Missionsprovinsen

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Missionsprovinsen (the Mission Province) is a contact network for confessional Lutheran Christians inside the Church of Sweden, and somewhat also inside Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The most visible activity is their opposition to ordaining women pastors based on their views on the Bible and the Book of Concord.

The Mission Province was established on 6 September 2003. On 5 February 2005 Bishop Walter Obare Omwanza from Kenya, assisted by bishops Leonid Zviki from Belarus, David Tswaedi from South Africa, Børre Knudsen from Norway and Ulf Asp from Norway, consecrated Arne Olsson as bishop for the Mission Province.

In April 2006 Bishop Arne Olsson consecrated pastors Lars Artman and Göran Beijer as other bishops for the Mission Province.

The Mission Province is a second, independent Ecclesiastical province inside the Church of Sweden for supporting the establishment of new church communities in the conservative traditions of High Church, (Schartauan) Old Church and Low Church expressions in the Church of Sweden. The Mission Province ordains apostolic succession candidates for the priesthood who are not in favor of woman pastors and who are not therefore able to be ordained in Church of Sweden.

Bishops of the Church of Sweden do not acknowledge the Mission Province as a part of Church of Sweden and its bishop Arne Olsson was defrocked as pastor soon after his consecration, like later Lars Artman and Göran Beijer.