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bers, elected by the parishioners. There is, moreover, another council
consisting of all the clergymen of the deanery and a lay member for
each parish. These two councils manage the ecclesiastical affairs within
their respective parishes and deaneries.
The Icelandic Church has always been liberal in her views, even
the so-called orthodox branch of it; and Pietism and other extreme
movements have never been much in vogue there, while, on the other
hand, spiritualism and the new theology have many atherents among
the younger clergy.
Besides their clerical duties, clergymen are also charged with the
annual public registration; they have, moreover, to record, formally
and exactly, all births, deaths, and marriages, as the church registers
are the only official records of these events.