The Church of Sweden is opting for gender-neutral language when referring to God, with designators like 'he' and 'Lord' being omitted.

The national evangelical denomination – the largest Lutheran branch in Europe – is calling for clergy to change the terms they use as part of an update to its service handbook that prescribes liturgical and linguistic norms for worship gatherings.

'Theologically, for instance, we know that God is beyond our gender determinations, God is not human,' said Archbishop Antje Jackelén, who leads the Church of Sweden, according Associated Press. She said the change had been in conversation for decades, as early as 1986.

The denomination, which was formerly Sweden's state church, made the decision to change its language on Thursday following an assembly of its 251-member elective body. The language shift will become official on May 20.

Christer Pahlmblad, associate theology professor at Sweden's Lund University, criticsed the move. He told Denmark's Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper that the change undermined 'the doctrine of the Trinity and the community with the other Christian churches'.

He added: 'It really isn't smart if the Church of Sweden becomes known as a church that does not respect the common theology heritage.'

The Church of Sweden claims 6.1 million baptised members in the 10 million-strong country. However, a report earlier this year found record numbers of Swedes to be leaving the denomination, whose membership numbers have been in decline since the it formally separated from the state in 2000.

High-Church in style, the tradition is also known to be liberal-leaning and in 2009 it consecrated the world's first openly lesbian bishop in a mainstream denomination.