K. G. Hammar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karl Gustav Hilding Hammar (born February 18, 1943 in Hässleholm), commonly referred to as K. G. Hammar, is a Swedish clergyman. He has been Archbishop of Uppsala, the head of the lutheran Church of Sweden, since 1997. He holds a PhD and is the author of several books on theology. In August 2005 he announced his decision to step down from his post in 2006.

Contents 1 Career 2 Theological and political positions 3 Stepping down 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External links

[edit] 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 woman bishop.

[edit] Theological and political positions

As the head of the church, he has in certain groups been controversial, both for his theological and political opinions. In an interview with 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. He has also expressed strong political opinions; he has criticised the invasion of Iraq and global capitalism, and has urged for a boycott against Israeli goods from the occupied areas[1]. He has also been the first Swedish archbishop to speak out for the rights of homosexuals, drawing much ire for sanctioning the showing of the controversial photo exhibition Ecce Homo inside Uppsala Cathedral. This has made him controversial among conservative groups, and the former leader of the Swedish Christian Democrat party Alf Svensson has called Hammar a "leftist populist." Other politically conservative Christians and politicians has tried to discredit him by calling him ”sosse”, short for Socialdemocrat in Swedish.

Hammars 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.

Hammar's liberal positions in several theological issues, and his view on homosexuality, have moved the Church of Sweden away from 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 has since gone back to normal.

Hammar has without doubt been the most popular and best known of the Swedish archbishops among the Swedish (highly secularized) people.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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)

[edit] References

• Church of Sweden, official page of Archbishop K. G. Hammar
• Parts of the article have been translated and incorporated from Swedish Wikipedia.

[edit] External links

• (Swedish) "Hammars tvivel upprör" - February 10, 2003 article in Svenska Dagbladet about criticism against Hammar.
• (Swedish) "Ärkebiskop KG Hammar avgår" - August 25, 2005 article in Svenska Dagbladet about Hammar's decision to step down.
• (Swedish) "Omstridd och omtyckt ärkebiskop avgår" - SVT news programme Aktuellt about Hammar's decision to step down.
• (Swedish) "Hammars avgång väcker känslor" - August 26, 2005 Church of Sweden magazine Kyrkans tidning article.