies as well to laws governing the Church of Sweden. The General Synod of the Church of Sweden has the right to make non-binding recommendations about such laws.

The riksdag and the government decide on basic organizational and financial matters for the Church of Sweden, and appoint its bishops and deans. Any change in the law regarding Church of Sweden membership must be approved by the riksdag, the General Synod, and the government.

A new Ecclesiastical Law (kyrkolag), replacing the law of 1686, was adopted in 1992. It deals with Church of Sweden membership, organization, employed staff, and property. This law can be characterized as a framework. The inner life of the church is regulated by canonical regulations (Svenska kyrkans författningssamling), decided by the General Synod.

In practice, the involvement of the state in church affairs is very limited, and there is a wish to restrict the number of civil laws, and replace some of them with canonical regulations. A new Church Ordinance is also being prepared, to provide a comprehensive overview of regulations decided on by various bodies within the Church of Sweden.

The Structure of the Church of Sweden on the National Level

Church Government on the National Level

The highest decision-making body of the Church of Sweden is the 251-member General Synod (kyrkomötet). It meets annually.

Any member of the Church of Sweden who is of age may be nominated for the General Synod. Members are elected for three-year terms. They are chosen by electors elected by the parishes. The 14 active bishops are ex officio obliged to attend the General Synod. They have the right to speak and propose motions.

Issues originating with the Swedish government or the Central Board of the Church of Sweden (centralstyrelsen) are debated at the General Synod, as are proposals by delegates. Questions are discussed in one of eight standing committees. Matters of a doctrinal nature are dealt with in the synod Committee on Church Doctrine (kyrkomötets läronämnd) on which sit the bishops plus eight members elected by the Synod members.

The riksdag has delegated to the General Synod the right to decide on questions relating to doctrine, the hymnal, orders of worship, ordained ministry, the sacraments, liturgy, collections, evangelism, missionary activity, work abroad, and diaconal work. General Synod decisions are executed by the Central Board, over which the archbishop presides ex officio.

The General Synod and the Central Board concern themselves with that part of the activity of the Church of Sweden established by law and officially regulated. This does not include its substantial voluntary activity. The Church of Sweden Foundation for Church Work (Svenska kyrkans stiftelse för rikskyrklig verksamhet, SFRV), governs these activities on a national level.

Its highest decision-making body is the Representative Synod (ombudsmötet). Its members are the General Synod delegates, and it convenes at the same time. Decisions of the Representative Synod are executed by the Board of the Foundation (styrelsen för Svenska kyrkans stiftelse för rikskyrklig verksamhet). Its membership is identical to that of the Central Board.

In this way, the officially regulated public activity of the Church of Sweden can be coordinated with its voluntary activity. Within the framework of the present church-state relationship in Sweden, the General Synod and Central Board have an official civil character which the Representative Synod and Board of the Foundation do not.

Attached to the board are the General Secretariat and departments for Theology and Ecumenical Affairs, Legal Affairs, Administration and Finance, Research, and Information. The general secretary is the executive officer of the board.

The Research Department has its own Board elected by the Central Board.

The Representative Synod appoints two "domestic" commissions (Congregational Life, Educational Training and Recruiting) and three for international work: Church of Sweden Mission (Svenska kyrkans mission, SKM), Church of Sweden Aid (Lutherhjälpen), and Church of Sweden Abroad (Svenska kyrkan i utlandet, SKUT).

Diocesan and Parochial Organization

The Church of Sweden is made up of 13 dioceses, each headed by a bishop. The archbishop of Uppsala is primate of the Church of Sweden, and thus primus inter pares ("first among equals") with respect to his colleagues. The 14th active bishop is the assistant bishop of Uppsala.

Bishops are appointed by the government. It may choose among the top three candidates determined by a vote of clerical and lay electors of the diocese (of all the dioceses in the case of the archbishop). The Bishops' Conference is a body where the bishops confer on issues of mutual concern.

The Church of Sweden includes 2552 parishes grouped in 1116 pastorates, grouped in turn in 176 deaneries. A pastorate may include one or more parishes. It is headed by a senior pastor (kyrkoherde).

Each parish is governed by a parish synod (kyrkofullmäktige), whose decisions are executed by the parish council (kyrkoråd) and various other bodies. The kyrkoherde serves on the parish council ex officio.

Elections to the parish synod are held every three years. In these, as in the case of elections to the General Synod, various political parties often support candidates. However, there are also groups with no political affiliation.

Each member of the Church of Sweden is liable to pay a church tax to his or her own parish. The parish synod decides the rate of this tax.

There are no laws regulating the size of the parishes. Normally, a pastorate may not consist of fewer than 2000 church members, nor span municipal boundaries.

All parishes in a diocese must belong to the Diocesan Association (stiftssamfällighet). It promotes parish participation within the diocese in matters such as training and information, vacation church activities, work in the schools, church music, and work with immigrants and refugees.

The highest decision-making body of the Diocesan Association is the diocesan synod (stiftsfullmäktige), which has the right to tax each parish. It consists of at least 51 members. Each parish council appoints electors, who choose the diocesan synod.

The diocesan board (stiftsstyrelsen), headed by the bishop, is the executive arm of the Diocesan Association. In addition to association affairs, it decides on government-regulated matters such as the formation of church societies, district and parish boundaries, the distribution of clerical positions within the diocese, and the allocation within the diocese of the money received by each diocese from the Church Endowment Fund (kyrkofonden), a government body.

Each diocese also has a property board (egendomsnämnd), to administer church-owned land and forests, and a chapter (domkapitel), headed by the bishop. The chapter is responsible for doctrine, liturgy, and the clergy within the diocese.

The system of church-owned land and forests developed during the Middle Ages, when a priest could only be assigned to a parish if it had built a church and a parsonage and could support a priest and maintain the buildings. As a result, the Church of Sweden still manages forests, buildings, and other property worth several billion Swedish kronor. Most of the buildings are protected by law and cannot be sold.

The combined annual expenses of Church of Sweden parishes are more than eight billion kronor. (Five billion come from church taxes). Less wealthy parishes are assisted by equalization grants from the Church Endowment Fund, financed primarily by the parishes. Each contributes both a standard amount and a surcharge reflecting its financial strength. Besides the equalization grants, the fund also supports the dioceses.