The 14th to the 17th of June the fifth Theobalt conference took place in Visby, Gotland. In accordance with the basic idea of Theobalt there were representatives from the three main church traditions around the Baltic - Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Lutheran. The conference was arranged by the Diocese of Visby in co-operation with the Diocese of Strängnäs, Church of Sweden. The number of official delegates were 41. They represented 18 churches on the national level in the nine countries bordering the Baltic. Two churches participated with observers. In addition, there were also guests and observers from other churches and church organizations. The link to the Porvoo Communion was specifically manifested through a representative from Church of England. In all there were 61 participants besides the representatives from the dioceses of Visby and Strängnäs and the conference staff.

Being a network of churches, Theobalt is offering a platform for meetings and deliberations on current social issues in the Baltic region. Accordingly, the purpose of Theobalt V was to enlighten the role of the churches when the European Union expands in the Baltic area. The theme was formulated 'Churches around the Baltic - their contribution to the region in a time of change.' Three lecturers were invited to speak on the theme. The programme also contained worshipping, excursions and time for informal personal meetings and social gatherings.
The conference has been planned and prepared in cooperation with the network churches. To this end the steering group of Theobalt met in Moscow in January 2001. At this meeting the theme, the structure and other main points of the conference were outlined. The contact persons have been active in the preparatory work and have also made a joint evaluation of the conference at a meeting in Visby in the beginning of September.

Worship

The conference was opened with a devotion and a symbolic act outside the cathedral. After reading from St. Luke 13:8 "Sir, the man replied, leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it", the participants were invited to water and manure a tree that was planted during the Theobalt IV conference. Morning prayers - one in the Roman Catholic tradition and one in the Orthodox tradition - were held at Fridhem, where most of the participants stayed during the conference. Otherwise there were daily services according to the three traditions. The conference ended with an Orthodox vespers in the cathedral of Visby.

The lectures

After the opening ceremony outside the cathedral, the conference started with an introductory speech by bishop Biörn Fjärstedt. He pointed out that the conference took place parallell to the EU summit in Gotherburg and noted that EU is still searching for a common spiritual foundation. He stressed the need to discern the signs of the time in our contexts. We know, the bishop said, that there will be new questions about basic values, about good and evil, as many people have begun to search for alternatives to the secular and rationalistic ideologies. Our mission is to be attentive to this searching and offer guiding through Jesus Christ.
The lecture "Churches as uniting and dividing factors in past and present" by professor David Kirby London university offered an elaborate background to the theme of the conference. Professor Kirby gave a broad exposé of the history of northern Europe and the situation for different religious groups and denominations over he centuries.

The second day, focus was on the changes in beliefs in society as well as on the given foundation of the mission of the churches. Dr Marc Luyckx from Brussels, president of "Inspiration" - a think tank for new visions, started with giving a lecture on the topic "The enlargement of Europe - a challenge to all Baltic churches". Dr Luyckx noted that EU orginally was based on ethical arguments and after a long period of priority on economical matters, the enlargement process has brought back ethical aspects to the agenda. Not only values are shifting in society but also the frame of reference. This transmodern society is trying to rediscover the sacred as a dimension of life. Dr Luyckx urged the churches to prepare for a real dialogue between east and west. The churches are in a privileged position to ask the political leaders for the real deep reason for the enlargement.

In his speech "Christ in our Christian traditions" bishop Seraphim of the Russian Orthodox Church from Kaliningrad underlined that the main task of the Church always is to teach about and further penetrate into the mystery of the resurrected Christ. About EU, the bishop said, that it is generally welcomed by the church and he hoped that it would guarantee freedom of religion and preserve the rights of the minorities. Reminding of Christian solidarity in the West during the years of opposition to the atheistic ideologies in eastern Europe, he asked how Christian solidarity could be expressed in a more united Europe, taking into account that some states will be left outside this unity.

Rev Karl-Erik Tysk from the diocese of Visby talked over the subject "Christian values and individual autonomy". Starting from five thesis regarding individual autonomy, Rev Tysk stated that an individualistic outlook is not to be feared, but that it can in fact be desirable from a Christian standpoint. He mentioned that in the Eastern Churches there has always been relative predominance of the divine persons over the divine unity. Rev Tysk also referred to the importance of Theobalt and concluded by saying that culture is a set of beliefs, values and norms. The different traditions in the area must not only be complementary but corrective vis-à-vis one another. Quoting John Paul II, Rev Tysk said that Europe must breathe with its two lungs. In that process neither the West nor the East will be unchanged. Real dialogue assumes readiness to question one's own convictions.

"Churches around the Baltic - their contribution to the region in a time of change" - the main theme of the conference was also the title of the concluding lecture given by bishop Jonas Jonson, Strängnäs. His point of departure was the ecumenical uniqueness of the Baltic Sea, surrounded by the three main Christian traditions. From that he presented a future perspective. Bishop Jonas laid it down that the challenge in our time is unity in diversity. Only through open dialogue and constructive relationships will the churches be able to maintain a healthy tension between being catholic and contextual. Christians should affirm one another! He warned of a tendency to become preoccupied with "internal" church matters. Churches should join in with governments and other actors to provide a moral
foundation for promoting social and environmental justice.

The lectures were followed by workshops and plenary meetings. Every lecturer gave one or two questions for the following discussions.

Financing

The conference could be performed thanks to contributions from several bodies. A major contribution came from the Swedish government. Other contributors are the Swedish Institute, Church of Sweden, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Society DBW in Visby. The Cathedral parish of Visby and the Municipality of Gotland invited the conference to dinners. The Association for the renovation of the Gotlandic churches contributed to an exhibition. Basic allowances were given by the dioceses of Visby and Strängnäs. The diocese of Visby supplied the conference staff and premises for the administrative work, which includes preparations, evaluation and documentation.

A basic idea is that lack of financial resources shall not prevent a church from taking part in Theobalt. Thus the grants given made it possible to contribute to covering travel expenses and accommodation where there was a need for that. Other major costs refer to interpretation including equipment.

Concluding notes

The next steps in the Theobalt work will take its point of departure in the general project plan for Theobalt 2001 - 2004, which has been adopted by the Visby diocesan board. There three main areas for activities within Theobalt are distinguished: Dialogues/Meetings between people, Education and Communication. Already during the conference it was proposed to arrange a Baltic youth camp next year in co-operation with the network BIEN (Baltic Intercultural and Ecumenical Network) and the junior delegates gathered immediately to start planning for this project.

Since Theobalt IV in 1998 there has been an ad hoc group with representatives from the three church traditions with bishop Biörn Fjärstedt, Visby as moderator assisted by bishop Jonas Jonson, Strängnäs. The participants of the conference gave this group the mandate to be a standing committee. The following persons were appointed within each church tradition to be members of the committee: Orthodox - Deacon Andrei Elliseev, Russia, Father Warsanofiusz Doroskiewitz, Poland; Roman Catholic - Bishop Rimantas Norvila, Lithuania, Bishop Jacek Jezierski, Poland; Lutheran - Bishop Ilkka Kantola, Finland, Pastor Mette Trankjaer, Denmark.

The Russian Orthodox Church, through its congregation in Oslo, Norway, arranged cultural activities during and after Theobalt. In the programme there were lectures, an exhibition of icons, church services and excursions.

A meeting of pastors working with the defence forces in some of the countries of the Baltic region was arranged in Visby during the course of Theobalt V. The participants partially took part in the Theobalt conference.

Ragnar Svenserud