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First Nordic Church Clergy to be Licensed in Church of England

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14 February 2002

For the first time clergy belonging to Nordic churches are to be licensed in the Church of England. The five clergy will still belong fully to their own national churches which they serve in south-east London and are to be licensed within the area to lead services and give pastoral care in the same way as clergy of the Church of England.

The Bishop of Woolwich, the Rt Rev Colin Buchanan, will license the Nordic clergy to Bermondsey Deanery on Sunday 24 February at 2.30 pm, at the Norwegian Church in Bermondsey. They are: The Revs. Helge Pettersson (Norwegian Church and Seamen's Mission), Ulla Kosonen (Finnish Church), Tapani Rantala (Finnish Church), Hallvard Mosdøl (Norwegian Church and Seamen's Mission), Katarina Bäckelin (Swedish Seamen's Church).

They will also have full voting rights in Bermondsey Deanery Synod, which forms part of the governing process of the Church of England. Southwark Diocese is setting a legal precedent in this licensing. It was made possible by the 1996 Porvoo Agreement between Anglicans and Lutherans, which encouraged the churches to work together.

Bishop Buchanan said: "These brothers and sisters work hard alongside our own clergy and often collaborate with them in serving the local people. It is a pleasure to give them a full ministerial role in our own church too."

The Rev Helge Pettersson, Rector of St Olav's Norwegian Church and Seamen's Mission, was already appointed a Chaplain of Southwark Cathedral during 2000.

Diocesan Communications Officer
Tel: 020-7939 9400
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Fax: 020-7939 9468