Ten years for the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway

by | May 4, 2023

DELSIN Bishop Thor Henrik With preaches during a tenth anniversary commemorative service in Storsteinnes.

NORWAY – On the weekend of April 21-23, the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway (Det Evangelisk-Lutherske Stift i Norge – DELSIN) marked ten years since its formal organization as an independent diocese

Bishop Emeritus Roland Gustafsson of the Mission Province of Sweden speaks during an anniversary celebration.

A series of commemorative events were marked in Balsfjord, Nordkjosbotn, and Storsteinnes, and featured a Bible study, anniversary celebration, and commemorative service. Bishop Emeritus Roland Gustafsson (Mission Province in Sweden) gave an address at the anniversary celebration, while DELSIN Bishop Thor Henrik With led the Bible study and preached for the commemorative service. The anniversary celebration also featured music as well as a tribute on the late Bishop Børre Knudsen’s service in Norway.

The Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway initially began as a confessional movement within the national Church of Norway, eventually becoming a “Church of Norway in Exile” under Bishop Knudsen. Bishop With succeeded Bishop Knudsen in 2012, and DELSIN formally organized as an independent diocese in 2013.

Today the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway enjoys communion with the Mission Province of Sweden and the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese in Finland through the Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses. It has also entered into fellowship with the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (SELK) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE).

In 2018, the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway was accepted into membership in the International Lutheran Council (ILC), a global association of Lutheran church bodies dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of a shared-commitment to the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

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By Mathew Block

Mathew Block is Communications Manager for the International Lutheran Council. He is also editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine, and formerly served as Communications Manager for Lutheran Church–Canada.

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