Reformation in Sweden: Difference between revisions

The '''[[Reformation]] in Sweden''' is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King [[Gustav I of Sweden]], but the process was slow and didwas not end definitively decided until the [[Uppsala Synod]] of 1593, andin the followingwake [[War against Sigismund]], withof an attempted [[counterCounter-reformationReformation]] during the reign of [[John III of Sweden|John III]] (1568–1592).

The Swedish Reformation meant the break withcaused the [[RomanChurch Catholicof ChurchSweden]], andto thebreak foundation ofwith the [[SwedishRoman Catholic Church]]. It is considered to bemark the ending pointend of the [[Medieval Sweden|Swedish Middle Ages]]. The Reformation resulted madein both [[Sweden]] aand Protestant[[Finland]] country. The Swedish Reformation also includedbecoming [[FinlandProtestant]] countries, whichas the latter formed an integral part of Sweden at the time.

But the pope did not give up either. Trolle's successor as Archbishop [[Johannes Magnus]] was not in Sweden (went to [[Rome]]). Sweden was controlled politically and militarily in practice entirely by the excommunicated parliament with Gustav Vasa at the helm. As [[interdict]] applied in principle to the whole of Sweden (and Denmark), the Catholic Church formally went on strike, refusing to authorize the regime in Sweden (and Denmark). From the perspective of the parliament and Gustav Vasa (as well as Fredrik I/Christian III), there was a concrete need to solve the problem of a striking church against the state. [[Lutheranism]] offered an alternative: a functioning church under state control. The situation in Denmark was at largelargely the same and the same needs initiated the [[Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein]] was initiated for similar reasons as in Sweden.

The reformationReformation was initiated for a number of reasons. Among these were an impractical organisation, a perceived stagnation within the Catholic Church, a will toward independence from Rome, the financial needs of the state, as well as new ideas.

In 1523, King Gustav I of Sweden met the reformer [[Laurentius Andreae]] and was influenced by Protestantism, and the following year, the king broke official contacts with Rome. Laurentius Andreae introduced the king to the reformer priest [[Olaus Petri]], who was made preacher in ''[[Storkyrkan]]'' in Stockholm. In 1525, the royal priest Olaus Petri married, effectively demonstrating the king's consent to the abolition of the celibacy of the priesthood, and providing a breach with the Catholic churchChurch's ban of marriage of priests.<ref>Carlquist, Gunnar, red (1937). Svensk uppslagsbok. Bd 20. Malmö: Svensk Uppslagsbok AB. sid. 669</ref> In 1526, the New Testament was published in the Swedish language.

At the Riksdag of Västerås in 1527, referred to as the "Reformation Riksdag", the Estates agreed to a number of demands toward reformation: 1) to give the king mandate to confiscate clerical assets: 2) that all church offices were henceforth to be illegal without royal consent, in effect placing the church under royal control: 3) that the clergy were to be subjected to secular law, and finally: 4) that only the words of the Bible were to be taught in sermons in churches and schools (in effect removing all Catholic church doctrines).

The Riksdag of Västerås was followed by the [[Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden]], in which the economic demanddemands of the monarch waswere met: the assets of the Catholic church waswere confiscated, eradicating church economic independence of the crown, thus making the clergy economically dependent of the crown.<ref>Reduktion, hist., 6. Gustaf Vasas reduktion från kyrkan i Nordisk familjebok (andra upplagan, 1915)</ref> In parallel with a ban from accepting new novices, and a ban for the convents to prevent their existing members from leaving,; this act indirectly resulted in the [[Suppressionsuppression of Monasteriesmonasteries]], which lost their economic foundations.<ref>Reduktion, hist., 6. Gustaf Vasas reduktion från kyrkan i Nordisk familjebok (andra upplagan, 1915)</ref>

The economic reform was followed by the fulfilling of the theological demands through the [[Örebro Synod]] of 1529, in which Catholic rituals such as the veneration of saints and pilgrimages waswere discouraged (though not outright banned) and described as no longer a part of religious practice by the church, and the sermons of priests and monks where subjected to control of the crown (rather than the Papal church) to ensure that they were founded only on the words of the Bible (rather than doctrines of the Catholic churchChurch), and a process toward reform in religious practice was thereby initiated.<ref>Carl Alfred Cornelius: Svenska kyrkans historia efter reformationen, förra delen (1520-1693), 1886-87</ref> The same year, a handbook in the Swedish language was published describing the correct way of performing baptism, weddings, funerals and other religious rituals.

