The Community () is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

denomination with historical and theological roots in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

tradition. The church has congregations located in the south-western part of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The Community broke off from the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

in 1890 due to recent theological and liturgical developments within the church. A key figure in the founding of The Community was school teacher and lay preacher,

Bernt B. Lomeland Bernt Berntsen Lomeland (1836 – 1900) was a Norwegian school teacher and lay minister who established The Community (Samfundet) in 1890. Biography Born to a farmer in Helleland, outside Egersund, Norway, he was confirmation, confirmed on 29 Se ...

(1836–1900). The Community was split in 1900 after Lomeland's death, and founded The Catholic Community (, ''

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 ...

'' here in the sense of 'universal'). The Community was split again in 1925 and as a result The Old Lutheran Community was founded. , the Community has approximately 1,800 members in two congregations, with four churches, one meeting house, and four schools. The Community is not a member of any

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

organization, as they consider themselves to be the only known rightful church. The Community has a literalist understanding of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and holds conservative views on issues, such as

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

, and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

History

The theology of The Community can be traced back to the so-called "

Strong Believers The Strong Believers ( Norwegian: ) is a theologically conservative Norwegian Christian movement, with roots in the Lutheran Church of Norway, in opposition to the Haugean movement. They split from the Church of Norway in 1890. Founding and belie ...

" () in the early 19th century. This was a religious movement in the south-western parts of Norway, which emphasized purity in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and particularly a preservation of the traditional theology of the

Lutheran Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. At first this was a movement loyal to the

. However, as this church introduced revised versions of traditional

hymnals A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

catechisms A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts. Catechisms ...

Bible translations The Christian Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. the whole Bible has been translated into 756 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,726 la ...

, as well as

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

, this movement became increasingly hostile towards the Church of Norway.Sandø, E. (1990) Samfundets historie, bind 1

was among the key figures in the founding of The Community. For some time, he tried to convince the authorities within the Church of Norway to occasionally allow the use of the previous liturgy. When this failed he established The Community and approximately 500 people followed him. Within the first decade several churches were built, as well as schools. The theology of the church was also consolidated in this period. After Lomeland's death, his successor, , was blamed of not being of "the same spirit" as Lomeland and for criticizing his teachings. Nodland was therefore excluded and about 200 members of the congregation in

Egersund Egersund is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger (city), Stavanger. The town is situat ...

followed him as he founded The Catholic Community. The congregation in Kristiansand suffered a similar conflict in 1925, when the congregation's assistant pastor was excluded. A small group followed him and established The Old Lutheran Community. This church later joined the Church of Norway. A dominant figure in the following years was Nicolay Fardal (1883–1960), who was pastor in the congregation in Kristiansand from 1928 to 1960. During his time as a pastor the adherents to The Community grew and there were few theological disputes. This period of growth and theological harmony lasted until the early 1990s, when the church's ban on trousers for women was challenged. This controversy was solved by allowing the members of the church to follow their conscience when it comes to dressing appropriately and decently. The years that followed brought several liberalizations and reforms.

Theology

The church identifies as an

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

denomination, with its foundation in the

, the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

Nicene The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

and

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed—also called the ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes"—is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christolo ...

Luther's Small Catechism Luther's Small Catechism () is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Bapti ...

and the

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...

. However, The Community has several distinct teachings which distinguish them from the mainstream Lutheran denominations. Most importantly, The Community only recognizes

baptisms Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

performed in churches where the Word is rightly preached and the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

are properly administered. Since the church considers itself to be the only known church that does preach the Word rightly and administer the sacraments properly, they do not recognize baptism performed anywhere else; in 2012, they decided to continue the practice. The church used only Bibles in Blackletter script until close to the turn of the 21st century.

Structure

The church is governed by a board, known as The Community Board (Norwegian: ). This board consists of 12 men elected by the congregations. Both men and women have the right to vote, although only men can be elected. The Community Board has the theological responsibility of the church. The congregations' pastors and assistant pastors are normally elected, and thus have a seat at the board. The congregations also have a local board. These are made up of the local representatives of the congregation in The Community Board. The pastors are also elected by the congregation, often among the teachers at the church's schools. Only men can serve as pastors; they usually serve until retirement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Community Christian organizations established in 1890 1890 establishments in Norway Lutheran denominations established in the 19th century Lutheranism in Norway