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The Church of Sweden is launching guidance to prevent and combat sexual exploitation and abuse within the Church and its organisations. The guidance also provides advice on how to deal with situations where exploitation or abuse has taken place.

Registration for the church elections this autumn has now been concluded. A total of 546 nominating groups and more than 25,000 candidates are standing for election. 13,783 seats are to be filled at three levels.

Today it is exactly six months until the 2025 church elections. In September, around 4.7 million members of the Church of Sweden will be entitled to cast their votes. 13,783 seats will then be filled.

The second session of the General Synod with debates and decision-making is now closed.

Today, the Church of Sweden’s General Synod adopted a statement on the role of the church in the public space. In six points, the General Synod sets out the course for a church that plays a clear and active role in civil society.

Every year, 10–15 women are murdered in Sweden by a partner or former partner. One in ten children grows up in a home where there is violence. The Church of Sweden is now mobilising to better be able to detect and prevent domestic violence.

The General Synod is the highest decision-making body of the Church of Sweden, deciding on issues common to the entire Church of Sweden. This year’s theme, ‘The Church in the Public Space’, addresses the place of the church in society, locally and globally.

The digital mailbox to which anyone who wants to has been able to send in suggestions for new hymns for the Church of Sweden’s hymn book has now closed. More than 9,000 contributions have been received. In addition, almost 1,000 tips for songs that are already well-known have been submitted.

7 December 2022 06:58:00 | The Church of Sweden On 31 December, the digital mailbox to which anyone who wants to can send in suggestions for new hymns for the Church of Sweden’s hymn book, will close. In the next stage, four groups will review the more than 4,000 entries received.

Bishop Martin Modéus received 59% of the votes in today’s Archbishop election. He will thus become the new Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, succeeding Antje Jackelén, who retires on 30 October. Martin Modéus will be received as the new Archbishop on 4 December.

Bishop Martin Modéus, Linköping, received the most votes in today’s election to Archbishop of the Church of Sweden. In second place was Bishop Johan Dalman, Strängnäs. As neither of them received more than 50% of the votes, a second round between the two of them will be held on 8 June.

We now have the preliminary results of the nomination election ahead of the Archbishop election. Bishop Martin Modéus received the most votes, followed by Bishop Johan Dalman and Bishop Mikael Mogren. The process will now continue with a hearing of the candidates on 22 April.

During the special service of worship concluding the General Synod on 24 November, Archbishop Antje Jackelén will make an official apology from the Church of Sweden to the Sami for historical abuse.

The final counting of votes for the 2021 Church Election shows a turnout of 18.4% for the General Synod, the second highest level since the 1930s. With 900,753 votes cast, it is also the second highest number of votes ever cast in a church election. In two dioceses – Visby and Växjö – voter turnout increased compared to the 2017 Church Election.

The general subcommittee of the Central Board of the Church of Sweden has today decided upon eight commitments to serve as a starting point for its work on the reconciliation process with the Sámi people over the next 10 years. Support for these commitments has previously been secured in a consultation process with the thirteen dioceses of the Church of Sweden, which are behind the decision.

The Central Board of the Church of Sweden has today decided that the Church of Sweden will make an official apology to the Sami people for historical abuses. As part of the reconciliation process, work is also underway on overall commitments, as a starting point for the Church of Sweden’s work with the reconciliation process in the next 10 years.

The Sami Council of the Church of Sweden has awarded its 2020 Culture Prize to Vilhelmina-based Henrik Barruk, Sami language consultant and teacher.

A new research report, "#Vardeljus-uppropet" (the Let There Be Light Campaign), highlights the importance of the Church of Sweden’s work over 20 years to combat sexual harassment and abuse. At the same time, the report identifies structural problems with boundary-setting in, for example, what is considered permissible. The report is a qualitative analysis of the #MeToo campaign in the Church of Sweden.

In partnership with EKHO, the Church of Sweden conducted the first ever hearing today with trans perspectives on everything from practical daily life to theology and culture. Participants from various functions in the Church of Sweden gathered for a full-day hearing in Uppsala to deepen their understanding of transgender approaches, gender identity and gender dysphoria.

Inaccurate information has been spread in the Swedish and international media about the inclusive language being used in the new Book of Worship adopted by the Church of Sweden’s General Synod recently. The chair of the divine service committee, Sofia Pedersen Videke, clarifies below.