Kyrkolag

This is a heading for the chapter on the church’s confession, task, and members.

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church states that it confesses the Christian faith based on the Bible and expressed in the three ancient creeds and the Lutheran confessional writings.

The church’s task, in line with its confession, is to proclaim the word of God, administer the sacraments, and otherwise work to spread the Christian message and realize love of neighbor.

Regler om hur man blir medlem i kyrkan, inklusive dop, medlemskap för vissa barn och personer med anknytning till Finland, samt att man inte får vara medlem i ett annat religionssamfund samtidigt.

Church membership ends if the member leaves the church, joins another religious community, no longer has a municipality of residence or registration municipality in Finland, or—if a foreign member without residence—no longer lives in Finland.

The Church Ordinance is issued by the Church Assembly, and it contains more detailed rules on church administration and church activities.

Kyrkan har ensamrätt att föreslå kyrkolag i egna angelägenheter, och kyrkomötet kan också göra framställningar och ge utlåtanden. Presidenten och riksdagen ska pröva och stadfästa kyrkomötets förslag.

Kyrkomötet issues the church election order, which must include detailed rules on parish elections and several church offices. The church ordinances are to be published in Finland’s Statutes Collection.

The church assembly decides on creating and abolishing dioceses, and on changing diocesan boundaries unless section 6(4) says otherwise. The diocesan chapter decides on the division into prosteries.

Church members belong to a parish tied to their home municipality or place of residence, with a special rule for foreign members without a home municipality.

Parish boundaries should match municipal boundaries, and the church board decides certain parish boundary changes and new parishes.

A part of a parish may be formed into a chapel parish or a parish district.

Parishes and church communities are classified by language, and the Church Council must determine parish language status every five years.

Vissa församlingar hör till ett visst stift utifrån språkmajoritet, och Kyrkostyrelsen kan besluta om stiftstillhörighet i vissa omorganisations- eller språkförändringssituationer.

Vissa kyrkliga myndigheter är tvåspråkiga, while diocese authorities are monolingual or bilingual depending on the parishes in the diocese, and a bilingual chapter may work in the parish’s language for administration of a monolingual parish.

Church administration must follow the language rules in the Language Act, and certain church bodies also follow related rules from the Sámi Language Act.

Församlingen ska sköta kyrkans uppgifter, including gudstjänster, dop, nattvard, undervisning, själavård, diakoni och missionsarbete.

Church services, sacraments, and other church ceremonies are governed by the church order and hymnbook, and the diocesan chapter may issue supplementary instructions when needed.

The provision lists which days count as church feast days and says two of them are celebrated on the nearest Saturday after specific dates.

Church members have a right to have certain church rites for themselves performed in their mother tongue, Finnish, or Swedish. In services and church ceremonies, another language may also be used, and in the Sámi home area the congregation’s activities and service of members must also be arranged in Sámi.

The bishop and chapter decide whether ordination is approved, and the church order sets the conditions for ordination and what else must be considered.

A priest must keep confession and pastoral secrets confidential, including when testifying, and must warn the person to tell authorities or the endangered person about an impending reportable crime; if they refuse, the priest must notify authorities carefully without revealing the person.

Domkapitlet can grant release from the priestly office on application and may warn, suspend, or remove a priest from office in specified cases.

Fältbiskopen ska höra till ärkestiftet, och andra militärpräster ska höra till det stift där deras egentliga tjänsteställe finns.

This section defines who counts as an employer in this chapter and says the employer must have enough staff to handle its tasks.

This section defines who counts as a “tjänsteinnehavare” and what counts as a “tjänsteförhållande.”

Myndigheten ska se till att personalen har tillräckliga språkkunskaper, och den ska också beakta sökande som visar krävd språkkunskap efter ansökningstidens slut om det inte fördröjer handläggningen.

The church labour market office and certain employee associations may agree, by collective agreement and as separately provided, on pay setting and other employment terms for staff in parishes, church joint parish boards, cathedral chapters, and the church council.

Supplementary rules for officeholders’ employment relationships may be issued through the church ordinance or employers’ regulations or instructions.

The rules on employees’ and office holders’ pension rights, and beneficiaries’ rights to family pension, are set out separately.

