Norwegians disagree about whether transvestites can speak in church

From November 15th to November 21st, the rainbow fair ‘Arctic Pride’ was held in Tromsö. Part of the festivities was a so-called rainbow mass held at Tromsö Cathedral. One of the speakers during that mass was the artist Rune Nilssen. He was dressed up as a drag artist called Lady Die.

However, not everyone appreciated the appearance of a drag queen behind the lectern in the church. Church council member Therese Egebakken writes in a post in the Facebook group ‘‘Frimodig kirkes nettforum’’ that the drag person is neither Christian nor baptised, as was reported by newspaper Nordlys. That means that he is not a member of the Norwegian church either. “If he is not a member of the church or a Christian, but is allowed to preach about pride ideology during the service, then what are the criteria or requirements for who can preach in a service and about what?”

However, Stig Lægdene, who is the dean from Tromsö Cathedral and who invited Rune Nilssen, sees nothing wrong with giving platform for different gender identities in the church room. “We know that Nilssen has something on his mind that is important for the church”, said Lægdene to Norwegian daily Vårt Land. “We want to signal that different gender expressions and gender understandings are welcome in the church.”

To Nordlys, the priest said that the church has come “a long way in the fight to accept homosexual people, but not when it comes to showing different gender identities.” Lægdene thinks it is not wrong to invite people with different gender identities. “However, it is wrong to have prejudices against people with different gender identities.”

Priest is responsible

According to Swedish daily Dagen, the bishop of Nord-Hålogaland, Olav Öygard, has no objection to the priest's actions. “It is the priest who is responsible and who must make an assessment of who or what is allowed to speak in the church.” “If I understood the matter correctly, it was not a question of a sermon but rather of a greeting from Nilssen”, says the bishop according to Vårt Land.

The theme for Arctic Pride in Tromsø Cathedral was “For love is from God”. During the rainbow mass, the church received several speakers. One of which was Nillsen, who said to be “humanistical”. Nillsen sees himself as “a spiritual man” and “in contact with the mysteries of life”. Each person was given three to four minutes to speak during the service.