Church of Sweden Names Lesbian as Bishop of Stockholm
The Church of Sweden today elevated and crowned Pastor Eva Brunne the Bishop of Stockholm. The ceremony took place in the Cathedral of Uppsala, north of the capital city of Stockholm, in the presence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Sylvia. Brunne, 55, was elected to take the place of Caroline Krook as the head of the diocese for Sweden's most populous city. She is the world's first openly lesbian bishop. Today's ceremony also made history by crowning another woman, Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, as the Bishop of Härnösand, making today the first time in history that two women have been ordained as bishops on the same day.
Following the ceremony, Brunne said, “I am happy and very proud to be part of a church that encourages people to make their own decisions. Diversity is a big wealth.” She lives in Stockholm with her partner, Pastor Gunilla Lindén, and their three-year-old son.
On October 21, the Church of Sweden, the world's largest Lutheran group, announced that it would allow gays and lesbians to marry in the Church. Same-sex marriages have been officially recognized in Sweden since May 1, 2009. We suspect that Bishop Brunne will be quite busy in her new job. Gratulerar!
Email this page
Delicious
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Comments
I'm very happy for Bishop
I'm very happy for Bishop Brunne and the Church of Sweden, but I can't help but feel a minor twinge of annoyance. Christianity and gay rights are incompatible. As a bisexual former Catholic, I had to come to a critical realization. I could follow the Christian God, follow a God of my own creation that was tolerant of gays, or realize that all religion is man-made and a farce. I chose number three, and I hope many more who were in my position do as well.
The Church of Sweden looks to be among the most liberal Christian Churches. I think that's great that they are willing to ignore what some think are divine mandates from a bearded wizard in the sky and replace that with an honest concern for their fellow human being. However, this is what secular humanism is, by definition. I'm glad the Church is taking this step, but this will be the action that leads many into secularism from theism. And it will be awesome.
Again, congratulations to Bishop Brunne.