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Career
His father a priest, he was ordained priest in the Diocese of Lund in 1965, at the age of 22. From 1972 to 1975 he worked as a teacher at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. He returned home to work as a priest in the Church of Sweden in Lund. In 1992, he became bishop and head of the diocese, and in 1997 he was elected Archbishop. Soon after his election, he ordained Christina Odenberg, the first Swedish female bishop.
Theological and political positions
As the head of the church, he gained much popularity as well as criticism for his strong opinions emphasizing humanism and tolerance. He fought for amnesty for refugees in Sweden, debt relief for poor countries, humane treatment of prisoners and tolerance towards followers of other religions than Christianity. He also criticised the invasion of Iraq[1] and global capitalism[1] , and urged for a boycott against Israeli goods[2]. The former leader of the Swedish Christian Democrat party Alf Svensson has called Hammar a "leftist populist"[1].
Hammar also expressed liberal theological views and was the first Swedish arch bishop to speak out for the rights of homosexuals. He drew much fire for sanctioning the showing of the controversial photo exhibition Ecce Homo inside Uppsala Cathedral, where photos recreated classical Christian motifs but in contexts relating to homosexuality.
Hammar's liberal positions on several theological issues made him controversial among more conservative Christians. In an interview with Kyrkans Tidning, the Church of Sweden national magazine, he was quoted as saying: "You do not have to believe in anything particular to be a Christian. To say that you want to be part of it is enough. What kind of right do I have to question that? The definition frenzy only leads to exclusion", the context of the statement being how the church could open its door and welcome religious seekers and people who do not feel welcome in the church. He has also on other occasions stated that he thinks that the Virgin Birth should be interpreted as a ”poetic statement” rather than a literal fact.
His views on homosexuality and controversial theological issues sometimes stirred emotions among other Christian denominations. For example, the Church of Sweden's rather new-founded ecumenical contacts with the Roman-Catholic Church and its old contacts with the Anglican Communion were strained for a while, but have since gone back to normal.
Hammar's theological position lies within a tradition of Christian mysticism and he has on several occasions expressed his gratitude to the writings of former U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and his book Markings, and also to the Swedish poet laureate Tomas Tranströmer.
Stepping down
On August 25, 2005, Hammar announced that he intended to step down from his post in the summer of 2006. He cited personal reasons, but declined to comment further.
K.G. Hammar is married and has five adult children.
Bibliography
After the title follows an unofficial translation into English.
- (1975) Dialog i kyrkan (Dialogue in the Church)
- (1977) Gudsfolket, Ett bibelteologisk studium av kyrkans identitiet (The People of God -- A Biblical Theological Study of the Identity of the Church)
- (1981) Prästidentitet och församlingssyn, Modeller för vägval (Clerical Identity and Views on Congregation -- Models from which to Choose)
- (1985) Det som hörs - predikoteoretiska perspektiv (What can be heard -- Sermon Theoretical Perspectives)
- (1993) Tecken och verklighet, Herdabrev till Lunds stift (Signs and Reality, Pastoral Letters to the Diocese of Lund)
- (1997) Samtal om Gud (Conversations About God)
- (2000) Ecce Homo - efter 2000 år (Ecce Homo -- After 2000 Years)
- (2004) Jag har inte sanningen, jag söker den (I Have Not the Truth, I Seek It, with journalist Ami Lönnroth)
References
- Parts of the article have been translated and incorporated from Swedish Wikipedia.
External links
| Preceded by Per-Olov Ahrén |
Bishop of Lund 1992–1997 |
Succeeded by Christina Odenberg |
| Preceded by Gunnar Weman |
Archbishop of Uppsala Lutheran Primate of Sweden 1997–2006 |
Succeeded by Anders Wejryd |
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