Europe

The Rev. Knut Refsdal receives the episcopal pin from Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank after being elected a United Methodist bishop on April 4 at the Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Refsdal, a pastor in Norway, was elected on the 26th ballot. Photo by Karl Anders Ellingsen, UM News.

Knut Refsdal elected as bishop

The Rev. Knut Refsdal, a pastor in Norway, was elected a United Methodist bishop on the 26th ballot.

Bishop Hans Växby, who served as a beloved leader in the Nordic and Baltic countries for 12 years before leading Eurasia for another seven, passed away on March 30 at age 80. Photo courtesy of the Council of Bishops.

Bishop Växby, post-Cold War leader, dies at 80

United Methodists remember Bishop Hans Växby as a servant leader who helped rebuild the church in Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

General Conference

Delegate Julia Stukalova (left) and other members of the Eastern Russia and Central Asia Provisional Conference react as delegates to the United Methodist General Conference, meeting in Charlotte, N.C., vote on April 25 to allow their conference to exit the denomination. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Eurasian conferences get go-ahead to form own church

The four annual conferences in Russia and its neighboring countries are leaving to form the autonomous Christian Methodist Church.

General Conference

Bishop Eduard Khegay speaks on April 21 to the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. Four Eurasian conferences overseen by Khegay want to become autonomous, and the committee approved an enabling petition for that. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.

Regionalization moves on to full General Conference

The Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters advanced legislation dealing with regionalization, the status of Eurasian conferences and the number of bishops in Africa.

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