Fältbiskopen ansvarar för ledning och tillsyn över militärprästerna, och en militärpräst är underställd fältbiskopen i utövningen av prästämbetet.

Prästtjänster och lektorstjänster kan finnas vid fängelser och andra särskilda behov; domkapitlet tillsätter sådana tjänster under angivna villkor, och tjänsteinnehavarna står under domkapitlets tillsyn i vissa frågor.

A public official is employed either indefinitely or for a fixed term, and a fixed-term appointment is allowed only in specified cases. A wrongly fixed-term appointed official may be entitled to compensation, and the compensation claim must be made within six months after the employment ends.

Vacancies for employment in a public service procedure must be announced publicly, and the application period must be at least 14 calendar days.

This section allows certain public-service appointments to be made without an application process and requires the church chapter to appoint suitable priests in specified situations.

An applicant for a publicly announced service position must attach a written statement of their qualifications, and the application must be submitted before the application deadline.

This section sets eligibility rules for certain church jobs, allows a church chapter to grant dispensations in some cases, and limits employment of people under 18.

A person hired into an employment relationship must have the required special qualification, unless another rule under this law says otherwise.

Paragrafen hänvisar till vilka lagar som gäller för tjänstebehörighet kopplad till vissa yrkeskvalifikationer, utländska högskolestudier och nordiska medborgare.

Applicants for a public service post or priestly ordination must provide health-related information and, if needed, take part in checks and examinations; the employer pays necessary costs for employer-ordered checks.

Prövotid kan bestämmas för vissa tjänsteförhållanden, med tidsgränser och särskilda beslut av domkapitlet för vissa kyrkliga tjänster.

Employer must give a service statement to a service-holder, including key employment terms, by the end of the first full pay period when the relationship has lasted at least one month and the terms are not already in the appointment document.

A service relationship starts when the hiring decision is made, and the service-holder’s rights and duties start when service begins, unless another earlier time is set by law. If the same employer hires the service-holder into another service relationship and the move is immediate, the employment relationship is not interrupted.

The employer must make sure service holders receive the benefits and rights that follow from the employment relationship.

The employer should try to ensure the employee can do their work, support career development, and promote a good and trusting workplace climate.

The employer must provide occupational safety to protect the civil servant from accidents and health risks, and a pregnant civil servant may, if possible, be moved to suitable other duties when her work creates a risk that cannot be removed.

Employers must keep a register of officials and employees, and cathedral chapters must keep a register of diocesan priests and lecturers.

Arbetsgivaren ska ge tjänsteinnehavaren en lönespecifikation när lönen betalas ut.

The employer must let employees and their organizations use suitable premises it controls, free of charge, during breaks and outside working hours, for matters about employment relationships and union activity.

A public employee must perform duties properly and promptly, follow applicable rules and the employer’s supervisory instructions, act impartially, and must not ask for, receive, or accept certain benefits.

A tjänsteinnehavare must handle urgent and necessary service tasks during free time when the Working Time Act does not apply, unless the tasks can be arranged in some other way; the person must also serve as substitute for another tjänsteinnehavare during that person’s vacation or duty-free day.

Confidentiality is governed by this law plus the secrecy rules in the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act and any other applicable law.

Reglerna om prästs tystnadsplikt i bikthemlighet och skyldigheten att hålla sig till bekännelsen gäller också en lektor.

A public employee must report other side jobs to the employer, and some side jobs need permission. The employer can also prohibit or revoke permission in certain cases.

En tjänsteinnehavare måste på arbetsgivarens begäran lämna nödvändiga uppgifter om arbets- och funktionsförmåga och kan behöva delta i hälsokontroller och undersökningar. För en prästtjänstinnehavare i en församling kan domkapitlet besluta om deltagande, och arbetsgivaren ska betala nödvändiga kostnader för de kontroller och undersökningar som det bestämmer.

A tjänsteinnehavare must take care of occupational safety in line with the duties set out in the occupational safety act.

In certain child-background-check cases, hiring into a service relationship requires the person concerned to show a criminal record extract on request. If the extract is not available when the appointment decision is made, the decision is conditional, and the person must submit the extract within 30 days (or a longer period set for special reasons), or the decision lapses.

A person being hired into a public-service employment may be required to show a drug test certificate in the situations referred to in the Working Life Data Protection Act.

