Åsa Waldau
Encyclopedia
Åsa M. Waldau ˈoːsa maˈriːa ˌvaldau (also known as Tirsa and as the Bride of Christ) is the leader of a Christian church
in Knutby
, Sweden
. She was born October 26, 1965. She is one of originally four sisters, the youngest of whom was the victim of the Knutby murder on January 10, 2004.
. In 1990 Waldau (then Björk) was hired by the Pentecostal church in Uppsala
as a children's pastor. However, because of her actions and because she divorced, she was forced to resign. She then moved to Knutby, where she lived with the Waldau family, whose young son Patrik (born 1975) she had befriended in Uppsala. They married in June 1994.
Waldau was hired part time by the Pentecostal congregation of Knutby in March 1992. Kim Wincent, whom she had met in bible school in 1985, was a pastor there. Waldau's position rapidly increased in power. There were claims of prophecies about a "disrespected servant of the Lord" who would be the cause of a "fire from Knutby." She traveled widely in Swedish Pentecostal communities, and induced many young people to move to Knutby. In 1997 she convinced Helge Fossmo
and his wife Heléne to join the Knutby community as a pastor.
. Åsa Waldau was the granddaughter of Pethrus' successor Willis Säwe, but her mother did not raise her in the faith. She was born again, and entered the Pentecostal tradition, but she also underwent influences from Ulf Ekman
and his Livets Ord
movement and from Word of Faith
.
In Waldau's preaching there is an emphasis on sanctification
and on forgiveness of sins which is a base of Christian belief. She believes that believers can stop sinning in this life on earth.
The cult of approximately 100 members has a very hierarchical internal organization. Reminiscent of a cell church
, the members are organized in teams, with a team leader they are supposed to ask for spiritual guidance. At the top of the hierarchy are six pastor
s, but not all of them are employed full-time.
Waldau's views of the role of women
may seem contradictory. Within a marriage it is the husband who should lead his wife and take decisions. The wife is to obey her husband, and should ask her husband's permission, even for mundane things like shopping trips.
Waldau's distinguishing doctrine is that she rejects the identification of the biblical metaphor of the Bride of Christ with the Church. She teaches publicly that the Bride of Christ is an actual person, whom Christ will wed, while the guests at this wedding are identified as the believers. In private, she claims that she is the Bride of Christ herself, defectors have told.
The eschatology
is pretribulationist. Waldau expected that she would be taken away before the Rapture
, in a manner reminiscent of the dormition of the Virgin or the assumption of Mary
, to be united with her Bridegroom.
from God on his cellphone, which told him Svensson would not get mercy from God if she did not kill Alexandra and their neighbour Daniel Linde. (Fossmo was having an affair with this neighbour's wife, Annette Linde, who was also Åsa Waldau's sister-in-law. At the same time Fossmo had an affair with Sara Svensson herself that he exploited to manipulate her into the deed.)
There have been suspicions of Waldau writing these text messages and convincing Helge to forward them to Sara.
In 2004 Fossmo was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to life in jail for conspiracy of murder and Svensson was sentenced to psychiatric care. Waldau, however, was not prosecuted; no one could find any evidence of her involvement in the murder.
In September 2004 Waldau was in a one-hour interview program on Sveriges Television
by Stina Lundberg Dabrowski
. The public's reaction was quite negative; Waldau came across as 'cold' and 'unfeeling'.
In March 2005 Waldau inspired the sect to open a spa. In November she released a music CD containing songs from the church of Knutby. In December she appeared on a discussion panel at the celebration of 175 year Aftonbladet
, introduced there by Jan Guillou
as Sweden's most maligned person in modern times.
In June 2006 the talk-show host Lennart Persson invited Waldau to his last installment of Debatt on national television, where she got into exchanges with Janne Josefsson
and with Bert Karlsson
. Bert Karlsson later that year invited her to his own program on the cable channel TV8
. In October 2007 he published Waldau's autobiography Kristi brud: vem kan man lita på? (Bride of Christ: whom can one trust?) (ISBN 91-85881-02-3).
