LWF Congratulates Newly Appointed Leader of Swedish Lutheran Church Archbishop-elect Anders H. Wejryd to Succeed K. G. Hammar
GENEVA, 1 April 2006 (LWI) * The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) congratulates Bishop Anders H. Wejryd on his election as the Archbishop of Uppsala, 30 March. He effectively becomes head of the Church of Sweden.
The archbishop-elect is a member of the LWF Council since 2003, and is chairperson of the LWF Project Committee.
Born in 1948, Wejryd, currently bishop of the Diocese of Vaxjo in the south, was the first head of the Swedish Lutheran church to be appointed by the church itself. Prior to the change of relations between the church and state in 2000, all bishops were appointed by the government. As the 69th Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, he will be succeeding incumbent Archbishop K. G. Hammar, who has led the Swedish Lutheran church since 1997.
The archbishop-elect received 176 out of a possible 320 votes against 127 for Bishop Ragnar Persenius in the final and determinative round of elections, the Church of Sweden said.
Congratulating Archbishop-elect Wejryd, LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko said the election was significant not only for the Swedish church, the largest LWF member church [with over 6.9 million members], but also ecumenically.
In the new archbishop-elect, said Noko in a statement issued 31 March, the Church of Sweden would have a person who "will bring to his ministry deep knowledge of peoples' concerns and difficulties. Out of deep commitment to service based on faith in Christ, he will seek to address these concerns in our globalized and rapidly changing world."
The general secretary cited Wejryd's ecumenical experience, and contribution to the LWF especially as a Council member and chairperson of the LWF Project Committee, both of which focus on a broad range of activities in which the Lutheran churches worldwide cooperate. Through this committee, Noko noted, "he has challenged us to see our calling as a communion of churches: to be a tool for building just, inclusive, participatory and self-sustaining communities, bringing positive change to people's lives in many parts of the world."
Noko also paid tribute to the contribution of Archbishop Hammar who has led the Church of Sweden through a significant phase of change, particularly to its current autonomous structure. As chairperson of LWF Program Committee for Ecumenical Affairs, 1997-2003, Hammar contributed "very substantially to the ecumenical work and profile of the Federation," the general secretary said.
Noko said he looked forward to cooperating with the new archbishop as the LWF prepares for its 60th anniversary celebrations to be held in March 2007 in the Swedish city of Lund, where the LWF was founded in 1947.
Wejryd was ordained as a pastor for the Diocese of Vasteras in 1972, and consecrated Bishop of Vaxjo in 1995. Between 1987 and 1995, he was director of the Diaconal Institute of Ersta in Stockholm. He has been moderator of the national organization for psychotherapy and pastoral counseling (St Lukas) and head of the Swedish Church Press.
He has also chaired the Church of Sweden Aid Council and is currently a member of the Executive Board for International Mission and Diaconia in the Church of Sweden, and chairperson of the Church of Sweden Committee on Ecumenical Issues.
Archbishop-elect Anders H. Wejryd will be installed on 2 September 2006 in Uppsala. He is married to Kajsa Wejryd, a school inspector, and they have three grown-up children.
An estimated 87 percent of Swedes belong to Church of Sweden. (585 words)
(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of 66.2 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
* * *
LWI news online: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION P. O. Box 2100 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland
Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69 Fax: +41/22-791 66 30 Editor's E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org