An employer may convert certain service relationships to part-time only after hearing the employee and following the notice period; some church roles have special rules, and some cannot be converted.

A workplace employer must first offer a permanently employed part-time civil servant the chance to move to a full-time post when filling similar full-time duties, if the stated conditions are met.

Vissa church authorities may change a service holder’s duty to perform their service if conditions are met.

En tjänsteinnehavare kan förflyttas till ett annat tjänsteförhållande hos samma arbetsgivare bara om vissa villkor är uppfyllda, och ett återkallat förordnande kräver omedelbar återgång till det tidigare tjänsteförhållandet.

When a business is transferred, certain employment-related rights and duties move to the new owner, and the transferee must follow the collective agreement in force at the time of transfer.

A civil servant may be granted temporary leave from official duties on application, and has a right to leave work to perform municipal fiduciary duties.

Tjänstledighet ska sökas skriftligt, och arbetsgivaren prövar om ledighet beviljas och hur länge den varar, om inte annat gäller enligt andra regler eller tjänstekollektivavtal.

Arbetsgivaren kan i vissa fall avbryta eller återkalla en tjänstledighet, men ska höra tjänsteinnehavaren innan beslut fattas.

A tjänsteinnehavare has the right to take leave for family leave reasons as provided in the Employment Contracts Act.

Arbetsgivaren får permittera en tjänsteinnehavare under vissa villkor, men vissa kyrkliga tjänster får inte permitteras.

The employer must give advance layoff information and notify the layoff decision in writing on time, including the employee, the shop steward, and in some cases the labor authority.

A laid-off employee may resign without notice during the layoff, subject to a last-week exception, and may get notice-period pay in certain cases.

If a layoff decision that conflicts with 44 § 1 or 2 is finally overturned, the lost ordinary earnings must be paid to the office holder.

Tjänsteförhållandet upphör utan uppsägning i flera angivna situationer, och vissa beslut ska fattas utan dröjsmål efter hörande av tjänsteinnehavaren.

A bishop who resigns before the mandatory retirement age must notify the cathedral chapter, and the service relationship ends at the time stated in the notice.

An employer may not dismiss an employment relationship for employee-related reasons unless the grounds are justifiable and weighty; before dismissal, the employer must also check whether reassignment is possible, and a warning is generally required first for breach of duties.

An authority deciding on dismissal must act within a reasonable time after learning of a dismissal ground covered by section 50.

An employment relationship may be terminated for economic or production-related reasons if the duties have decreased substantially and permanently, and the person cannot reasonably be reassigned or retrained.

Vissa tjänsteinnehavare har rätt till samma uppsägningsskydd som arbetstagare enligt arbetsavtalslagen.

The business buyer may not dismiss an employee solely because the business was transferred, and the employee may terminate in certain transfer-notice situations.

Reglerar minsta uppsägningstid för tjänsteinnehavare när arbetsgivaren eller tjänsteinnehavaren säger upp anställningen.

The employer may immediately terminate a civil servant’s employment relationship only for especially weighty reasons.

The right to rescind an employment relationship expires after 14 days, counted from when the employer learns of the reason, unless the reason has already lost significance or a valid impediment applies.

Before ending a service relationship, the employer must let the civil servant be heard, inform them about the right to an assistant, record the decision and reasons in the minutes, and serve the decision verifiably.

Section 59 says which church authorities may dismiss or end certain employment relationships, and it gives the cathedral chapter power to decide on priest and lecturer posts with a duty to hear the parish before deciding.

A civil servant’s employment continues without interruption if a termination or dismissal decision lacked a lawful basis; in one court-based scenario, the person is also entitled to pay for the notice period.

An employer must pay compensation and benefit reimbursements without undue delay, and the office-holder must promptly provide reliable information about other income and related benefits.

Arbetsgivaren ska fråga den lokala arbetskraftsmyndigheten om uppsagda personer söker arbete och, om de gör det, erbjuda dem arbete först; samma gäller en rörelseförvärvare i vissa fall.

The provision allows suspension from service for certain suspected offences or misconduct, and lets a named authority impose a temporary interim suspension for up to four weeks.

This section assigns different church authorities the power to suspend certain church officeholders and employees from service, including interim suspension in some cases.

