Irja Askola was elected the new Lutheran bishop of Finland last week. This week, Archbishop Leo of the Finnish Orthodox Church says that the choice of a woman as a Lutheran bishop "draws the churches further apart from each other" and is "part of a development in which the Evangelical Lutheran Church disengages from the common heritage of churches in Finland."
“It is certainly a big change in church tradition, but the decisive change happened already when women were accepted into the clergy”, Leo said.
The Roman Catholic bishop of Finland, Teemu Sippo, likewise lamented the choice, as did the head of Finland's pentecostals, Vessa Pylvanen, who also said that some members of the Church of Finland would join the more conservative pentecostals as a result of Askola positive remarks about same-sex marriage. “I am quite sure that this will happen”, Pylvänen said.
So those who thought women were really equals were confused. At least it is not a matter of Askola not being accepted by Lutherans in other countries. There are many who think the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent actions against the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) were really a closeted response to uppity Americans uppity FEMALE presiding bishop.
Posted by: DKSampson | June 12, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Wouldn't surprise me.
Posted by: John Petty | June 14, 2010 at 03:23 PM