Ecclesia viva Ecclesia communitatis aut antiquary = En levande kyrka : Församlingens kyrka eller antikvariens?

Sammanfattning: There are about 3 500 churches protected under the Heritage Conservation Act in Sweden today. These churches still belong to living congregations that want to be able to adapt them to the needs of today, just like people have done throughout history. But since the churches are protected, the congregations have to apply for a permit and that is not always given. This can lead to frustration, and you can sometimes hear representatives of the church express the view that antiquarian authorities are enemies that oppose the church. On the other hand we have the antiquarian authorities that, in a way, have to act as advocates for generations to come and make sure that there is a cultural heritage preserved for them when they grow up. Here too, there can sometimes be tendencies to not understand the opposite party. This essay investigates what has influenced the changes of church interiors that have been made from 1950 until today in 69 churches in the Diocese of Växjö. It investigates how liturgy, practical demands, antiquarian attitudes and economy in the form of church antiquarian compensation effect the reshaping of church interiors. The essay also contains a detailed study of five chosen churches in Kalmar County, the Diocese of Växjö. In this detailed study I have looked at all the applications from 1995 until today to see how the different parties have acted towards one other, if there have been conflicts and what arguments and values the different parties have had. In the study of these churches I have also investigated what has been considered culturally and historically valuable in the care and maintenance plans that have been developed by the congregations as a basis for future applications concerning church maintenance fundings. To sum up it can be said that it has worked well in the investigated cases and the parties have cooperated, except in one case where there was a conflict. Since this was not as much as I had thought when I began this investigation I chose to also give an account of a church outside of the Diocese of Växjö where there is currently a conflict about benches, Trefaldighetskyrkan in Karlskrona. What I believe is necessary for improvement is on the one hand cooperation at an early stage, something that Kalmar County is good at, and on the other hand a forum where an informal exchange of information can take place. In that way the congregations can gain a greater understanding of the antiquarian way of thinking and the antiquarian authorities can gain a greater understanding of the congregations? way of thinking. In that way cooperation between the congregations and the county museums can also be promoted so that the congregations feel safe in coming to the museums for advice at an early stage.