A service holder who makes an interim suspension decision must promptly refer the matter to the competent authority; before a suspension decision, the person concerned must be heard, and in some cases church bodies must be given a chance to comment.

The body that decided a suspension from service must monitor whether the reasons change and, if needed, make a new decision. A request to continue the suspension must be taken up without delay if the civil servant asks for it.

If a court finds no grounds for termination under section 56, it must, on request, examine whether the employer had a notice ground under section 50.

Appeals about dismissal, termination, conversion to part-time employment, or suspension must be handled expeditiously by the court.

Tjänsteinnehavare har rätt att gå med i föreningar, delta i deras verksamhet, bilda en förening och avstå från medlemskap.

A service holder must submit a written claim for salary or another financial benefit within three years after the end of the calendar year when it should have been paid or granted.

Employers may recover wages or other employment benefits paid without basis, but must state the amount and grounds in the recovery decision and may not recover more than the law allows from wages.

Certain compensation claims are handled as administrative disputes in the administrative court. On application by the officeholder, a case about the grounds for deciding whether an employment relationship is fixed-term is also handled as an administrative dispute.

När ett tjänsteförhållande upphör har tjänsteinnehavaren rätt att få ett skriftligt arbetsintyg på begäran, och arbetsgivaren ska lämna vissa uppgifter på uttrycklig begäran.

A parish manages its own affairs and property under this law, the church order, and specific rules on church finances. Parishes may also manage their affairs and property as church communities under Chapter 11.

Paragrafen anger vilka kyrkliga organ och tjänsteinnehavare som sköter församlingens och den kyrkliga samfällighetens förvaltning.

Församlingens institutioner är beslutföra när mer än hälften av medlemmarna är närvarande. Omröstning ska ske på det angivna sättet, val ska normalt vara majoritetsval, och proportionellt valsätt måste användas i vissa val när tillräckligt många deltagare kräver det.

Members of the church council may not take part in decisions affecting themselves or certain close relatives.

Church council meetings are public unless the council decides otherwise on a specific matter; other parish institutions’ meetings are not public.

Kyrkorådet eller församlingsrådet decides who may sign the parish’s name, and the joint church council decides who may sign the church consortium’s name.

Kyrkofullmäktige utövar församlingens beslutanderätt, men kan genom reglemente eller instruktion överföra den till kyrkorådet, dess sektioner eller direktioner i angivna ärenden.

The church council must have at least 11 and at most 39 members.

Certain church council decisions require a qualified majority.

Kyrkorådet ska leda församlingens verksamhet och förvaltning, sköta verkställigheten av kyrkofullmäktiges beslut, företräda församlingen och bereda ärenden för kyrkofullmäktige; vissa ärenden om fullmäktiges interna organisation behöver inte beredas.

The parish priest serves as chair of the church council, the vice chair and other members are selected in the prescribed way, and the vice chair may chair meetings as provided in the church order.

Kyrkofullmäktige approves a regulation for the church council, and it must be submitted to the diocesan chapter for confirmation.

Kyrkofullmäktige may appoint boards for its term, and a regulation or instruction may give certain church council leaders and subordinate officials authority to decide specified council matters.

Kyrkorådet eller dess ordförande kan inom den tid som reglementet anger föra ett avgjort ärende till kyrkorådet, och kyrkorådet kan då upphäva, ändra eller skicka tillbaka ärendet för ny handläggning.

Kyrkorådet måste stoppa och skicka tillbaka ett kyrkofullmäktigebeslut om det verkar felaktigt eller olagligt; om fullmäktige står fast ska ärendet lämnas till förvaltningsdomstolen, som inte får avgöra det innan besvärstiden gått ut.

Församlingar i samma kommun ska bilda en kyrklig samfällighet. Församlingar i två eller flera kommuner kan också bilda en sådan samfällighet.

Den kyrkliga samfälligheten must sköta specified parish tax, finance, accounting, audit, payroll, personnel, and labor relations matters, and it has decision-making power in certain parish affairs unless that power has been transferred or otherwise assigned.

When a church community is founded, the parishes’ assets and obligations transfer to it unless the founding statute says otherwise.

Kyrkofullmäktige ska godkänna grundstadgan och egendomsförteckningen för att grunda den kyrkliga samfälligheten, och besluten ska underställas kyrkostyrelsen. Om församlingarna inte enas ska domkapitlet förordna en utredningsman; om det finns en överenskommelse om egendomens övergång får kyrkostyrelsen inte avvika utan särskilda skäl.