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
in Knutby
Knutby
Knutby is a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 534 inhabitants in 2005....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. She was born October 26, 1965. She is one of originally four sisters, the youngest of whom was the victim of the Knutby murder on January 10, 2004.
Biography
In 1985 Åsa Waldau had one month's theological training in a Pentecostal bible school in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. In 1990 Waldau (then Björk) was hired by the Pentecostal church in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
as a children's pastor. However, because of her actions and because she divorced, she was forced to resign. She then moved to Knutby, where she lived with the Waldau family, whose young son Patrik (born 1975) she had befriended in Uppsala. They married in June 1994.
Waldau was hired part time by the Pentecostal congregation of Knutby in March 1992. Kim Wincent, whom she had met in bible school in 1985, was a pastor there. Waldau's position rapidly increased in power. There were claims of prophecies about a "disrespected servant of the Lord" who would be the cause of a "fire from Knutby." She traveled widely in Swedish Pentecostal communities, and induced many young people to move to Knutby. In 1997 she convinced Helge Fossmo
Helge Fossmo
Helge Arnold Fossmo , a pentecostal pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for solicitation of the Knutby murder in Sweden in 2004.-Life before Knutby:...
and his wife Heléne to join the Knutby community as a pastor.
Teachings
The Philadelphia congregation in Knutby was established in 1921 during the Pentecostal revival in Sweden connected with Lewi PethrusLewi Pethrus
Petrus Lewi Pethrus was a Swedish Pentecostal minister who played a decisive role in the formation and development of the Pentecostal movement in his country.-Life:...
. Åsa Waldau was the granddaughter of Pethrus' successor Willis Säwe, but her mother did not raise her in the faith. She was born again, and entered the Pentecostal tradition, but she also underwent influences from Ulf Ekman
Ulf Ekman
Ulf Ekman is a Swedish charismatic pastor and founder of the charismatic church Livets Ord , which brought the Word of Faith movement to Sweden.-Ministry:...
and his Livets Ord
Livets Ord
Livets Ord, literally Word of the Life, is the largest parish within the Swedish Word of Faith movement. The parish was founded in Uppsala by Ulf Ekman on May 24, 1983, who also served as its leader until 2000. Ekman passed on the local pastorship in Uppsala to Robert Ekh that year and instead...
movement and from Word of Faith
Word of Faith
Word of Faith is a family of Christian churches as well as a label applied by some observers to a teaching movement kindred to many Pentecostal and charismatic churches and individuals worldwide. The basic doctrine preached is that of salvation through Jesus Christ and what that salvation entails...
.
In Waldau's preaching there is an emphasis on sanctification
Sanctification
Sanctity is an ancient concept widespread among religions, a property of a thing or person sacred or set apart within the religion, from totem poles through temple vessels to days of the week, to a human believer who achieves this state. Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity,...
and on forgiveness of sins which is a base of Christian belief. She believes that believers can stop sinning in this life on earth.
The cult of approximately 100 members has a very hierarchical internal organization. Reminiscent of a cell church
Cell church
A cell church is a Christian church structure centering on the regular gathering of cell groups. Small group ministries are often called cell groups, but may also be called home groups, home friendship groups, home care groups, house fellowships, or life groups.A church with cell groups is not...
, the members are organized in teams, with a team leader they are supposed to ask for spiritual guidance. At the top of the hierarchy are six pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
s, but not all of them are employed full-time.
Waldau's views of the role of women
Christian views of women
Frank Stagg, PhD, was a Southern Baptist theologian, seminary professor, author, and pastor over a 50-year ministry career. He taught New Testament interpretation and Greek at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from 1945 until 1964 and at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,...
may seem contradictory. Within a marriage it is the husband who should lead his wife and take decisions. The wife is to obey her husband, and should ask her husband's permission, even for mundane things like shopping trips.
Waldau's distinguishing doctrine is that she rejects the identification of the biblical metaphor of the Bride of Christ with the Church. She teaches publicly that the Bride of Christ is an actual person, whom Christ will wed, while the guests at this wedding are identified as the believers. In private, she claims that she is the Bride of Christ herself, defectors have told.
The eschatology
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
is pretribulationist. Waldau expected that she would be taken away before the Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
, in a manner reminiscent of the dormition of the Virgin or the assumption of Mary
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
, to be united with her Bridegroom.
Connection with the Knutby murders
In 2004 Helge Fossmo's nanny Sara Svensson confessed to having killed Fossmo's second wife Alexandra (Åsa Waldau's sister), under the influence of Fossmo. Fossmo had claimed to get text messagesText messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
from God on his cellphone, which told him Svensson would not get mercy from God if she did not kill Alexandra and their neighbour Daniel Linde. (Fossmo was having an affair with this neighbour's wife, Annette Linde, who was also Åsa Waldau's sister-in-law. At the same time Fossmo had an affair with Sara Svensson herself that he exploited to manipulate her into the deed.)
There have been suspicions of Waldau writing these text messages and convincing Helge to forward them to Sara.
In 2004 Fossmo was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to life in jail for conspiracy of murder and Svensson was sentenced to psychiatric care. Waldau, however, was not prosecuted; no one could find any evidence of her involvement in the murder.
Celebrity
After the murders, Waldau continued to be very reclusive. She refused to be interviewed by newspapers and only appeared without speaking in the TV4 documentary A Fall from Grace. Her first appearance was at the trial in May 2004, speaking in court as a relative of her sister who had been murdered. She admitted that she had 'tested' whether she might be the Bride of Christ, an idea she attributed to Helge Fossmo.In September 2004 Waldau was in a one-hour interview program on Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
by Stina Lundberg Dabrowski
Stina Lundberg Dabrowski
Stina Lundberg Dabrowski is a Swedish journalist, television host, producer, writer, and professor of television production. She is best known for her relaxed interview style and has interviewed many international leaders, politicians, and celebrities...
. The public's reaction was quite negative; Waldau came across as 'cold' and 'unfeeling'.
In March 2005 Waldau inspired the sect to open a spa. In November she released a music CD containing songs from the church of Knutby. In December she appeared on a discussion panel at the celebration of 175 year Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
, introduced there by Jan Guillou
Jan Guillou
Jan Oskar Sverre Lucien Henri Guillou is a Swedish author and journalist. Among his books are a series of spy fiction novels about a spy named Carl Hamilton, and a trilogy of historical fiction novels about a Knight Templar, Arn Magnusson...
as Sweden's most maligned person in modern times.
In June 2006 the talk-show host Lennart Persson invited Waldau to his last installment of Debatt on national television, where she got into exchanges with Janne Josefsson
Janne Josefsson
Janne Josefsson is a Swedish investigative journalist who has had numerous shows on Sveriges Television such as Fittja Paradiso, Uppdrag Granskning and Debatt. Uppdrag Granskning has uncovered some of Swedens most noted scandals such as the ICA meat repackaging controversy, and have both received...
and with Bert Karlsson
Bert Karlsson
Bert Willis Karlsson is a Swedish record company manager, entrepreneur, former politician and front figure of the New Democracy party....
. Bert Karlsson later that year invited her to his own program on the cable channel TV8
TV8 (Sweden)
TV8 is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group broadcasting to Sweden. It focuses on news, current affairs, documentaries and drama. The channel was started by the private equity firm Ratos in 1997 and was sold to MTG in 1999....
. In October 2007 he published Waldau's autobiography Kristi brud: vem kan man lita på? (Bride of Christ: whom can one trust?) (ISBN 91-85881-02-3).
External links
- Rick RossRick Ross (consultant)Rick Alan Ross works as a consultant, lecturer, and intervention specialist, with an interest in exit counseling and deprogramming of former cult members. He runs a blog at CultNews.com, and in 2003 founded the Rick A...
, News articles in English about Åsa Waldau