A unique situation exists in the Nordic countries: in all these countries there is a Lutheran majority living in ecumenical cooperation with other churches and ecclesial communities.
This book attempts to shed light on what the churches have discovered they hold in common and on areas where they recognise that there are divergences between them, both in relation to ordination and ministry and, in particular, to the theology and terminology of ordination.
The book brings together the research and insights of 23 researchers from all the Nordic countries including Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, studying more than 200 different kinds of ‘ordination’ rites from the Orthodox and Roman Catholic as well as Lutheran and non-Lutheran protestant traditions.
After an introduction to the churches in the Nordic countries, the book presents 19 case studies from the Nordic countries, ranging from the ancient Roman Catholic and Orthodox tradition, the commitment to religious and monastic life to the historically determined Lutheran traditions and the Salvation Army.
The last part of the book includes some general ecumenical and liturgical perspectives on ordination and rites, presented by international researchers (among others Dr. James F. Puglisi, Rome, Dr. Ola Tjørhom, Stavanger and professor Paul De Clerck, Paris).

The editor
Hans Raun Iversen is Associate Professor at the Department of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen.