Her står jeg utenfor Bela Bartok Kirke i Budapest og venter på å ordineres til Unitarprest
Liturgien foregikk på engelsk med ungarsk oversettelse:
We will to day introduce a new worker in the garden of our Lord: Kjell Morten Bråten. He will
shortly be ordained to pastor according to calling from The Norwegian Unitarian Church and
following Norwegian law of religious societies.
But first please allow me to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for receiving us here in
your wonderful church and sharing joyfully this important moment in the history of Unitarianism.
Your warm and welcoming hospitality is an inspiration to us all. Thank you for making us part of
the Christian family.
Presentation & speech:
In Mark 12,32-34 we read:
So the scribe to him. Well said Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifies.» Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, «You are not far from the kingdom of God.»
I am happy to introduce Kjell Morten Bråten from Norway. He was born i 1965 and holds a
Bachelor Degree in Cultural Administration and has for many years been engaged in social work
and care. To day he is engaged in helping youth suffering from autism.
His engagement to protect and defend minority groups in the Norwegian society has not been easy.
When the social healthcare system did not manage, Kjell Morten opened his home for some people
suffering from drug addiction. Never asking for money or any reward.
I know it has been tough and not without danger. Because of his engagement to help and stand up
for those needing it, to defend, and in particular to fight for the rights of homosexuals of
which he is part, Kjell Morten has faced death threats and been beaten up in the streets and
experienced on his body the evil only humans can inflict upon others. Still he says, ‘I have to do it. I
can not change.’
Well, Kjell Morten, trust me. Nobody wants you to change. You say you believe in a beautiful God,
you say you love Jesus as your guide and teacher, you say the Bible speaks to you differently each
time you read and that there is no fixed dogma, you say God is one, you say we should love each
other and accept freedom, respect, and tolerance in our hearts. You are right, such a person having
proven all this can not change. Yes, you do lack formal theological education but our Lord is not
interested in papers. He is interested in your heart and what you do.
You are now preparing to establish a new Unitarian Christian congregation in your hometown. I
wish you all the best with this enterprise and promise all possible support. The ordination you are
soon to receive will provide you with all necessary acceptance as Unitarian pastor not only from
The Norwegian Unitarian Church but also from the Norwegian State.
But the ordination is also a sign that you from now on is called to do a spesial kind of work in the
garden of God and that you from now on carry out this work part of the Christian tradition started
by Jesus and continued and reformed by Francis David.
Jeg mottar velsignelsen fra den italienske unitarpresten Roberto Rosso og den ungarske presten Sandor Leta
Blessing:
I ask Kjell Morten to come forward in order to receive first the blessing for your ministry and then
the ordination.
Ordination:
Let us pray:
Blessed are You, our Father in Heaven, our God, the King of the world, that tells us to send You
workers to your garden. We thank You for not considering our failures but our possibilities and our
good will. We thank You for trusting in us being able to serve You.
We ask You to guide, to comfort and help, Kjell Morten, Your servant, who is to day to be ordained
to serve as pastor in Your garden. We pray his harvest will be to Your honor – and according to Your
will only.
Ordination to ministry is not to be taken lightly but is a matter of conscious and long consideration.
I therefore as you, Kjell Morten:
Do you want ordination to the Unitarian ministry and from now on serve our Lord, the one Father
in Heaven, as pastor preaching the gospel according to your best abilities?
(Jeg svarte JA.)
In the present of God and this congregation you have confirmed your calling to the Unitarian
ministry.
Jesus teaches us,
Listen Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one
love God and our neighbours.
This is the gospel that is the foundation of your ordination. The succession of this ordination has
been handen over from bishop to minister from the beginning of our faith. It has been handed to me
an in the same way it was handed over, I will now hand it over to you.
I now declare you rightly called and ordained to the Unitarian ministry.
Conclusion of the ordination:
In Norway the stole is the official symbol that State and church recognize you as an rightfully
ordained pastor. Only such a person has the right to wear the stole. (
Knut put the stole on Kjell M.)
In Norway a pastor in a registered church is not only appointed by the church but has also to be
approved by the State. This because such a pastor is not only a pastor but also a public civil servant
appointed by the Governor office. I hold here the official documents marked and signed from
Norwegian authorities that appoints you a public civil servant and a pastor accepted by the
(Knut gir Kjell Morten dokumentene.)