Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden (Swedish: Svenska kyrkan), is a Lutheran-Protestant Christian denomination in Sweden. The denomination was established in the 16th century, when Sweden converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, and became the Swedish state church. As the 19th and 20th centuries progressed, it moved towards a more liberal theology and ecumenism.
| Church of Sweden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Lutheran |
| Orientation | High Church/Evangelical Catholic Lutheran |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Associations | Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, Porvoo Communion |
| Region | Sweden |
| Founder | Gustav I of Sweden |
| Origin | 1527/1593 |
| Separated from | Roman Catholic Church |
| Separations | Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland |
| Congregations | 1,467 |
| Members | 6,357,508 members (66 %) (in 2013)[1] |
| Official website | http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/ |
In late August 1995, the Swedish government and the Church of Sweden decided to go separate ways from 1 January 2000. The denomination mostly practices infant baptism.
Female priests were allowed in 1958, and in 1997, Christina Odenberg was appointed the denomination's first female bishop (diocese of Lund). In June 2014, Antje Jackelén became the denomination's first female archbishop (diocese of Uppsala).
References
- ↑ Svenska kyrkan i siffror Svenska kyrkan
Other websites
Media related to Church of Sweden at Wikimedia Commons