The religiousReligious tensions resulted in the unsuccessful [[Westrogothian rebellion]] of the nobility and [[Dalecarlian rebellions]] of the peasantry during the 1520s and 1530s, the latter attempting to depose the king in favor of the purported son of [[Christina Gyllenstierna]].

Consolidation of the Reformation continued under [[Eric XIV of Sweden]], who came to the throne in 1560 and at first imposed not rigid doctrinal uniformity, but, rather, uniform recognition of his authority over the Church while admitting substantial numbers of [[Huguenot]] [[Calvinists]] to his kingdom.<ref>Montgomery, 1995, p. 145.</ref> The Swedish church, however, refused Calvinism in the Synod of Stockholm of 1565.

[[File:Minnespenning över Johan III och hans hustru Katarina J..jpg|thumb|Memorial coins. King [[John III of Sweden]] and queen [[Catherine Jagiellon]] attempted to introduce a counterCounter-reformationReformation.]]

The reign of [[John III of Sweden]] in 1568–1592 signified certain leanings toward a [[counterCounter-reformationReformation]] in Sweden inspired by the king's Catholic wife, queen [[Catherine Jagiellon]], who acted as a mediator in the king's negotiations with the Pope in Rome for the conditions in which Sweden would be willing to return to Catholicism.<ref>Katarina Jagellonica, urn:sbl:12406, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Birgitta Lager-Kromnow), hämtad 2017-12-25.</ref>

John III leaned toward ReformReformed Catholicism, and suggested to Rome that Sweden, in the event of a counter-reformationCatholic restoration, should be allowed to keep marriage for clergy, use the Swedish language during church service, [[communion under both kinds]], and a theology based upon the church fathers rather than upon the doctrines of the [[Council of Trent]].

The new Protestant church ordinance was, however, given Catholic-inclined additions by the king: the ''Nova Ordinantia'' of 1575, and his own church doctrine, the ''Röda boken'' ('Red Book') of 1576, two additions which introduced a middle stance between Catholicism and Protestantism, and reintroduced many Catholic customs. The king's additions to the church ordinance waswere not followed in all Sweden, particularlyin particular not in the Duchyduchy belonging to his CalvinisticCalvinist brother Charles, andas therewell as elsewhere where oppositionthere towardwas itopposition among the clergy. These conflicting doctrines resulted in the longa goinglengthy [[Liturgical Struggle]] between Catholic and Protestant sympathizers, and a split between the king and the church.

The Counter-reformatoryReformatory efforts contributed to tension in connection to the imprisoned Erik XIV, who came to be a symbol of protestantismProtestantism in prison. During the imprisonment of Eric, three major conspiracies were made to depose John III: the [[1569 Plot]], the [[Mornay Plot]] and the [[1576 Plot]], among whom at least the last one was heavily influenced by religious considerations.<ref>Mauritz Rasmusson, urn:sbl:9197, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Lars Ericson), hämtad 2020-08-03.</ref>

The negotiations between the royal couple and Rome wherewere ultimately not successful. Rome was not willing to accept the Reformed Catholicism in exchange for counterCounter-reformationReformation, and the counter-reformationmovement in Sweden diminisheddeclined after death of queen Catherine, andwhich was followed by the kingKing's remarriage to the Protestant [[Gunilla Bielke]].

TheSweden's Personalpersonal Unionunion with Catholic Poland under the Catholic [[Sigismund III Wasa]] in 1592–1598 resulted in a final clash between Catholicism and Protestantism in Swedenthe kingdom.

The tensionsTensions finally resulted in the [[Uppsala Synod]] of 1593, where Protestantism in accordance with the [[Augsburg Confession]] was adopted as the state religion. Catholicism was to be abandoned, the Swedish church was to return to the doctrines of the Swedish Church Ordinance 1571, and the ''Nova Ordinantia'' of 1575 and the ''Röda boken'' ('Red Book') of 1576 waswere to be removed from it. The suppression of the monasteries was finally completed with the closure of [[Vadstena Abbey]] in 1595.

The Protestants united under the kingKing's Protestant uncle [[Charles IX of Sweden|Duke Charles]] against the Catholic Sigismund and thereby the Polish-Swedish union and Catholicism, which resulted in the [[War against Sigismund]] in 1598. The war ended with the defeat of Sigismund and thereby Catholicism in Sweden, and the execution of his followers, in the [[Linköping Bloodbath]] in 1600.

[[Category:Early Modernmodern history of Sweden]]