Beslut om att ändra grundstadgan eller upplösa en frivilligt grundad samfällighet kräver särskild majoritet, och vissa ändringar måste också lämnas till kyrkostyrelsen för avgörande.

The joint church council exercises the decision-making power of the church community unless something else is provided.

Gemensamma kyrkofullmäktige måste fastställa mandatfördelningen för varje valperiod, och antalet medlemmar ska vara mellan 21 och 91 beroende på folkmängden, med möjlighet att besluta om ett udda lägre antal men minst 11 medlemmar av särskilda skäl.

The parish union’s executive and administrative body is the joint church council, which also leads the handling of parish-related tasks and working methods.

Varje församling i en kyrklig samfällighet ska ha ett församlingsråd. Rådet sköter vissa uppgifter, beslutar om vissa medel och egendom, och dess reglemente ska fastställas av domkapitlet.

The joint parish council may transfer its decision-making power in specified matters by regulation or instruction, but not in certain listed matters except for transfers of real estate and the creation or abolition of offices.

The listed church bodies must follow the corresponding rules that apply to comparable parish bodies, unless this law or the church order says otherwise.

Församlingar och en kyrklig samfällighet får ingå avtal om att sköta uppgifter gemensamt eller för en annan församlings räkning.

A parish or church community may, by agreement, handle municipal tasks, and an agreement may also let the municipality or joint municipal authority appoint up to half the members of a board if one is set up.

Several church bodies may initiate changes to parish divisions; the church council may also raise the matter in certain cases.

If a parish is merged, dissolved, or loses a service because of area reduction, its full-time officeholders must be moved to suitable posts, and transferred officeholders keep benefits that are not worse than before.

Om en kyrkoherdetjänst upphör vid en ändring i församlingsindelningen ska kyrkoherden flyttas till en kaplanstjänst i den berörda församlingen.

When parish boundaries change, parish property must be divided among the affected or newly formed parishes, and the church board decides property-division issues.

When a parish is territorially divided or partly transferred, property and debts must be split according to population; debt liability cannot be transferred without consent from the creditor or right-holder.

Vid egendomens fördelning i vissa fall ska vissa kyrkliga fastigheter lämnas eller överlåtas till rätt församling, men en berörd församling kan också få använda egendom under viss tid och avvikelser får göras vid särskild olägenhet.

Each parish must have a church.

Some church council decisions must be submitted to the church board for approval, and the section also defines what counts as a church building.

Parish church land must be preserved and used for the parish church’s needs. The parish council may decide on a transfer only if it is indispensable for maintaining the church building or for other very weighty reasons, and the decision must be submitted to the church board for confirmation.

Certain parish property decisions must be submitted for confirmation by the church board or diocesan chapter.

Reglerna skyddar vissa kyrkliga byggnader och kräver yttranden innan vissa beslut om ändring, rivning eller ändrad användning.

A designated inspector may enter church buildings to carry out inspections and investigations needed for a building protection matter or for monitoring compliance. The Church Board may also ban alteration or renovation work in a church building in certain cases, and its decisions may be enforced even if appealed.

A parish cannot be required to carry out certain protection measures when it cannot use the protected church building in its activities or otherwise gain reasonable benefit from it, and the costs would be clearly disproportionate to the funds it can allocate for maintenance and renovation.

Parishes and church communities may use assets only to carry out their tasks, and they must help finance the church central fund and pension fund as provided elsewhere.

A parish member must pay church tax to help finance parish, joint parish, and church tasks.

This section defines which elected persons and officials are treated as accountable for financial reporting.

For a parish and a church joint congregation, bookkeeping obligations, bookkeeping, and financial statements are governed by the Accounting Act; audit is governed by the Public Administration and Economy Audit Act unless this Act or the church order says otherwise.

A parish or church municipal federation auditor is subject to criminal official-duty liability when performing an audit assignment under this law and the church order.

The provision defines “church registers,” including the church’s membership register and manually kept church books.

The provision says church records may be used for parish and church-community administration, for church members to exercise their rights and fulfill their duties, and lets the Church Board and diocesan chapter use the membership register for their assigned tasks.

