Inga-Brita Castrén (1919–2003) was a Finnish theologian who spent ten years abroad working in Geneva for the

World Student Christian Federation The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a federation of autonomous national Student Christian Movements (SCM) forming the youth and student arm of the global ecumenical movement. The Federation includes Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic, Pe ...

, the World YWCA, and the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

as an

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 ...

adviser. Returning to Finland, she worked in adult education and served as the General Secretary of the Finnish Ecumenical Council. After retirement, Castrén continued writing for a decade.

Biography

Inga-Brita Ulrika Elisabet Castrén was born 26 March 1919 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. She was the daughter of

Supreme Administrative Court of Finland The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (, ) is the highest court in the Finnish administrative court system, parallel to the Supreme Court of Finland. Its jurisdiction covers the legality of the decisions of government officials, and its ...

President and one-time interim Prime Minister

Urho Castrén Urho Jonas Castrén (30 December 1886, in Jyväskylä – 8 March 1965, in Helsinki) was a judge, serving for 27 years as the President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. During the constitutional crisis of 1944, Castrén, represent ...

. Castrén earned a master's degree in theology and philosophy and entered the foreign service, in the 1940s, serving as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, overseeing women's work and the Finnish Christian Student Association. She worked in Geneva between 1958 and 1962 as the

's Secretary to Africa. Between 1962 and 1969 she served as the World YWCA Consultant on Christian Education and Ecumenical Affairs. Then in 1969 she joined the

as executive secretary for mission education. After four years, she left Geneva, returning to Finland in 1973. Arriving back in Finland, Castrén supervised adult educational learning activities and from 1974-1984 served as the General Secretary of the

Finnish Ecumenical Council Finnish Ecumenical Council ( fi, Suomen Ekumeeninen Neuvosto) is an ecumenical Christian organization in Finland, established on 1917. Member denominations Following denominations were members in 2023: * Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland * Fi ...

(SEN). Even after her retirement, Castrén attended conferences and remained abreast of changes in the professional field. In 2000, Castrén was awarded an honorary PhD in Theology from the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

. Castrén died in Helsinki on 31 December 2003.

Selected works

*''Uudet silmät'' (with Hans-Ruedi Weber) Helsinki: Suomen lähetysseura, (1959) (in Finnish) *''Madagascar and Basutoland travel diary'' Geneva]: .n. (1962) (in English) *''Jeesus Kristus vapauttaa ja yhdistää: kirkkojen maailmanneuvoston 5. yleiskokous ; Nairobi, Kenia 23.11.-10.12.1975; valmisteluaineistoa'' (with Leena Brummer; et al.) Helsinki: Suomen ekumeeninen neuvosto, (1974) (in Finnish) * ''Avoimuuteen sidottu: Näköaloja ja kokemuksia kansainvälisessä ekumeenisessa työssä'' Pieksämäki: Kirjaneliö, (1990) (in Finnish) *''Anna meidät toisillemme: Hartauksia yhteisellä tiellä'' Lapua: Herättäjä-Yhdistys, (1994) (in Finnish)

External links

World Cat

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castren, Inga Brita 1919 births 2003 deaths Writers from Helsinki Finnish theologians Finnish women writers