How often does conversation in Australian Lutheran circles turn to personal ancestry in Germany, Sweden and other northern European countries? These connections seem to be revealed with sincere pride.
It is one more point of irony in the LCA, when countries of origin have, in the main, moved ahead many years ago with women’s ordination. Note the final sentence in the article from AsiaOne News below:
Sweden follows in the footsteps of other Lutheran churches in the US, Canada, Germany and Norway which have appointed female leaders.
STOCKHOLM – The Church of Sweden announced on Tuesday that it had elected a woman as its leader for the first time in the institution’s history.
The Bishop of Lund, Antje Jackelen, won 55.9 per cent of the votes from the 324-strong ecclesiastical college and will replace the current archbishop Anders Wejryd.
“I’m a little dazed and grateful for the support I got,” she told news agency TT.
The 58-year-old bishop is married to a priest and has two children.
Jackelen, who was ordained in 1980, said it was not so strange for the church to choose a woman leader.
“It doesn’t come as such a surprise,” Jackelen said. “We have had female priests for over 50 years.”
About two thirds of Swedes are members of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, which separated from the state in the year 2000.
Sweden follows in the footsteps of other Lutheran churches in the US, Canada, Germany and Norway which have appointed female leaders.
“It was about time,” Anders Wejryd told TT.
Related articles
- Sweden elects first female archbishop (thelocal.se)
- Swedish Lutheran Church elects female archbishop (theolympian.com)
- Sweden elects its first female archbishop (dailystar.com.lb)
- Sweden Elects Its First Female Archbishop (abcnews.go.com)
Katie and Martin's Blog on the Lutheran Church in Australia 