Church of Sweden facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Church of Sweden
*Svenska kyrkan*
Arms of the Church of Sweden with its centred crown, representing both the victory of Christ over death and the crown of Erik the Holy, Patron Saint of Sweden.
Type	Communion
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
Scripture	Bible
Theology	Folk Church High Church Lutheranism Evangelical Catholic
Polity	Episcopal
Governance	General Synod
Primate	Martin Modéus
Associations	Lutheran World Federation World Council of Churches Conference of European Churches Porvoo Communion
Full Communion	Philippine Independent Church Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches Episcopal Church (United States)
Region	Sweden
Headquarters	Uppsala, Sweden
Founder	Ansgar (According to tradition) Stefan of Alvastra (First Archbishop of Uppsala, under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church) Gustav I of Sweden (Separated from the Holy See during the Swedish Reformation) Laurentius Petri Nericius (Consecrated as first Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala in 1531. Author of the Swedish Church Ordinance of 1571)
Origin	1014, establishment of the first Swedish diocese, the Diocese of Skara 1164, establishment of the Archdiocese of Uppsala 1536, separation from Rome through the abolition of Canon Law 1593, adoption of the Augsburg Confession
Separated from	Roman Catholic Church
Separations	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (1809) The Mission Province (2003)
Congregations	1 288 in Sweden, 31 abroad (2023)
Members	5 484 319 baptized members (2023)
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The Church of Sweden (Swedish: Svenska kyrkan) is a large Evangelical Lutheran church in Sweden. It used to be the official state church. Its main office is in Uppsala. With about 5.4 million members in 2023, it is the biggest Christian group in Sweden. It is also the largest Lutheran church in Europe and the third largest in the world.

The Church of Sweden is part of the Porvoo Communion, which means it has close ties with other Lutheran and Anglican churches. It follows Lutheranism and is organized into thirteen dioceses, which are like large church districts. These dioceses are then divided into smaller areas called parishes. The church is open to everyone and works through a democratic system. The main leader of the Church of Sweden is the Archbishop of Uppsala.

The Church of Sweden has kept many traditional church practices. This includes having priests, special clothes for services, and the traditional Mass. Like other Lutheran churches in Nordic countries, it has bishops who can trace their leadership back through history. This is called apostolic succession. The church believes its faith is a part of the wider Christian faith.

About 52.1% of people in Sweden were members of the church in 2023. Before 2000, it was the official state church. Until 1996, all babies born in Sweden automatically became members unless their parents chose otherwise. Today, about 2% of members attend church regularly.

Understanding the Church of Sweden's Beliefs
A Look at the Church's History
- The Reformation in Sweden
- Church and Emigration
Symbols of the Church
How the Church is Organized
Church Leaders and Roles
Dioceses and Bishops
Monasteries and Convents
Working with Other Churches
Relations with the Sámi People
See also
- Other Nordic National Lutheran Churches

Understanding the Church of Sweden's Beliefs

Uppsala, with its large cathedral, is the main center for the Church of Sweden.

King Gustav I Vasa started the Church of Sweden in 1536. This act separated the church from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1571, the Swedish Church Ordinance became the first set of rules for the church after the Reformation.

The Church of Sweden officially became Lutheran at the Uppsala Synod in 1593. At this meeting, the church adopted the Augsburg Confession, which is a key statement of Lutheran beliefs. They also decided to keep three important Christian statements of faith: the Apostles' Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Nicene Creed.

Over time, other teachings were approved, especially to help the church work with other Christian groups. These included new versions of the Catechism (a book of Christian teachings) and agreements with groups like the World Council of Churches.

In practice, the church uses Lutheran traditions. It also has influences from other Christian groups and movements. These include different styles of worship and local traditions.

During the 20th century, the Church of Sweden became more focused on liberal Christianity and human rights. In 1958, the church decided to allow women to become priests. Since 1960, women have been ordained as priests. In 2009, the church approved performing weddings for same-sex couples.

In 2000, the Church of Sweden stopped being the official state church. However, many people in Sweden still have a connection to the church. For example, many babies are baptized and teenagers are confirmed in the church, even if their families are not formal members. About 40% of all 14-year-olds are confirmed.

