The King and Queen of Sweden, along with the Crown Princess, participated in the opening of the Synod in Uppsala, north of Stockholm.
The royal trio – King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria – was also there to mark the 50th anniversary when the Swedish church allowed women to become priests. 
The mass service was attended by the first female bishop in the Church of Sweden, Christina Odenberg.
Currently in the Swedish Lutheran church, 40 percent of all priests are women. But only 23 percent are female church pastors or bishops.
The bishop Lunda Antje Jäckel gave a sermon that compared the women in the Swedish church to Lydia, from the Acts of the Apostles.
“She was the first woman in Europe who became a Christian,” said Bishop.
“She, along with immigrants and the self-employed formed the first congregation in Europe. That was something quite revolutionary at the time. Anyone who wants to serve God, do good to be flexible, “said Bishop.
“The total for me is that we should be grateful to seize this opportunity to show where the church really stands and clearly back up the decision on women priests as the gifts to the church as they are and have been,” added Archbishop Anders Wejryd.
Following the service, the royals and the Church dignitaries then toured a museum which had an exhibit dedicated to female priests in the Swedish church.
Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia attended the opening of the Cervantes Institute in Frankfurt, Germany.
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