wfn.org | Faeroese breakaway from Danish Lutheran church postponed

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 10, 1998 (lwi) - The decision of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church on the Faeroe Islands to break away from the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Denmark at the beginning of the year 2000 has been
postponed by a new division in the Faeroese Lagting (parliament). When the
Republican Party bill was presented for the third time, two members of the
Christian People's Party voted against it because they want it to be more
thoroughly assessed.

Chairperson of the Christian People's Party, Niels Pauli Danielsen, says
the party agrees with the idea of an independent Faeroese church but deems
it too early to fix a date for the separation.

Bishop of the Faeroe Islands, Hans Jacob Joensen, welcomes the parliament's
decision. He warns against change at this time. More reflection is needed
on the kind of structure an independent church on the Faeroe Islands should
have, he told the Danish newspaper Christian Daily.

In this connection, it is important that future constitutional relations
between Denmark and the Faeroe Islands be seriously debated. Inevitably,
the position of the church will be affected by the outcome of the political
discussion.

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/