THE Danish Seamen's Church in Singapore on Sunday welcomed its first female priest at a service attended by more than 100 members of the Danish community here.
Vicar Kirsten Eistrup, 55, is the Lutheran Protestant Church's first female pastor in Asia.
Though this is a first for the Singapore chapter, the Church allowed women to be ordained as priests as far back as 1947. It is by far the most popular in Denmark, with 80 per cent of the population belonging to this Church.
'In Denmark, about 50 per cent of the Church's priests are female. Personally, I don't consider myself a female priest specifically. I come as a priest,' said Vicar Eistrup, who was ordained as a priest about 25 years ago.
In another first, the local Norwegian Seamen's Church will also welcome its first female priest next week.
Vicar Eistrup will be based here for at least the next four years, serving as priest of the church as well as port chaplain, visiting Danish seafarers on vessels which call at local ports.
No comments:
Post a Comment