Bringing Hope to Life by Mária Dominika Vanková

“Why I so much prefer fall to spring is that in the fall one looks at heaven—in the spring at the earth.” When I read this quote from the Danish Lutheran theologian Søren Kierkegaard, I automatically think of my profound love for fall. Indeed, I, like so many people who live in the part of the world with a colorful fall, stop to lift my eyes to be inspired by the spectrum of colors juxtaposed to the ocean sky or to see them dance in the air embodied by the leaves. However, specifically, the season often makes me think of the international and ecumenical activities in Lund, southern Sweden.

I was first amazed by the beauty of southern Sweden in 2021, when I was an upcoming master’s degree student at Lund University. The town of Lund is especially charming. It is a small medieval town near the third-largest city in Sweden, Malmö, mostly known for its world-class university and research. The beginning of fall is the season when students from all over the world gather there, sparking a lively energy.

However, there is another honorary attribution that justly belongs to Lund: “the center of ecumenism.” In the fall of 2016, Pope Francis traveled to Lund, once known as the “bastion of Lutheranism,” to celebrate with then archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, Antje Jackelén, the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Reformation. It was a historical event titled “From Conflict to Communion: Together in Hope” that took place in the Lund Cathedral. As a professor of church history at Oxford University, Diarmaid MacCulloch, highlighted at the time: “For 500 years, Europe has had this huge fault line between Catholics and Protestants. Now the pope is going to a Lutheran country to emphasize the division is in the past. It’s the culmination of a great deal of work on the part of the Lutherans and the papacy over the past 20 years.”

On October 31, the Lund Cathedral was filled with expectation. Pope Francis certainly didn’t disappoint, stating: “We too must look with love and honesty at our past, recognizing error and seeking forgiveness, for God alone is our judge.” Naturally, Pope Francis’s decision to extend friendship in such a straightforward way sparked much positive and negative controversy in 2016. Still, as it is written in the Bible: “By their fruit you will recognize them.” And the fruit of “From Conflict to Communion” is alive to this day; ever since Pope Francis’s visit, the Lutherans have allowed Catholics to serve the Catholic Mass in the Lund Cathedral for the first time since the days of Reformation. It was reported by the chaplain of the Lund Cathedral, Lena Sjöstrand, “Many were moved by the strong feelings of belonging, hope, and togetherness during the Joint Commemoration. It was not a one-off event but has merely inspired further efforts of bringing Lutherans and Catholics closer together, for instance during ecumenical Vespers in our churches.”

I feel humbled to have had the opportunity to experience the fruits of ecumenical friendship in Lund myself. The first time I walked through Lund Cathedral, I could sense that the almost 900-year-old walls didn’t feel cold but were warmed up by the candles, which enlightened the path with the hope of new, better beginnings, renewed friendships, and an emphasis on “the biggest of the three,” love. Naturally, my eyes fell on the icon of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus in the gorgeous catacombs of the cathedral that, despite its greatness, felt gentle and welcoming. On the right side of the cathedral lies the Domkyrkoforum (“cathedral’s forum”), which functions as a visitor’s center featuring a café, gathering space, art exhibitions, and an Arken bookstore. One who doesn’t know of Lund’s newfound ecumenical mission might be truly astonished to see Arken selling postcards of Pope Francis, Orthodox icons, or rosaries among books on Martin Luther and ecumenism. As somebody passionate about all things ecumenical, I was amazed and knew I had to learn more.

Inside the Lund Cathedral, June-October 2021. Photo source: Mária Dominika Vanková

At the beginning of the semester in 2021, I met with a welcoming Lutheran minister, Jan Kjellström, who answered all of my questions and explained to me that there has never been a sharp division between Lutherans and Catholics in Sweden as in other parts of Europe. Therefore, Lutherans maintained, for example, wearing collars, or Catholic names of church districts such as dioceses. I remember sitting there thinking how different this was from my home country of Slovakia, where strong Reformation and counter-Reformation wars left wounds unhealed until today.

What was more, Lutheran minister Kjellström invited me to the International and Ecumenical Congregation of Lund. The concept of combining various Christian traditions, particularly Lutheranism, Catholicism, and Methodism into an ecumenical service in a way that is not confusing but facilitates exchange, immediately captivated me. Soon enough, I attended my first ecumenical service at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday with an unforgettable atmosphere; people of all ages from all around the world, representing various Christian denominations and other religions who find the service peaceful, came together to celebrate God. The sermon and hymns were beautiful, and it felt like a renewed hope in the ancient cathedral. After that Sunday, I returned whenever I could, and I always left happier than I had arrived.

Taizé evening, 2022. Photo Source: Mária Dominika Vanková

After every service, the congregation holds a coffee-and-tea gathering where everybody is invited to discuss the readings and life, or make new friends. Each week, somebody signs up to make a cake, particularly authentic to one’s home country. Some of the most beloved activities were international potlucks, where we prayed together and tasted food from around the world. A Christmas potluck allowed us to share Christmas traditions from our different cultures, and featured Swedish dancing and singing. Taizé evenings in both English and Swedish were also a highlight of my studies in Lund. They were inspired by Brother Roger’s ecumenical community in Taizé, France, where Catholic and Protestant brothers from about 30 countries from across the globe live and pray together. They were held in the catacombs of Lund Cathedral. Below the rock-solid ground, only candles lit up the space, creating a peaceful atmosphere with live music bringing hope to life in this present time.

During my time and ecumenical volunteering activities in Lund, I learned something very important: we don’t need as many new concepts, perfect timing, or ecumenical trials as much as we all need to experience what Brother Roger once described as “reconciliation,” which “always brings a springtime to the soul.” But a “springtime of the soul” can’t come without the fall season of everybody’s heart, which, as proposed by Kierkegaard, is the time to look to heaven and remind ourselves of the lasting fruit of powerful actions of goodness that leave a positive impact in the world. ♦

Mária Dominika Vanková is a writer from Slovakia. She has worked with peace-building and poverty alleviation initiatives in Southeast Asia, and is currently compiling archives of Fr. Richard McBrien’s syndicated columns on theology. She is the founder of the Club of Friendship Slovakia–Cambodia and a coordinator of humanitarian aid to Cambodia. She writes: “I am dedicating this article to my friend, Lutheran minister Jan Kjellström, who has supported me in all my dreams and projects through the ups and downs in these past three years and showed me in practice what religious friendship and peace look like.”

Banner image: Joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of 500 years since the Reformation, “From Conflict to Communion: Together in Hope,” celebrated on October 31, 2016, in Lund Cathedral. Photo Source: Mikael Ringlander