Folketinget will not get a priest with fixed office hours at Christiansborg. Instead, members of parliament are being given a telephone number they can call to speak with a priest from Københavns Stift.
DR reports that the arrangement was confirmed on August 25, 2026, after two months of political debate. Folketinget’s Presidium has agreed with Peter Skov-Jakobsen, bishop of Københavns Stift, that MPs can contact a priest by phone. The politician and the priest then agree the time and place of the conversation themselves.
According to Folketinget’s press notice, as reported by Politiken, priests will not have offices in the parliament building. Politiken describes the outcome as a permanently attached parliamentary priest being reduced to a telephone number. The notice also states that the scheme is part of the existing pastoral service of Københavns Stift and comes at no cost to Folketinget.
Folketingets formand Søren Gade declined to be interviewed, but is quoted in the press release. Per DR, he says a majority in the Presidium has chosen a solution where MPs can have a conversation with a priest about difficult or existential matters, including sjælesorg, or pastoral care.
Auken regrets her video
The idea of a priest at Folketinget came from Ida Auken about a year ago, when she was a backbencher for Socialdemokratiet. She has since become kirkeminister. Auken acknowledges to DR that her celebratory video, posted when the plan was announced, signaled a bigger change than was intended.
Auken says the important point for her was that MPs get access not only to a psychologist, but also to conversations about grief and doubt. She calls the telephone solution an amicable outcome to a debate that stirred strong feelings. As reported by BT, via Ritzau, she has now deleted the video from social media.
The decision has divided the Presidium. Liberal Alliance’s member, Lars-Christian Brask, told DR that politicians should not have extra privileges, since they can already contact a priest on the same terms as other citizens. His party says no to the arrangement.
Enhedslisten’s group chair, Peder Hvelplund, who sits on Udvalget for Forretningsordenen, calls the case a non-story. He notes that members of the folkekirken have always been able to call a priest. He adds that the debate clarified that fixed religious arrangements at Christiansborg would be problematic.
Skov-Jakobsen says he himself proposed the telephone arrangement connecting politicians and priests. He states that he has never sought folkekirkelige activities inside Folketinget.
The debate began at the end of June 2026, when Folketinget announced that a priest would be attached from the new parliamentary year. According to DR and Politiken, the Presidium concluded its discussions after the summer and settled on the narrower telephone solution. Københavns Stift has told Ritzau that practical details, including phone opening hours, still need to be agreed.
