Over than thirty years ago Antje Jackélen came to Sweden for a student exchange. Her planning changed and she stayed. In a few months, she will be Sweden’s first female archbishop. Yesterday she was this year’s first guest at Studentafton.
Photo: Lukas Norrsell
“In what language do you actually pray?”
It might seem a strange opening question that journalist Lisa Kirsebom asked to the woman that will be leading the Swedish Church in a few months. However, the question did not rise out of the blue, as Antje Jackelén was originally born in Germany. She came to Sweden at age 22 for an exchange in Uppsala during her theology studies. She met her future husband, stayed and became priest in the Church of Sweden. In 2007 she was elected bishop of Lund and last November she was chosen to become archbishop, a position that she will take up in June this year.
Even though it is not her mother tongue, Antje Jackelén told that she usually prays in Swedish nowadays.
“One’s speech, also in prayer, is influenced by the language that one is surrounded by.”
Lisa Kirsebom wondered what an archbishop’s job actually consists of.
“I will be leading and organizing the work in the Swedish Church. I’ll be chair in the Church council, but the most important is that I will be the Church’s first representative and leader, also in international context”, Antje Jackelén replied.
The conversation continued on the importance of the bible and literal belief within faith. A slightly controversial topic, as Antje Jackelén was during the recent archbishop-election criticized by the more conservative wing of the Swedish Church when she said that the virgin birth – Jesus being born of a virgin – could also be understood in a metaphorical or mystical way.
Antje Jackelén commented on this earlier discussion:
“I think that we reduce faith to a biology question if we make it a question of ‘if you don’t believe in this, you are not a Christian’. Of course, for God is nothing impossible. But already in the early church, passages from scripture have been explained in different ways, and not always literally. And that makes faith only richer.”
After an hour, the audience, consisting of over a hundred people, was given space to ask questions. One student wondered how it feels to be the first woman in a history of more than 800 years to become archbishop. Antje Jackelén admitted that she hadn’t thought of that fact much in advance.
“I have been a woman for my entire life, after all.”
The night had a surprising end as Nasala Utskottet (‘the Nasal Committee’) took over the room to, under much hilarity, take a cast of the bishop’s nose. The Nasal Committee collects ‘noses’ from persons that have been important for Lund since 1987. These collection can be viewed in Café Athen in the AF Building.
