The Danish government will reintroduce major days of prayer from 2030. The majority of bishops are considering a location in the autumn.
A majority of The bishops of the national church are open to moving the big day of prayer to the autumn, after the Danish government has announced that the holiday will be reintroduced in Denmark from 2030.
This is written by Kristeligt Dagblad.
With the government’s plans to reintroduce major days of prayer, the Danes have the prospect of getting back the holiday that was abolished for them in 2023.
The Ministry of Church Affairs has stated to the newspaper that the national church will be involved in the process of reintroduction.
The government has announced that the bill on the reintroduction will be tabled in the spring of 2027.
Thomas Reinholdt Rasmussen is a bishop in Aalborg Diocese and emphasizes to Kristeligt Dagblad that they are waiting to see how the process will proceed, and it is important that the folk church is involved.
He is one of the bishops who are open to a dialogue about whether the holiday should be moved to autumn.
– Liturgically, it (big prayer day, ed.) doesn’t really fit into the time from Easter to Pentecost, so maybe it will be good to place it at the end of October, he says to Kristeligt Dagblad.
That position is supported by the bishop from the Diocese of Lolland-Falster, Marianne Gaarden.
She also acknowledges that major days of prayer are not linked to an evangelical event, which is why a location in the autumn would make good sense.
– I like the idea of a day of prayer where there is a focus on spiritual immersion, and that focus must be maintained. But of course it is possible to think that it can be moved, she tells the newspaper and at the same time emphasizes the point that spring already contains many public holidays.
The bishops in Fyens, Aarhus and Viborg Diocese are all open to discussions about a new location for the holiday.
Contrary to the majority, the bishops in Ribe and Roskilde Diocese both agree that the public holiday should remain in the spring.
