jueves, 12 de diciembre de 2024   inicia sesión o regístrate
 
Protestante Digital
Flecha
 
SÍGUENOS EN
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google +
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Rss
 


 
EN PROFUNDIDAD
 
 

ENCUESTA
New Evangelical Focus
Do you like the new design of the Evangelical Focus website?
Yes!
67%
No.
0%
I'm not sure...
33%
Encuesta cerrada. Número de votos: 3
VER MÁS ENCUESTAS
 



Financial challenge
 

Norway broke ties with its State Church – What will happen next?

“Resources are getting scarcer and no doubt the local churches and its members will have to take on a heavier financial responsibility in the future”, explains Parish pastor Haakon Kessel. 

AUTOR 7/Joel_Forster OSLO 10 DE ENERO DE 2017 12:49 h
A Church of Norway cathedral in Tromsoe. / Wikimedia

The State Church in Norway is now history. On January 1, the Protestant Church of Norway officially became an independent legal entity.



The law was passed in the Norwegian parliament in May 2016. The start of the New Year brought one of the major changes: 1,250 active clergy are no longer employed by the government.



The leadership of the historic Protestant Church described the new situation as “the biggest organizational changes of the church since the Reformation”.



 



WHAT WILL CHANGE IN PRACTICE?



“The main difference will be on the inner organisational level, how the church governs itself”, Haakon Kessel, a Church of Norway parish pastor in Ræge (South-East of the country), told Evangelical Focus.



 



Haakon Kessel is a Church of Norway parish pastor.

“Now the Church can appoint bishops independently of the government, and pastors are no longer employed by the government”.



However, “the financing of the Church (and of other religious groups as well) is still through public money, taxes”.



In this sense, politicians “want to play an active role to secure a society which is open to faiths”, Kessel says.



 



THE CHURCH IN CITIES AND TOWNS



On a local level, “the communities (city councils, for instance) are responsible for church buildings and the maintenance and building of new churches”. And in most places, schools will continue to use the church buildings for Christmas gatherings.



“This is a transition that happens over time, and there is still a political will to maintain and support the People’s Church of Norway (previously the State Church)”, the parish pastor explains. 



 



IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRISTIANS



“Implications for Christians attending church will not be felt overnight”, says Kessel. “However, resources are getting scarcer and no doubt the local churches and its members will have to take on a heavier financial responsibility in the future”.



“The financial security the government provided for the State Church will gradually dwindle”, the pastor foresees.



 



OTHER CHALLENGES: THE ISSUE OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE



But there are other “hot issues”, the pastor says. “Many people are more concerned about the split within the church itself, than with the split from the State”.  



“From February 1, there will be a new wedding liturgy alongside the old one, opening up for same-sex marriages. Thus allowing for two different, optional theologies”.



“The debate has raged for years, a conclusion was reached in the General Assembly last year. Whether the implication coming up in February will result in a settled peace or sharper fronts, remains to be seen”, Kessel says.


 

 


0
COMENTARIOS

    Si quieres comentar o

 



 
 
ESTAS EN: - - Norway broke ties with its State Church – What will happen next?
 
 
Síguenos en Ivoox
Síguenos en YouTube y en Vimeo
 
 
RECOMENDACIONES
 
PATROCINADORES
 

 
AEE
PROTESTANTE DIGITAL FORMA PARTE DE LA: Alianza Evangélica Española
MIEMBRO DE: Evangelical European Alliance (EEA) y World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
 

Las opiniones vertidas por nuestros colaboradores se realizan a nivel personal, pudiendo coincidir o no con la postura de la dirección de Protestante Digital.