More about our church
Our Vicar


After a long inter-regnum, Cobo was assigned Revd. Claes Selim as licenced priest on July 1st 2002
His induction as Vicar of Cobo was on Wed 21st August 2002

22nd July 2002
The Queen, on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Reverend Claes Eric Selim, presently Vicar of St Matthew Cobo, Guernsey, as Rector of the Parish of Sainte Marie du Castel in Guernsey with effect from 15 August 2002.
Claes02
(c) P E Guilbert July 2002
Reverend Claes Selim

Claes was born on the 8th February 1948 in the parish of Kungsholmen in Stockholm. After matriculation examination at Kungsholms Läroverk he attended the universities of Stockholm and Uppsala, where he obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Classics (Latin, Greek and Classical Archaeology).

Claes decided to become a priest in 1973 and after a B.D. Degree at Uppsala he was ordained into the Lutheran Church of Sweden on 30
th January 1977.

His first posting was the combined rural parishes of Tuna/Stavby outside Uppsala. Alongside this and various other posts as rector and priest-in-charge he continued teaching New Testament Greek and New Testament Studies at the Theological Faculty of Uppsala for almost thirty years. In 2000 following the Porvoo Agreement, he became one of 3 Swedish priests who moved to the Church of England.

Claes served as Assistant priest in Holbeach in the diocese of Lincoln till 2002, when he was appointed Vicar St Matthew and Rector of Ste Marie du Castel.

Claes enjoys the company of his Labrador Bradley and his hobbies are classical music, art, literature and travelling.