Församlingarna får ordna förandet av kyrkböcker via ett gemensamt centralregister.

Medlemsregistret ska innehålla vissa uppgifter om kyrkans medlemmar och om uppgifter som anges i lagen om trossamfundens medlemsregister.

Församlingar och centralregister är registeransvariga. De får inte lämna över registerföringen till någon annan aktör. I en församling fattar kyrkoherden vissa beslut; vid ett centralregister gör direktören det.

Church board may decide certain disclosures from the membership register, and other parishes or central registers may enter specified membership data into the register.

Uppgifter från medlemsregistret får bara användas för det syfte de lämnades ut för, och vidareutlämning till utomstående kräver lagstöd eller tillstånd från kyrkostyrelsen.

Kyrkostyrelsen and certain church officials may grant user rights for processing membership data, and Kyrkostyrelsen must keep user-rights and log registers and retain their data for set periods.

Församlingen eller centralregistret är registeransvarig för manuellt förda kyrkböcker. Kyrkoherden i en församling och direktören för ett centralregister beslutar om utlämnande av uppgifter, rättelse av fel och övrig föring av kyrkböckerna.

Rules in this chapter about members also apply to certain information about other persons entered in the membership register.

Kyrkostyrelsen may issue detailed rules on the membership register, archives, and related data security, and it sets the fee for disclosure of information.

Kyrkböcker ska bevaras varaktigt, men kyrkostyrelsen kan bestämma något annat för vissa uppgifter eller handlingar. Vissa manuellt förda kyrkböcker och andra handlingar kan deponeras hos arkivverket, och medlemsregisteruppgifter som ska bevaras varaktigt kan läggas ut på en utomstående tjänsteleverantör enligt kyrkostyrelsens beslut.

A priest must promptly notify the relevant congregation or religious community when baptizing or burying someone outside the priest’s own congregation.

This section says that rules on processing personal data are also found in other listed laws, and that the church board’s use and disclosure of data in certain registers follows specified rules in another act.

Kyrkofullmäktige may decide on establishing, expanding, or closing a cemetery, but the decision must be submitted to kyrkostyrelsen for approval.

Kyrkorådet får i vissa fall överlåta gravrätt, och en gravrättsinnehavare får bara överlåta sin rätt till församlingen.

The holder of a grave right may represent the people who may be buried in the grave and speak in matters concerning the grave. If the grave is transferred, the new holder is normally agreed in advance; if no agreement is made within one year, or the agreement cannot be followed because circumstances change, the surviving spouse or, if none, the closest heirs become the holder. If the heirs cannot agree, the church council may appoint a holder.

Graves may be used in a set order, and the parish burial authority may allow someone else to be buried there if the grave-right holder consents and there are special reasons.

Gravrättshavaren ska sköta graven värdigt; kyrkliga organ kan i vissa fall ta över skötseln, kräva iståndsättning eller förklara gravrätten förverkad.

Kyrkorådet avgör tvister om gravrätt och gravsättning, om inte begravningslagen säger något annat.

Kyrkofullmäktige must adopt a burial services regulation and submit it to the diocesan chapter for approval.

The church council must approve a graveyard plan and a disposition plan for each burial place, and submit them to the diocesan chapter for confirmation.

Församlingarna ska ta ut avgift för gravplats och begravningsrelaterade tjänster, och kostnaderna ska beaktas när avgifterna bestäms. Kyrkofullmäktige beslutar om avgifterna för en grav.

The stift manages its activities and finances under this law, the church order, and rules made under them.

Diocese administration is handled by the bishop, the diocesan council, the chapter, boards, and the chapter’s officials.

For a diocesan organ, the same rules apply as far as relevant to convening, the chair’s duties, handling matters, quorum, conflicts of interest, voting, transfer of decision-making power, eligibility, and elections, unless this law or the church order provides otherwise.

Stiftsfullmäktige ska sköta vissa uppgifter, bland annat att stödja kyrkans uppgift, godkänna planer och budget, granska rapporter och utse eller avveckla tjänster vid domkapitlet.

The section sets the membership of the diocesan council, requires it to elect a chair and vice chair, and limits some participants to attendance and speaking rights only.