A Look at the Church's History

Church of Sweden statistics
Year	Population	Church members	Percentage	% change (avg.)
1972	8,146,000	7,754,784	95.2%
1975	8,208,000	7,770,881	94.7%	0.2%
1980	8,278,000	7,690,636	92.9%	0.3%
1985	8,358,000	7,629,763	91.5%	0.3%
1990	8,573,000	7,630,350	89.0%	0.5%
1995	8,837,000	7,601,194	86.0%	0.6%
2000	8,880,000	7,360,825	82.9%	0.6%
2005	9,048,000	6,967,498	77.0%	1.2%
2010	9,415,570	6,589,769	70.0%	1.4%
2015	9,850,452	6,225,091	63.2%	1.4%
2020	10,379,295	5,728,746	55.2%	1.6%
2021	10,452,326	5,633,867	53.9%	1.3%
2022	10,536,649	5,563,351	52.8%	1.1%
2023		5 484 319	52.1%	0.8%

Christianity came to Sweden around the year 1000 AD. This was around the same time as other Nordic countries. The Swedish King Olof was baptized then. However, older beliefs like Norse paganism continued for some time. For example, a major religious site called the Temple at Uppsala was still used in the late 11th century.

The Christian church in Scandinavia was first led by the archdiocese of Bremen. In 1104, an archbishop for all Scandinavia was set up in Lund. Uppsala became Sweden's own archdiocese in 1164, and it still is today.

The most important Swedish Catholic saints were King Eric the Saint from the 12th century and Bridget from the 14th century. Many churches were named after them.

The Reformation in Sweden

In 1523, King Gustav Vasa became ruler. He asked the Pope in Rome to confirm Johannes Magnus as the new Archbishop of Sweden. The Pope wanted the old archbishop, Gustav Trolle, to be put back in his place. King Gustav disagreed. He started supporting Swedish reformers like the brothers Olaus and Laurentius Petri.

The king helped print new religious texts by the Petri brothers. In 1526, all Catholic printing presses were stopped. Also, two-thirds of the church's taxes were taken to pay off the country's debts. A final break with the old Catholic traditions happened at a meeting called by the king in Västerås in 1544.

During the Reformation, some Catholic rituals were removed. However, the changes in Sweden were not as extreme as in Germany. Swedish churches kept crosses, crucifixes, and traditional church clothes. Many holy days based on saints were kept until the late 18th century because people strongly resisted removing them.

After King Gustav Vasa died, Sweden was ruled by John III, who favored Catholic ways. Then his son, Sigismund, who was also the ruler of Catholic Poland, took over. Sigismund was later removed from the Swedish throne by his uncle, Charles IX. Charles IX used the Lutheran church to help him in his power struggle.

The New Testament was translated into Swedish in 1526, and the whole Bible in 1541. New official translations were made in 1917 and 2000. Many hymns were written by Swedish reformers, and some by Martin Luther were translated. Official hymnals (songbooks) for the Church of Sweden were adopted in 1695, 1819, 1937, and 1986. The 1986 hymnal includes songs from many different Christian groups. In 2013, Antje Jackelén was chosen as Sweden's first female archbishop.

Church and Emigration

In the 1800s and 1900s, the Church of Sweden did not support people leaving Sweden. It also opposed preachers who encouraged sobriety. This led to some ministers being treated unfairly by the church for preaching against alcohol. These events made some church members want to leave the country.

Symbols of the Church

Coat of arms of the Church of Sweden

Coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Uppsala

The church's coat of arms, designed in the 19th century, is based on the Archdiocese of Uppsala's symbol. It shows a red cross on a gold background. On the cross, there is a gold crown. This crown is called the "victory crown of Christ". It looks like the crowns used in medieval times and the crowns in the Swedish coat of arms. It also resembles the crown on the head of Saint Eric in the coat of arms of Stockholm.

How the Church is Organized

The Church of Sweden has an administrative structure similar to the Swedish government. People vote directly for members of the General Synod (the Church Assembly). They also vote for leaders in the diocesan and parish assemblies. The voting system is the same as for Swedish national elections. To vote, you must be a church member, at least 16 years old, and officially living in Sweden.

Groups that participate in these elections are called "nominating groups". Some national political parties, like the Social Democrats, take part. However, there is a growing trend for independent groups to form for church elections. These groups might be based on political beliefs or be purely church-focused.

Church Leaders and Roles

Sung Mass with the ordinations of two deacons and seven priests by the Bishop of Stockholm, in St Nicholas's Cathedral (Storkyrkan)

The Church of Sweden has three main types of ordained ministers: bishops, priests, and deacons. There are about 5,000 ordained clergy in total.

In the Church of Sweden, a person can be directly ordained as a priest without first being ordained as a deacon. This is different from some other churches. All deacons in the Church of Sweden are "permanent deacons," meaning they serve in that role. A bishop must first be an ordained priest before becoming a bishop.

After the Reformation, the Swedish Church used both direct ordination and a step-by-step ordination process. Direct ordination became more common.

Clergy in the Church of Sweden wear traditional church clothes. Priests wear a stole crossed over their chest. Deacons wear it diagonally over their left shoulder. At the start of an ordination service, candidates wear white robes. This shows that ordination is a new beginning.

