The Mission Province ( ) is a Swedish independent

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

founded by members of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

who are opposed to the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

to the priesthood and

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

. The province, which aligns with

Confessional Lutheranism Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutheranism, Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the ''Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain th ...

, considers itself as a free-standing diocese within the

, a position rejected by the church itself."Missionsprovinsen tar steg mot eget samfund"
''Kyrkans Tidning''. 21 May 2013. The Mission Province was founded on 6 September 2003 and shares

altar and pulpit fellowship Altar and pulpit fellowship describes an ecumenical collaboration between two Christian organizations, and is a Lutheran term for full communion, or ''communio in sacris.'' ''Altar'' refers to the altar in Christian churches, which holds the sacram ...

with those in the

Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses The Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses are Lutheran dioceses that entered into schism with their nordic traditional national churches in 2003 due to what they perceived as "the secularization of the national/state churches in their respective co ...

, in addition to being a member of the

International Lutheran Conference The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. Member bodies of the ILC hold "an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the L ...

History

The Province was founded as an alternative ecclesiastical jurisdiction in order to support the establishment of new free

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

ic communities (''koinonias''). It contains the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Schartauan Henric Schartau (27 September 1757 – 3 February 1825) was a Swedish Lutheran pietistic priest. His theology, including his characteristic teachings on the "order of grace", influenced a revivalist movement known as Schartauanism. Biogr ...

Confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest from some Christian denominations sits to hear the confessions of a penitent's sins. It is the traditional venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Luther ...

and

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

expressions found in the Church of Sweden on the doctrinal basis of the

Book of Concord ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard recognized as authoritative by many Lutheran church bodies since the 16th century. It consists of ten creeda ...

. On 5 February 2005, The Most Reverend

Walter Obare Walter Obare Omwanza is the former presiding bishop (in apostolic succession) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), which is a member of the Lutheran World Federation and the International Lutheran Council. Concordia Theological ...

, presiding bishop of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

, assisted by bishops

Leonid Zviki Leonid ( ; ; ) is a Slavic languages, Slavic version of the given name Leonidas I, Leonidas. The French language, French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid Agutin (born 1968), Russian pop musician and songwriter *Leonid A ...

from Belarus, David Tswaedi from South Africa,

Børre Knudsen Børre Arnold Knudsen (1937–2014) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest noted for his anti-abortion activism. Together with Ludvig Nessa, he staged protests at abortion clinics starting in the late 1980s, and he spent time in jail for refusing to pa ...

and

Ulf Asp Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The f ...

from Norway, consecrated

Arne Olsson Arne Olsson (31 March 1930 – 12 March 2024) was a Swedish Lutheran bishop. He was the first bishop of the Mission Province, serving from 2005 until 2010. Olsson was a retired pastor in the Lutheran Church of Sweden, having been e.g. the paris ...

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

as the

Ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

for the Mission Province. In April 2006, Arne Olsson consecrated pastors

Lars Artman Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel", and is therefore related to the name ...

and

Göran Beijer Göran or Jöran (both pronounced ) is a Swedish form of George, not to be confused with the Slavic Goran. Notable people with the name include: * Göran Andersson (sailor, born 1939) (1939–2020), Swedish sailor in the 1960 Olympics * Göran ...

as assistant bishops for the Mission Province. The alternative hierarchy of the Mission province ordains candidates for the priesthood who are not in favour of the

and who are therefore not accepted for ordination in the national Churches of Sweden or Finland. In Sweden there are 25 to 30 congregations led by Mission Province priests, in addition to 30 to 35 congregations in Finland. Though the Mission Province holds itself to be a non-territorial diocese within the Church of Sweden, bishops of the Church of Sweden do not acknowledge the Mission Province as a part of the Church of Sweden and Bishop Arne Olsson was

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

soon after his episcopal ordination as were

and

. Since 2015 the Mission Province has been in fellowship with the

Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland The Mission Diocese, officially the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, (, ) is an independent Confessional Lutheranism, confessional Lutheran "ecclesial structure" in Finland. The Mission Diocese considers itself to be "part of ‘t ...

and the

Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway () is a Lutheran diocese in Norway, founded in Kautokeino (village), Kautokeino in 2013. Branched out from the "Deanery of Strandebarm, Church of Norway in Exile" (formerly the Deanery of Strandebarm), the bi ...

. The Mission Province is also, as of 2018, a member of the

International Lutheran Council The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. Member bodies of the ILC hold "an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the ...

. Missionsprovinsen i Sverige.
Retrieved: 3 March 2019.

References

External links

Homepage of Missionsprovinsen
*
Statutes for The Mission Province in Sweden, decided by The Provincial Convention, May 17th, 2004 (some additions the 15th of January 2005)

A Report on a Visit to the Free Synod of the Church of Sweden and the Missionary Province 18 – 29 August, 2003
by The Rev. Paul C. Hewett, SSC

The National Assembly of

Forward in Faith Forward in Faith (FiF) is an organisation operating in the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church. It represents a traditionalist strand of Anglo-Catholicism and is characterised by its opposition to the ordination of women to the pri ...

UK on Friday 6th and Saturday 7 October 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Missionprovinsen Church of Sweden Christian organizations established in 2003 2003 establishments in Sweden Organizations based in Gothenburg

History

See also

References

External links