Church of Sweden Archbishop Nathan Söderblom (fourth from left, front row) seated among other ecumenical leaders in this 1925 photo. Photo: University of Uppsala
LWF’s General Secretary to join other Christian leaders taking part in celebrating centenary of 1925 Conference
(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt will be among a host of Christian leaders participating in Sweden’s Ecumenical Week, which takes place in Stockholm from 18 to 24 August. This year, the event will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ‘Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work’ that took place in the same city and marked a pivotal moment for the early ecumenical movement.
Sweden’s prime minister and members of the Royal Family are expected to join many Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox and other Protestant leaders for the gathering, which will feature a prayer vigil, worship services, cultural events plus over 70 seminars and roundtable discussions. At the weekend, there will also be a ‘Reach Peace’ youth festival aimed at 18- to 30-year-olds from different Christian traditions.
LWF General Secretary Burghardt said she was delighted to be taking part in the celebrations marking the centenary of the 1925 Stockholm Conference. “As we say today, ‘to be Lutheran is to be ecumenical’, she said, “and from a historical perspective, it is hard to overestimate the importance of that early gathering of religious leaders. It was chaired by the former head of the Church of Sweden Archbishop Nathan Söderblom, who is seen by many as the architect of the modern ecumenical movement.”
To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical and, from a historical perspective, it is hard to overestimate the importance of the Stockholm Conference.
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt
“At a time when Europe was devastated by the consequences of the First World War and Christianity was challenged by deep divisions between the churches, Söderblom brought leaders together to promote unity through practical service, which was the vision of the ‘Life and Work’ movement that he led,” Burghardt said. “The Stockholm Conference built on the momentum of the 1910 Edinburgh Conference and, alongside the Faith and Order movement, laid the foundations for an international ecumenical movement. At the end of the Second World War, that would become the World Council of Churches,” she added.
The organizers of the annual Ecumenical Week are members of the Christian Council of Sweden, which was also founded as a result of the Stockholm Conference. They note that the themes of peace building and reconciliation were central to the 1925 Conference and continue to be highly relevant to today’s churches and societies.
Peace building and reconciliation were central to the 1925 Conference and continue to be highly relevant to today’s churches and societies.
Christian Council of Sweden
600 delegates, including some 60 women - came together for the opening of the Conference on 19 August 1925. Tensions were high as the gathering marked the first time that many German church leaders had met in person with French, English or other counterparts who had been on the opposing side of the First World War.
Though the Catholic Church did not send delegates to the meeting, the Conference brought together Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant leaders to share hopes for peace and cooperation among their churches and nations. In 1930, Söderblum became the first church leader to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering “that new attitude of mind which is necessary if peace between nations is to become reality.”
At the 2025 Ecumenical Week, the Secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Archbishop Flavio Pace, and Swedish Cardinal Anders Arborelius will be among the participants, alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. Admission to all the seminars and open events is free. Further details and a full program can be found on the Christian Council of Sweden website.
