Paneeraq Siegstad Munk (born 30 January 1977) is the current Bishop of Greenland for the Evangelical Lutheran Church. She was elected as bishop in 2020, and officially sworn in the next year.

Early life

Paneeraq Siegstad Munk was born on 30 January 1977 in Attu.^[1]

Career

In 2001, Munk earned a bachelor's degree in theology from the University of Greenland.^[2] Three years later, she was ordained as a priest for the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Church of Denmark).^[2] As a priest, she served the towns of Ittoqqortoormiit and Aasiaat.^[2] She also oversaw the Greenland Clergy Association.^[2] In 2017, she completed her master's degree in theology, and became a provost in Kujataa.^[3]

In 2020, she defeated three other candidates to become the bishop of Greenland, taking office on 1 December 2021.^[4] Allegations arose after her election that she committed academic misconduct in relation to her bachelor's thesis—specifically that she cheated—but she and personnel from the university denied this.^[3] She replaced Sofie Petersen, who had served as bishop for the previous 25 years (1995–2020), and is the third bishop of Greenland overall.^[2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her official swearing in was delayed until 2021, the 300 year anniversary of Hans Egede bringing Lutheranism to the island.^[5] She took her oath in October, and Queen Margrethe II and other bishops (including Marianne Gaarden, Jogvan Fridriksson, and Henrik Stubkjær) attended the ceremony.^[6] Her predecessor ordained her, and she took office on 1 December 2021.^[6]

She said that the Greenlandic language is an important element of the church, and that the interest of Margrethe II in the religious participation of the island was meaningful to its members.^[6]

References