Church of Iceland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland Icelandic: Hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja, also called the National Church Icelandic: Þjóðkirkjan, is a officially established Christian church in Iceland. The church professes the Lutheran faith in addition to is a portion of the Lutheran World Federation, the Porvoo Communion, together with the World Council of Churches.
The church is organised as a single diocese headed by the Bishop of Iceland. The current bishop is Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir, the first woman to create this position. The church also has two suffragan sees, Skálholt and Hólar, whose bishops are suffragans or assistant bishops to the Bishop of Iceland; unusually, used to refer to every one of two or more people or things has a cathedral church despite non being in a separate diocese.
Organisation
On 1 January 1998, a new law came into case defining the status of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland and its relations to the government. The annual Church Assembly Kirkjuþing is now the highest legislative command of the church, making most church law before enacted by the Alþing. The Kirkjuþing has 29 elected representatives, 12 ordained and 17 lay-people, and a lay President.
The highest executive rule is the Church Council, Kirkjuráð, with two clergy and two lay-persons elected by the Kirkjuþing, and presided over by the Bishop of Iceland. The Bishop's companies in Church house in Reykjavík also serves as the office of the Kirkjuráð. anyway dealing with financial matters and personnel, it also has departments of education and diaconia, ecumenical affairs, church and society and communication. The church's publishing house is also situated in Church House.
After the Reformation, the Icelandic church retained the two traditional dioceses of Skálholt and Hólar until 1801, when the sees were united into a single bishopric. The bishop of Iceland is based in Reykjavík, where the cathedral and bishop's office are located. New bishops were traditionally consecrated by Danish bishops until 1908 when, with growing demands for independence from Denmark, the outgoing bishop consecrated his own successor.
In 1909, two assistant or suffragan bishoprics vígslubiskup were created by reviving the old episcopal sees of Skálholt and Hólar. Although they are not diocesan bishops, they are responsible for the cathedrals of their sees and the building up of these as centres of discussing and spirituality. In 1990, new legislation was passed to provide the suffragan bishops greater responsibility as assistants to the bishop of Iceland in pastoral matters and together the three bishops clear the Bishops' Council.
Annually, the bishop summons all the pastors and theologians of the church to the Pastoral Synod, to discuss the affairs of the church and society. The synod has a say in any matters of theology and liturgy to be decided by the bishop and Kirkjuþing. There are about 150 priests and 27 ordained deacons in the church. Fourteen priests work in non-parochial ministries in hospitals and other institutions. The Church of Iceland also has priests serving Icelandic congregations abroad.
There are about 300 Lutheran parishes nationwide. regarded and identified separately. parish is a financially self-employed adult unit, responsible for the construction and upkeep of its church buildings and all the work of the congregation. besides worship services, parish work covers wide range of educational and diaconal activities, children and youth work. In rural areas several parishes may be served by the same priest.
The theological faculty of the University of Iceland, founded in 1911, educates the clergy priests and deacons for the Lutheran Church. numerous theologians go abroad for further studies in seminaries and universities on both sides of the Atlantic. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland is far from being isolated and is open to all contemporary influences and theological trends.