The rise of the Nordic bishops’ conference
What the Nordic bishops’ conference lacks in personnel, it makes up for in spiritual and intellectual heft
The Nordic bishops’ conference unveiled its new leadership this week.
The body gathering the bishops of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden will be led by Bishop Erik Varden.
The 50-year-old Norwegian Trappist monk, author, brewer, and Prelate of Trondheim succeeds Bishop Czesław Kozon of Copenhagen, Denmark, who could not stand for another term for age reasons.
Varden will be assisted by the conference’s new vice president Bishop Raimo Goyarrola, a 55-year-old native of Spain who has served as Bishop of Helsinki, Finland, since November 2023.
Goyarrola — memorably interviewed The Pillar’s Edgar Beltrán in January — succeeds Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, Sweden, who turns 75 this month.
Commenting on the changes, Arborelius said: “Bishop Erik brings with him good leadership experience and a deep spirituality. The Nordic bishops’ conference is still in good hands.”
Growing confidence
The Nordic body is not, it’s fair to say, one of the world’s major bishops’ conferences, at least in numerical terms.
It has just eight episcopal members from seven dioceses and prelatures, serving a total of around 392,000 Catholics (roughly the same number as the U.S. Diocese of Arlington).
Despite its small Catholic population, the Nordic conference covers a vast geographical area including not only the five countries mentioned above but also Greenland and the Faroe Islands (both belong to the Diocese of Copenhagen).
But what the Nordic bishops’ conference lacks in personnel, it makes up for in spiritual and intellectual heft.
A prime example is the bishops’ pastoral letter on human sexuality, issued in Lent this year, which simultaneously upheld Church teaching while expressing it in strikingly fresh language.
The letter offered a sharp contrast with the resolutions of Germany’s “synodal way,” which the Nordic bishops openly criticized in a 2022 open letter to German bishops’ conference chairman Bishop Georg Bätzing.
Both the pastoral letter and the open letter suggested a growing confidence among the Nordic bishops that they have something distinctive to offer amid global Catholic controversies.
Where does that confidence come from? The gifts of its individual members, certainly. But also its composition.
The Nordic bishops’ conference crosses not only national but also cultural boundaries. Its general secretary since 2009 is Sr. Anna Mirijam Kaschner, who was born in Germany, and its website is in German. This familiarity with the German-speaking Catholic world gave the Nordic bishops an edge in the synodal way debate.
Yet the Nordic bishops’ interests are not limited to polemics. They serve in highly secularized societies where Catholicism is seen, at best, as an exotic remnant of the Middle Ages. With little to lose, they are willing to explore creative and experimental forms of evangelization.
As Bishop Varden put it after his election: “The conference’s task is essentially to further our evangelizing outreach through deep conversation and trusting friendship. The Catholic presence in our countries is growing; spiritually and materially we want to accompany this growth intelligently and support all good initiatives.”
The conference’s distinctive vision may also be due to its membership being drawn substantially from religious orders. As mentioned, Varden is a Trappist. Arborelius is a Carmelite. New permanent council member Bishop David Tencer of Reykjavik, Iceland, is a Capuchin (and has a beard to match).
Sr. Anna Mirijam belongs to the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood and Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo, Norway, to the Canons Regular of St. Augustine. Goyarrola is an Opus Dei member.
What’s next
Bishop Kozon and Cardinal Arborelius had served respectively as conference president and vice president since 2015.
Given their relative youth in episcopal terms, Bishop Varden and Bishop Goyarrola could also be embarking on decade-long terms at the conference’s helm.
The Nordic Church is — perhaps surprisingly — thinly represented at the synod on synodality. (Bishop Kozon and Sr. Anna Mirijam seem to be the sole delegates).
Nevertheless, the conference is likely to continue seeking ways of inserting itself into critical ecclesial debates. If its interventions are well timed, it could begin to exercise a considerable soft power in the worldwide Church.
Could Bishop Varden be getting the red hat at the next consistory do you think?
God is always working and building up even when we are tempted to despair. I love reading the Pillar’s reporting on this part of the world.