Icelandic State Church

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The Icelandic State Church , Icelandic Íslenska þjóðkirkjan ("Icelandic People's Church"), is an Evangelical Lutheran Church . At its head is the Bishop of Iceland, Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir as the first woman since mid-2012 , and Karl Sigurbjörnsson for around 14 years before that .

history

After the Christianization of Iceland around the year 1000, there were the two bishoprics Skálholt (since 1056) and Hólar (since 1106), which, like Scandinavia, were initially subordinate to the Archdiocese of Bremen , from 1104 to the Archdiocese of Lund and finally to the Archdiocese of Nidaros . During the Reformation these dioceses were dissolved from Rome and the Lutheran teaching introduced. As early as 1536 Christian III. Denmark and Norway enforced the Evangelical Lutheran religion for Denmark, Norway and the Faroe Islands . In 1800 the bishopric in Hólar was dissolved and that of Skálholt was moved to Reykjavík . Geir Vídalín became the first bishop of all of Iceland . The constitution of 1874 granted complete religious freedom in Iceland. However, it confirmed the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a state church . The largest church in Iceland, Hallgrímskirkja , was built in Reykjavík between 1929 and 1986.

organization

Article 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Iceland reads:

(1) The Evangelical Lutheran Church is a people's church and as such is supported and protected by the state.
(2) This provision can be changed by law.

With 232,591 church members, around 65.1% of all Icelanders belong to the church (as of 2019).

It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation and the Community of Evangelical Churches in Europe and is in communion with the Church of England and other Anglican and Lutheran churches through the Porvoo Agreement . This enables a mutual exchange of clergy. She has an excess of theologians . The ordination of women has been practiced for the 1947th The church wedding of same-sex couples has been possible since 2010, provided the local pastor agrees.

Head of the Icelandic State Church

Web links

  • Þjóðkirkjan. Website of the Icelandic State Church. In: kirkjan.is. (Icelandic).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ PX-Web - Select variable and values. In: px.hagstofa.is. Accessed November 10, 2019 .
  2. ^ Iceland: Parliament unanimously for marriage opening - queer.de. In: queer.de. June 11, 2010, accessed November 10, 2019 .