Dr. Päivi Räsänen, MP, Finland, was awarded the 2022 Sabre of Boldness on 19 January 2022 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, in absentia. Bestowed by the editors of the journal Gottesdienst: The Journal of Lutheran Liturgy, the event marked the 26th time the Sabre of Boldness has been awarded. A fellow-countryman, Mr. Markus Snellman, an exchange student studying at Concordia Theological Seminary, received the award on behalf of Dr. Räsänen.

Details of the reason for her election will follow soon.

Here is the text of the letter sent to her today:

Dear Dr. Räsänen,

I am pleased to advise you that the editors of Gottesdienst, the Journal of Lutheran Liturgy, have unanimously chosen to declare you the 2022 Bearer of the Sabre of Boldness, an award we have been giving for 26 of the past 27 years to recipients we have in our humble estimation deemed most worthy to be the finest exemplars of the ideal of the Sabre. This ideal is emblazoned on the plaque on which the Sabre has been mounted, at Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wisconsin these 27 years. It reads: "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity on behalf of the Holy Church of Christ while engaged in the confession of His pure Gospel in the face of hostile forces and at the greatest personal risk."

Your compatriot Bp. Juhana Pojhola, who continues with you in your confession during these trying times, also received this award in 2009.

We have a lapel pin being delivered to you which was received on your behalf at our award ceremony last night, 19 January 2022, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by your fellow-countryman, Mr. Markus Snellman, an exchange student studying at Concordia Theological Seminary. There was a spontaneous standing and sustained ovation.

You may see details and some of the history of this award on our website at https://www.gottesdienst.org/sabre-of-boldness.

You have also been given a lifetime subscription to our quarterly journal.

On behalf of the editors and our many avid readers and supporters, I wish to express our sincere gratitude to you and to Almighty God for granting you the grace to make your clear confession of the Gospel. We shall meanwhile continue in prayer for you.

In Christ our Savior,

+ Burnell F Eckardt, Editor-in-chief, Gottesdienst