International and Ecumenical Ministry in Trondheim

The 800 year old Vor Frue Church (Church of Our Lady) in Trondheim was the venue for confirmations on Sunday 28 February. The joy of the occasion was enhanced when, at the end of the service one of the confirmands, James, announced to the congregation (and to his surprised mother) that he was going to be married to his girlfriend Stine. He then presented her with a ring! The happy couple are pictured below.

The Anglican congregation in Trondheim is now over 40 years old, and is a community of many nationalities, including many international students as Trondheim is an important university town. On Sunday the congregation included members from England, Norway, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Czech Republic, Liberia, Germany, Singapore and Scotland.

Trondheim is the spiritual heart of Norway; the cathedral is the resting place of St Olav (martyred in 1030) and an ancient centre for pilgrimage, now increasingly being revived.

The Revd Mary Strømmen is the priest in charge of the Anglican congregation. She maintains excellent relations with the Bishop and Dean of Trondheim and other clergy of the Church of Norway, with whom we are in communion through the Porvoo Agreement. My pastoral visit included some time with the Sub Dean of the cathedral, the Revd Ragnhild Jepsen, who is one of several priests of the Church of Norway with Permission to Officiate in the Anglican Church. Mary is also assisted in the congregation by Reader Priscilla Beck.

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