THEOBALT I - III

The first meeting was held in 1983. The theme was "Church services of tomorrow in yesterday's churches." It was, in principle, a Gotlandic clergy meeting supplemented with guests from other Baltic churches. Of the Iron Curtain countries, only guests from the Lutheran church in the former DDR were present.

The second conference in 1988 had the theme "The rural area - an indispensable environment for life. Already by then the fellowship had expanded to include more churches and also lay persons.
It soon became evident that the circle of participants should be widened even more and at the same time a higher goal be set: to link the churches in the whole Baltic Sea region closer one another with regular meetings. Political developments supported this trend.

At the third meeting in 1994 every country bordering the Baltic - if not all churches - was represented. Lay people's entry on the scene complemented theological knowledge with other specialist knowledge, making it possible to more thoroughly penetrate the views and role of the church on certain key issues in society. This was especially true of Theobalt III in 1994, that focused on environmental issues, in particular, the "state of health" of the Baltic Sea with the theme "Venerate Life - Love the Baltic."

The Baltic - the intersection between three church traditions

Three great ecclesiastical traditions meet in the Baltic region - the Lutheran, the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic.
In some cases it is a question of a thousand-year existence in the area, even though conditions and external appearances have changed. Both separately and jointly these church traditions have made a lasting impression on their cultural spheres in philosophy, legal traditions, art, music and daily manners and customs. There is hardly any other place in the world where the meeting of these church traditions, which so pronounced and pervasively influence the fibre of society, is so apparent.
Gotland lies in the middle of this region and has, by the teobalt concept, shown itself capable of functioning as a meeting place for an ecclesiastical Baltic fellowship.

At the meeting in 1994 a special session was devoted to the question of a long-term and more organised co-operation between the churches in the Baltic region. Discussions regarding the formation of an informal network proposed that Visby take the initiative in this matter.

The Hanseatic Days gathering in Visby in the summer of 1998 seems an opportune occasion to gather representatives for the churches in the region to further develop the teobalt concept. Accordingly the Theobalt IV conference is to be held in Visby June 11-14, 1998.

The theme is "Folk-churches in the Baltic region - their origins, culture and mission in the society of today and tomorrow".

Unlike Hanseatic Days which gathers representatives from a large part of Europe, participation in the ecclesiastical conference is limited to the traditional "theobalt countries", that is Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
This comprises 20 denominations. Each church - Lutheran, Orthodox and Roman Catholic - can send up to four delegates. This means that between 8 - 12 delegates from each country may attend.

Every church has also been encouraged to sent one or two youths, since Theobalt IV also includes a youth conference which is partially integrated with the Hanseatic Days youth programme.
The six Baltic dioceses in Sweden, Uppsala, Stockholm, Strängnäs, Linköping, Växjo and Lund have all been invited to send representatives.
The conference is a matter of importance for all churches in the Baltic Sea region.
This was reinforced by calling a prior meeting with representatives from the three ecclesiastical traditions to draw up the programme in Tallinn on April 7.

An important starting point is that the conference should take up the different ecclesiastical traditions’ history and current perspectives in relation to the present and future society in the Baltic region.
This is illustrated by four seminars with the following themes:

Rooted in a culture

Mission of the folk-churches in the region

Christian values in modern society around the Baltic

Making togetherness visible – visions for the future

Each seminar begins with four short addresses by several of the delegates which, from their background church tradition, provide a basis for general discussion.
The conference language is English with interpreting to German and Russian.

At the junction between the three ecclesiastical traditions

The conference allows the churches the opportunity of making the theobalt concept a matter of mutual importance by jointly giving it a new form.
This will not mean building up a new church organisation. On the contrary, the ambition of such a close long-term relationship must be based upon an inherent respect for each church’s independence and traditions and not encompass more than what each church considers possible.

The objective of a continued co-operation of this kind must naturally be formulated in consultation with each involved part. This will also be an important matter for the coming conference to consider.

A few important aspects can already be distinguished at this stage. One aim can be to give people around the Baltic Sea the opportunity to meet and get to know one another. This is a question of promoting understanding between people and countries, their cultures and traditions.

Another aim can be to establish how churches and people with different traditions can be united in a common task of preserving fundamental values for a positive social development in the region.

Yet another aim is to prepare for a continued, more intense and long-term fellowship with the opportunity of creating, through discussion, information and education, a platform for an exchange of experience in areas of common interest between churches.

Through the parallel youth conference, and likewise in that several churches have chosen to send young delegates to the main conference, a future dimension in the long-term fellowship is being laid now, providing yet another opportunity to re-new the teobalt concept.

The unique starting point for this fellowship with its forms and aims is the church’s influence over time as a bearer of spiritual and moral values in an ever-changing society.

Future perspective

Preliminary contacts with church leaders showed that there is a positive interest for the Theobalt concept’s ideas and general objectives.
Practically all the churches which have been invited will be participating in the coming conference on a larger or smaller scale.
This is, in itself, an important result, which provides a basis for strengthening contacts between individual churches and an increased understanding in the future.

A good attendance at the conference is also a first important step towards the future.
We don’t know yet what the road looks like ahead, but a working group with representatives from the three church traditions can be appointed to find the forms for co-operation and desired level of continued exchange.
The aim should be to develop the fellowship between churches at different levels and also between individuals.

Gotland’s geographic location make it and Visby a natural nave in the Baltic Sea fellowship.
The renovated locales in the diocese centre by the Cathedral in the old town enable the Visby diocese to answer for organising an international ecclesiastical network.

However, a fundamental principle is that Theobalt is a fellowship of churches around the Baltic Sea, based upon a hundred-year old ecclesiastic presence in the area and where each and every church can participate as an equal, drawing upon its own traditions and circumstances.

THIS PROJECT IS BEING PART – FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY European Regional Development Fund