| The Mission Province | |
|---|---|
| Missionsprovinsen | |
 Seal of the Mission Province of Sweden | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | High Church Lutheranism |
| Theology | Confessional Lutheran |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Bishop Bengt Ådahl |
| Associations | International Lutheran Council |
| Region | Sweden |
| Headquarters | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Separated from | Church of Sweden |
| Congregations | 23 |
| Official website | missionsprovinsen |
TheMission Province (Swedish:Missionsprovinsen[mɪˈɧûːnsprʊˌvɪnːsɛn]) is a Swedish independentecclesiastical province founded by members of theChurch of Sweden who are opposed to theordination of women to thepriesthood andepiscopate. The province, which aligns withConfessional Lutheranism, considers itself as a free-standing diocese within theChurch of Sweden, a position rejected by the church itself.[1] The Mission Province was founded on 6 September 2003 and sharesaltar and pulpit fellowship with those in theCommunion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses, in addition to being a member of theInternational Lutheran Conference.[2]
The Province was founded as an alternative ecclesiastical jurisdiction in order to support the establishment of new freeEucharistic communities (koinonias). It contains theCatholic,Schartauan,Confessional andEvangelical expressions found in the Church of Sweden on the doctrinal basis of theBook of Concord.
On 5 February 2005, The Most ReverendWalter Obare, presiding bishop of theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, assisted by bishopsLeonid Zviki from Belarus,David Tswaedi from South Africa,Børre Knudsen andUlf Asp from Norway, consecratedArne Olsson inapostolic succession as theOrdinary for the Mission Province.
In April 2006, Arne Olsson consecrated pastorsLars Artman andGöran Beijer as assistant bishops for the Mission Province. The alternative hierarchy of the Mission province ordains candidates for the priesthood who are not in favour of theordination of women and who are therefore not accepted for ordination in the national Churches of Sweden or Finland. In Sweden there are 25 to 30 congregations led by Mission Province priests, in addition to 30 to 35 congregations in Finland.[1]
Though the Mission Province holds itself to be a non-territorial diocese within the Church of Sweden,[3] bishops of the Church of Sweden do not acknowledge the Mission Province as a part of the Church of Sweden and Bishop Arne Olsson wasdefrocked by the state church soon after his episcopal ordination in the Missionsprovinsen, as wereLars Artman andGöran Beijer.
Since 2015 the Mission Province has been in fellowship with theEvangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland and theEvangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway.[4] The Mission Province is also, as of 2018, a member of theInternational Lutheran Council.[5]
The church has about 20 congregatiouns in Sweden.https://ilcouncil.org/members/europe/sweden/ The Missions province also supports a hebrew-speaking congregation inTel Aviv together with theLutheran Church - Missouri Synod and theMission Diocses of Finland.https://www.lhpk.fi/en/lutheran-congregation-in-tel-aviv-receives-its-own-pastor/
Missionsprovinsen defines itself as a non-geographical diocese in the tradition of the churches of Sweden and Finland.