In our society – and the Christian church – we are characterized by individualism. In the monastery, one lives in a mutual community, where one not only takes responsibility for oneself, but also for one's fellow brothers and sisters. Just as important as my relationship with God is my brother's/sister's relationship with God. It is just as important that my brother/sister is redeemed and gets to live out his/her life and flourish, as it is for me to experience it myself. That my life is not "perfect" without my brother's/sister's life being the same. This also applies to the duty and responsibility to speak up and guide each other.

Erik Varden, born in 1974, is a monk and bishop, raised in Degernes. He entered Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in 2002, after ten years at the University of Cambridge. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Trondheim in 2019.

Conversation, sale of coffee / tea and cake.

Free admission.