Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - First part - III. Constitution and Administration - 4. Church and Religion. By G. Fr. Lundin, Ph. D., Uppsala
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chdrch and religion.
263
and social movements, so characteristic of history in the 19th century, have,
with us, been principally of religious origin. Another contributory cause may
be seen in the marked trait of mysticism in Swedish national character when
sounded to its depths, that in its turn explains the keen religious interest inborn
in Swedish minds.
The Constitution of the Church. The Ecclesiastical law of 1686
is still in force, though with essential modifications. The supreme
administrator in the Church is the King, who has church affairs placed
before him by the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs and Education.
For ecclesiastical legislation is requisite the unanimous decision of King,
Riksdag, and Convocation.
Convocation, instituted in 1863 (to replace the Estate of the Clergy
in the four-chamber parliament — abolished in 1866), consists of 30 of
the clergy (among them the 12 bishops and the Pastor Primarius of
Stockholm, as ex officio members) together with 30 laymen
representatives, elected indirectly by a very numerous body of electors.
Convocation meets once every five years; its last meeting was held in 1898.
For the purposes of ecclesiastical administration Sweden is divided
into 12 dioceses, subdivided into 186 deaneries, each precided over by a
Dean. The number of livings is 1,391, some of which include more than
one parish, the total number of parishes being 2,556. At the head of
every diocese there is a Bishop, supported by a Chapter. A Bishop is
selected by the King from among the three candidates who, by
election of the clergy of the diocese, have received the largest number
of votes; he cannot be removed from office unless upon legal enquiry
and sentence. The head of the Uppsala diocese has the title of
Archbishop, and among the bishops he is »primus inter pares». A bishop
alone has not the right of final decision; he shares it with the other
members of the chapter. Against the decision of a Bishop or a chapter,
appeal may be made to the supreme courts of law or to the Crown.
The Chapters, also called Consistories, are composed of the rector of the
chief, parish in the cathedral city (the Dean), and the majority of the »lectors»
(senior masters) at the public college in that city; in the university cities, however,
the professors in ordinary of the theological faculty take the place of the said
lectors. In the chapter of Gothenburg, besides the dean, two other rectors of the
town have also seats. The city of Stockholm, really belonging to the diocese of
Uppsala, has, notwithstanding, a consistory of its own, composed of the rectors of
the city (of whom the one in the Storkyrko-parish is »Pastor Primarius»), besides
a so-called Courtconsistory for the court and garrison parishes.
Clergymen in the Swedish Church are educated, after passing the
university entrance examination, at the two State universities
(Uppsala and Lund), where their courses of study are tolerably long (on
an average 5 years), and to a certain extent include other sciences
besides theology. Curates (i. e. such clergymen as have not yet received
a fixed appointment) are sent out by the chapters to assist in parishes
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