December 22, 2006

UPPSALA, Sweden/GENEVA – The majority (Lutheran) Church of Sweden and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden have signed an ecumenical agreement recognizing "each other as apostolic churches, participating in the Church of Christ ... holding the same confession of the apostolic faith" and "the same understanding of the sacraments," the Church of Sweden said in a statement.

According to the statement, the churches "aim to be open for a common worship at the local level and to work towards joint responsibility in the society and in the world." They celebrated the agreement's signing at a service in the Uppsala Cathedral on 2 December.

The Mission Covenant Church, the country's second largest denomination, is a Reformed free church founded in 1878 that places emphasis on the Word of God, baptism and communion based on biblical teaching. A state church until 2000, the Church of Sweden is the largest church, comprising around 87 percent of the country's 9 million people.

The statement said that the two churches recognize each other's ordained deacons, priests and pastors and welcome these to serve, by invitation and in accordance with their own regulations, without having to undergo re-ordination.

"They offer, subject to local decisions, each other the use of church buildings and chapels for weddings, funerals and other services and confirm their wish to contribute to a growth in communion between other partner churches both in and outside Sweden," the statement said.

The next step in cooperation between the two denominations, which are in altar and pulpit fellowship, will be at the local level where parishes and congregations are being encouraged to enter into talks on ways of promoting the agreement. In some local situations the two churches already share common services, church buildings and ministries.

Lutheran World Information
Ecumenical News International