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Swedish priests will ignore Church decision
Church of England Newspaper
December 2, 2005
Over 800 priests of the Church of Sweden have repudiated the Swedish Church Assembly decision to bless gay unions, saying they it is contrary to the word of God and that they will "resist the new order".
On October 27, the Kyrkomötet, the Swedish Church Assembly, voted to amend its prayer book, changing the section on "Marriage" to "Marriage and Blessings" and appointed a committee to draw up the appropriate rites, as we reported on November 2.
"As priests, we are bound by the promises of faithfulness to Holy Scripture and to the confession of the church which we made at our ordination. We therefore totally reject this order," the Nov 1 declaration, endorsed by 863 of Sweden's 5000 active and retired clergy, stated.
The author of the declaration, the Rev Yngve Kalin, pastor of Hyssna in Southern Sweden, told The Church of England Newspaper the protest was "unique in the history of our Church" drawing support from "various traditions, from North to South, [and] men and women" in support.
"We are going to resist the new order," he said. "We do not recognise it. We do not believe in it. We are not going to comply," he noted, adding "We will work to have it repealed" with the support of "ecumenical partners here at home in Sweden and abroad" and "reveal the fragile foundation of this new order and persevere in showing how the word of God should be read, understood and interpreted."
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