The Church of Sweden has full-time deacons who work in social welfare programs. While deacons have a role in church services, their main work is helping people outside the church community. They are connected to local parishes and work with a parish priest. Priests wear black clerical shirts, bishops wear purple, and deacons officially wear green clerical shirts.

Dioceses and Bishops

Map of Swedish dioceses

Antje Jackelén, former Archbishop of Uppsala (center), with Johan Dalman, Bishop of Strängnäs (left), and Mikael Mogren, Bishop of Västerås (right)

The Church of Sweden is divided into thirteen dioceses. Each diocese has a bishop and a cathedral chapter, which is a group that helps the bishop. The bishop is chosen by priests, deacons, and some church members in the diocese.

A diocese is divided into smaller areas called "deaneries," each with a leader called a provost. The main minister of a cathedral is called a "cathedral dean" and is part of the cathedral chapter.

At the local level, a church area is called a parish. One or more parishes form a "pastorat" with a head minister called a "kyrkoherde" (church shepherd). There might also be assistant priests.

In addition to the 13 dioceses in Sweden, the Church of Sweden Abroad (SKUT) has over 40 parishes in other countries. SKUT has its own governing council and seats on the General Synod. However, it does not have its own bishop. It is overseen by the Bishop of Visby.

Diocese	Seat	Cathedral	Founded	Current bishop
Archdiocese of Uppsala	Uppsala	Uppsala Cathedral	1123	Martin Modéus (Archbishop) Karin Johannesson (Bishop)
Diocese of Skara	Skara	Skara Cathedral	1014	Åke Bonnier
Diocese of Lund	Lund	Lund Cathedral	1048	Johan Tyrberg
Diocese of Linköping	Linköping	Linköping Cathedral	1100	Marika Markovits
Diocese of Strängnäs	Strängnäs	Strängnäs Cathedral	1129	Johan Dalman
Diocese of Växjö	Växjö	Växjö Cathedral	1165	Fredrik Modéus
Diocese of Västerås	Västerås	Västerås Cathedral	12th century	Mikael Mogren
Diocese of Visby	Visby	Visby Cathedral	1572	Erik Eckerdal [sv]
Diocese of Karlstad	Karlstad	Karlstad Cathedral	1581	Sören Dalevi
Diocese of Gothenburg	Gothenburg	Gothenburg Cathedral	1620	Susanne Rappmann
Diocese of Härnösand	Härnösand	Härnösand Cathedral	1647	Eva Nordung Byström
Diocese of Luleå	Luleå	Luleå Cathedral	1904	Åsa Nyström
Diocese of Stockholm	Stockholm	Stockholm Cathedral	1942	Andreas Holmberg

The dioceses of Uppsala, Strängnäs, Västerås, Skara, Linköping, Växjö, and the now-Finnish Diocese of Turku are the original seven Swedish dioceses from the Middle Ages. The others were created after the Swedish Reformation in the 16th century.

Monasteries and Convents

The Church of Sweden has several communities where people live together in a religious way.

The Sisters of the Holy Paraclete (Helgeandssystrarna) live in Alsike Convent.
The Brothers of the Holy Cross (Heliga korsets brödraskap) are Benedictine monks. They live at the Östanbäck Monastery in Sala.
The Sisters of St. Francis (Helige Franciskus systraskap) are Franciscan nuns. They live in Klaradals kloster in Sjövik.
The Sisters of the Risen Saviour (Uppståndne frälsarens systraskap) live in Överselö klostergård.
The Daughters of Mary (Mariadöttrarna av Den Evangeliska Mariavägen) are in Vallby.
Linköpings kloster in Linköping was approved in 2006 and opened in 2014. It is a small convent focused on prayer and climate issues.

The procession waiting to go inside for the Sunday mass and funeral of Sister Marianne, the first nun in the Church of Sweden since the reformation. At the end are nuns from Alsike Monastery.

Working with Other Churches

The Church of Sweden helped create the Lutheran World Federation in 1947 in Lund, Sweden.

Since 1994, the Church of Sweden has been part of the Porvoo Communion. This means it has full communion with Anglican churches in the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula. It also connects with other Lutheran churches in Nordic and Baltic countries. In 1995, it achieved full communion with the Philippine Independent Church. Since 2015, the Church of Sweden has also been in full communion with the Episcopal Church in the United States.

In 2016, the Church of Sweden also reached full communion with the Old Catholic churches within the Union of Utrecht.

Relations with the Sámi People

In 2021, the Church of Sweden apologized for how it treated the Sámi people over many centuries. This included forcing them to become Christian and mistreating children in Sámi schools. The church also collected the remains of Sámi people for research that was based on racist ideas. The Church of Sweden called its actions against the Sámi "colonial" and "legitimized repression." Before apologizing, the church created a long document in 2019. This document detailed the church's history of harming Sámi people and trying to erase their culture.