Visit of Archbishop Antje Jackelen

Archbishop Antje Jackelén comes from Germany, but after her studies in Bielefeld, Tübingen and Uppsala she was consecrated as a pastor at the Church of Sweden. In 2007 -2014, she held the office of Bishop of the Diocese of Lund, and since 2014 she has been the Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of the Church of Sweden.

The presence of Archbishop Jackelén in Poland was linked to a conference of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, which took place in Łódź and Warsaw from 26 to 30 April. The conference was interdisciplinary and ecumenical in nature. At the end of the conference, on 30 April, Archbishop Jackelén took part in an ecumenical service at the Roman Catholic Archcathedral Basilica in Łódź.

Next stage of the stay consisted in a partner visit to the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, opened by a service at the St. Matthews Church in Łódź. The service, held on Rogation Sunday, was led by Rev. Michał Makula, pastor of the Lutheran congregation in Łódź, Presiding Bishop Jerzy Samiec, and Bishop of the Warsaw Diocese Jan Cieślar. For the liturgy of the Holy Communion, they were joined by Rev. Joel Ingmarsson, chaplain of the Archbishop. The Words of Institution were said jointly by Archbishop Jackelén and Bishop Samiec.

In her sermon, the Primate of Sweden drew attention to the meaning of prayer in the life of a contemporary man. She remarked that prayer gives an opportunity to say how things really are, an opportunity to express what seems to be unspeakable. It also creates a situation in which we let God guide us.

After the service in Łódź, Archbishop Jackelén with chaplain Rev. Ingmarsson and Deacon Mats Lagergren, secretary of the Council of the Uppsala Dioceses responsible for relations with the Polish Church went to the Lutheran congregation in Żyrardów. The meeting with Archbishop Jackelén was attended by, among others: Bishop Jerzy Samiec and his wife, Deacon Halina Radacz, Anna Wrzesińska, Dr. Jerzy Sojka, Agnieszka Godfrejów-Tarnogórska and the parishioners of Żyrardów, who shared their experience of living in a diaspora congregation.

On Monday, the Primate of Sweden met with Wanda Falk, director of the Polish Diaconia, who presented diaconal activities in Poland and pointed to the relations with the Church of Sweden. There was also a meeting with the authorities of the Christian Academy of Theology (ChAT), represented by Rev. Prof. Bogusław Milerski, Rector of the ChAT and Prof. Jakub Slawik, Deputy Dean of the ChAT.

During her stay in Warsaw, Archbishop Antje Jackelén had the opportunity to meet the Ambassador of Sweden HE Inga Eriksson Fogh and leader of the Evangelical-Reformed Church in Poland, Bishop Marek Izdebski.

At the end of her stay in Warsaw, the Primate of Sweden visited the Holy Trinity Evangelical Church in Warsaw, where she met with Rev. Piotr Gaś, pastor of the Holy Trinity Evangelical Parish, which has maintained partner relations with the cathedral parish in Uppsala for years.

The official partnership of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland and the Uppsala Diocese of the Lutheran Church in Sweden was established in 1992. The cooperation takes the form of seminars, exchange programmes for children, youth and students, supporting contacts between individual partner congregations, etc.