Speeches of Mr Gervin and Mr Ostang. College for European Citizenship.European Youth Cultural Exchanges.

Challenge of citizenship and sustainable development. 

Château de Bourglinster Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg 9-11 October 1996 

First Session : The Challenges of European Citizenship.  European Youth Cultural Exchanges.  College for European Citizenship Speeches of Mr Gervin and Mr Ostang (Norway).

Speech of Mr Gervin, Norway, Cultural Administrator of Oslo Cathedral 

Norway is very happy to be part of the project Monasteries and religious cultures in Europe for several reasons; I will begin by outlining two aspects. Norway, as you know, has decided by popular vote not to become a member of the European Union but, somewhat paradoxically, both those who voted for and those who voted against emphasized the importance of European co-operation. This project is one example of such cultural co-operation. 

In Norway there is a growing interest in all things medieval which is reflected in the field of culture and tourism, for example in the growth of pilgrimages. However, although as yet there are few signs of a revival of interest in the monastic past, the fact that Norway is part of the Monastic Influence Route should act as a catalyst. It was decided early on that the project should be carried out in collaboration with the University of Oslo where the students have expressed a wish to follow an interdisciplinary approach to subjects usually taught in isolated compartments. Important progress in this approach already existed at the level of teachers and professors, for example we have a dynamic Institute of Medieval Studies, but little has been done at the level of students. 

The local and administrative centre will be in Oslo Cathedral mainly because of is wide range of cultural activities. We have more than 340 000 visitors per year, and we have organized a very large number of concerts, exhibitions and many other activities. In order to implement this project we have established co-operation with all major cultural institutions in Oslo: the museums, the National Gallery, other art galleries, libraries, theatres, the Opera and so on. These institutions already know about our commitment to this project and, at this stage, they have been asked to contribute ideas. In this way, the project has given us the opportunity to broaden local cooperation. Traditionally in Norway there has been a lack of practical and other contacts between theological faculties on one hand, and parishes and the church at large on the other hand. 

This current project serves to mend this sad state of affairs allowing us to improve our contacts with the academic world. As you may know, in Norway we have a state-church system in which 95% of the population belongs to the Lutheran Church of Norway. The project receives the support of the two Catholic and Lutheran bishops and dioceses of Oslo. It is worth mentioning that in this context, the project has already begun to function ecumenically. The Church of Norway has a dominant role as far as religion is concerned; it is very much alive and prospering but it is marked by features I would like to draw your attention to at this stage. First the theology of the Church of Norway is somewhat poor in content and this project of the Council of Europe will, I hope, help to open our eyes to our heritage and to the theological resources of other countries and churches and will thereby also help us theologically. The Norwegian scene is rapidly becoming multicultural with growing numbers of Norwegians whose origins are in other cultures and religions. A certain number of religions and new religious movements have established communities of more or less monastic types in our country. 

We are therefore investigating to what extent it will be possible and fruitful to include those perspectives in the current project and to what extent it could create an area of dialogue between religions. Since the Middle Ages and the Reformation, Norway has traditionally received more cultural input from Germany, the Netherlands and England rather than the rest of Europe, the South and the East. This project gives us opportunities to develop and improve new channels of information and co operation with countries we would like to know better. The University of Oslo has funded the project with the administrative costs covered by the Cathedral of Oslo where I work. In conclusion, I am sure that you can see why the project aroused enthusiasm in Norway. I will now I turn to Mr Østang for more details.  

Speech of Mr Østang, Norway, Head of Information to the Prime Minister's Office 

We have heard about the great tradition of the Reformation and you may ask in what way is Norway typical of this tradition. Based upon the German, Dutch or English tradition, the Nordic area forms more or less one unit so that any German, Dutch or English man coming to a Lutheran mass in our area would find the liturgy familiar. Within this Northern unity, Norway, at least today, has a slightly different Reform tradition to other countries. We might draw a line between the Finnish and the Swedish tradition and the western, that is Danish tradition. 

The former is in some ways less radical than the latter so that in Sweden and Finland one would find more traces of the Catholic heritage than in Norway Denmark and Iceland. In this sense, both the Nordic area and Norway has the opportunity to function as a bridge between Roman Catholic culture and the more radical reform cultures. Whether we function as that bridge depends on the time and the country we are talking about but we do have the potential. This said, one must remember when speaking of the monastic tradition in a Norwegian setting that this tradition was broken by the Reformation and even prohibited. Only in the last century, in Norway since 1843, has the monastic tradition started to return to the Nordic area. 

First in its Roman Catholic form with traditional orders reestablishing themselves in the area, and then with a very modest Protestant attempt to establish monastic communities. This background has made it difficult to anchor this project of the Council of Europe in a functioning convent or monastery today. The Roman Catholic monasteries are too small and of course do not represent the Protestant tradition, and the protestant convents are also too small. For those reasons in Norway we have decided to anchor this project with the University of Oslo but it is located in a College of the secular humanistic tradition called the Nanssen College. It is named after one of our polar explorers, diplomat and relief workers Frederick Nanssen and today this college offers as a bridge between secular humanism and European Christian traditions. Is it quite correct to say that monastic tradition was really broken in the Nordic area during Reformation because spiritually, religiously and structurally it was broken. However, the ruins and the buildings are still there and they are silent witnesses to a rich tradition which once played an important role. We have noted that tendency to try to live out one's faith one hundred percent which was characteristic of the North German puritanism of the Sixteenth Century. Currently, we see some kind of parallel attempt to have a pure life, to follow God one hundred percent such as was once seen in the monastic tradition. 

However, whilst there are some parallels in these movements, there are also important differences; the monastic tradition has never claimed that every man or women should become a monk or a nun, whilst the fundamentalist movements often tend to think that everybody should belong to their strict rule. As a secular body, the Council of Europe has been able to involve the churches in what the churches would perhaps not have taken upon themselves; to teach a new generation of students about the rich heritage of the monastic tradition and what role this tradition has played in Europe's Christian culture and what role this might have for today and tomorrow.

Photos MTP : Trondheim / Saint Olav Route.