The first ordained women in the Church of Sweden : Narratives of vocation and recognition

Abstract

When the Church of Sweden General Synod decided to open the priesthood to women on 28 September 1958, a long theological and political debate came to an end. On Palm Sunday in 1960 the first three women were ordained as priests; over the next ten years, 54 women were ordained. This book centres on their narratives of vocation and recognition. At the heart of the book are the narratives of 34 of the first ordained women, detailing their journey to ordination and their early years in parish service. The narratives are analysed against the backdrop of the theological and historical contexts of vocation and recognition that shaped these women's narratives, describing the warm and widespread recognition they received from colleagues, bishops and parishes as well as the conditional, or even withheld, recognition they sometimes faced. Through this close reading of the vocation narratives, established historical narratives of the opening of the priesthood to women are complemented and challenged. The book also places the Swedish experience in a broader context by exploring the ecumenical and international influences that impacted the process, using the dual analytical lens of vocation and recognition to point to parallels and connections across denominational and national boundaries.