Lund University Press the First Ordained Women in Church of Sweden

Based on the narratives of vocation and recognition of the first ordained women in the Church of Sweden, this book aims to complement and challenge standard historical accounts of a ground-breaking reform and contribute to the understanding of similar processes of change in other churches. 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, 51 other women joined them. This book explores the narratives of vocation and recognition written by these pioneers. At the heart of the book are the personal narratives of 34 of the first ordained women, detailing their journey to ordination and their early years in parish service. The narratives are analysed in relation to the theological and historical contexts that shaped these women’s life stories, describing both the warm and widespread recognition they received from colleagues, bishops and parishes, and the conditional or even denied recognition they sometimes faced. Through this close reading of their stories, established historical accounts of the opening of the priesthood to women are complemented and challenged. The book also places the Swedish experiences in a broader context by exploring the ecumenical and international influences that affected the process, using the dual analytical lens of vocation and recognition to point to links and parallels across denominational and national boundaries. By doing so, this book makes a valuable contribution to the contemporary discussion on women’s ordination and female leadership in Christian churches across the globe. On Palm Sunday 1960, three women knelt in front of an altar to be ordained as the first female priests in the Church of Sweden. During the 1960s, 54 women were admitted into the priesthood. This book tells the story of these pioneers through an analysis of their own personal narratives. Viewed through the dual analytical lens of the theological concept of vocation and the social theorist Axel Honneth’s concept of recognition, these narratives provide a rich and complex picture of a groundbreaking reform that complements and challenges established historical narratives and contributes to the understanding of similar processes of change in other churches.