Stiftsfullmäktiges mandatperiod börjar den 1 maj efter valet och varar i fyra år. Vissa aktörer har rätt att lägga fram initiativ, och initiativtagare måste ange namn, födelsedatum, församling och kontaktuppgifter i initiativdokumentet.

The diocesan council approves the work order and the financial statute that contain more detailed rules on meetings, initiatives, case handling, elections, and diocesan financial administration.

Biskopen leder stiftets förvaltning och verksamhet och övervakar församlingarna och prästerna. Ärkebiskopen har dessutom de uppgifter som anges i lagen eller kyrkoordningen.

Om biskops- eller ärkebiskopsämbetet är vakant eller innehavaren är förhindrad, ska vissa kyrkliga tjänsteuppgifter skötas av ersättare enligt turordning.

Domkapitlet ska sköta den kyrkliga förvaltningen och verksamheten i stiftet. Det får också företräda kyrkan i stiftärenden, föra talan hos domstolar och andra myndigheter samt ingå avtal och andra rättshandlingar för stiftet.

The provision lists who are members of the chapter council and gives the bishop and archbishop a limited right to attend and speak, but not vote, in certain chairing situations.

The chapter states when the chapter council has a quorum, requires a fully composed council to hear certain priest/lecturer matters, and requires separate voting for each proposal area when preparing a direct parish priest election proposal.

A cathedral chapter officer may be authorized to decide certain matters on behalf of the cathedral chapter, within the limits set by the church order.

Kontraktsprosten bistår biskopen och domkapitlet i prosteriets förvaltning och utses för sex år i sänder. Domkapitlet utser kontraktsprosten bland de tre kyrkoherdar som fått flest röster i valet.

Kyrkomötets ombud måste vara medlemmar i kyrkan, och vissa ombud ska utses eller väljas av särskilda organ.

Kyrkomötets mandatperiod börjar den 1 maj efter val och varar fyra år.

Kyrkomötet is assigned a wide range of decision-making powers over church doctrine, legislation, administration, finance, appointments, and external church relations.

The chair of the Church Assembly and the other delegates may not take part in decisions that concern them personally.

Biskopsmötet, kyrkostyrelsen och stiftsfullmäktige may make submissions to the church assembly, and a church assembly delegate may initiate matters there.

Ett utskottsförslag som godkänts i första behandlingen ska tas upp till andra behandling i särskilt plenum när ärendet gäller vissa kyrkliga frågor. Förslaget godkänns bara om det får minst tre fjärdedelar av rösterna vid andra behandlingen.

Biskopsmötets medlemmar är biskoparna i stiften.

Biskopsmötet must handle listed church matters, issue certain implementation rules, make proposals, and give opinions.

Section 1 sets the composition of the church board, gives it a four-year term, and requires lay members to be eligible as lay delegates at the church meeting.

Kyrkostyrelsen har många löpande uppgifter, bland annat att sköta kyrkans administration, ekonomi, förbindelser och vissa beslut, med vissa undantag.

Certain church bodies and officials may be authorized to decide matters on behalf of the church board, and some decisions may be transferred to the church board unless that transfer is expressly prohibited.

Kyrkostyrelsen, dess sektioner och direktioner är beslutföra när mer än hälften av medlemmarna är närvarande, och Ämbetskollegiet är beslutfört när minst tre medlemmar är närvarande.

Kyrkans centralfond är kyrkans gemensamma fond, och dess tillgångar ska enligt budgeten användas för angivna kyrkliga ändamål.

Kyrkans pensionsfond är kyrkans pensionsanstalt, förvaltar sina uppgifter enligt särskilda bestämmelser och använder sina tillgångar för att betala pensioner och familjepensioner.

Each parish or church association must pay annual fees to the church central fund.

Varje församling eller kyrklig samfällighet ska årligen betala avgifter till kyrkans pensionsfond.

If certain fees are paid late, annual late-payment interest applies; Kyrkostyrelsen may exempt a parish or church community on special grounds, and the interest rate must stay within a stated cap.

Parishes and church congregations may be granted tax revenue supplementation and support from the church central fund at the fund’s discretion.

The central church fund must distribute annual funding to parishes and church congregations, and the church board may use a decided share of that funding for its statutory member-register duties.

Finansinspektionen oversees the investment activity carried out by the Church Pension Fund.