- Swedish:
- Svenska Kyrkan
- Areas Of Involvement:
- Lutheranism
Church of Sweden
-
What is the Church of Sweden?
The Church of Sweden is a Swedish Lutheran denomination that transitioned from Roman Catholic to Lutheran during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Christianity spread gradually in Sweden, with the first missionaries in the 9th century. The Swedish Reformation didn't radically change church practices.
Key points:
* King Gustav I Vasa eliminated the Roman Catholic church's economic power with help from Laurentius Andreae and Olaus Petri.
* Ties with Rome weakened until 1527, when the king confiscated church property, making the Church of Sweden independent. In 1544, Sweden was declared a Lutheran nation.
* The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden was the official state church until 2000.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where is the Church of Sweden based?
The Church of Sweden, a Swedish Lutheran denomination, does not have a single physical headquarters but is based throughout Sweden. It is divided into 13 dioceses, each led by a bishop. The archbishop of Uppsala, who is both the bishop in his diocese and the presiding bishop of the Church of Sweden, is located in Uppsala. The Church Assembly, which has 251 elected members, is the decision-making body of the Church and meets twice a year. Until the year 2000, the church was supported by the state.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What does it mean that the Church of Sweden is Lutheran?
For the Church of Sweden, being Lutheran means it adheres to the Christian interpretation of Martin Luther's teachings and the 16th-century reforms that followed. It is one of the branches of Protestantism.
Key aspects of this Lutheran identity include:
- Scripture: Authority based on the Bible alone (sola Scriptura).
- Grace: Belief that reconciliation with God comes through divine grace (sola gratia).
- Faith: Acceptance that grace is received through faith (sola fide).
The Lutheran World Federation loosely connects 148 autonomous Lutheran church bodies, including the Church of Sweden. In 1544, Sweden officially became a Lutheran nation.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does the Church of Sweden participate in Swedish society?
The Church of Sweden actively participates in Swedish society through various educational, social welfare, and missionary activities. Historically, it played a central role in Swedish life, transitioning from Roman Catholic to Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
In the 20th century, the church engaged in the ecumenical movement, with Archbishop Nathan Söderblom contributing to the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948. While it was formerly the state church with the king as its highest authority, reforms in the late 20th century, finalized in 2000, separated it from state support, promoting religious freedom.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some important traditions or ceremonies in the Church of Sweden?
The Church of Sweden, a Lutheran denomination, has several traditions and ceremonies. Liturgical revisions have increased the uniformity of Lutheran worship beyond national borders.
Other rites include baptism, confirmation, ordination, marriage, and burial. Lutherans practice infant baptism, and confirmation usually occurs between the ages of 10 and 15, when the individual publicly professes the faith received in baptism.
Genuine rural folk traditions are disappearing in urban areas; however, since the 1990s, there has been a resurgence of interest in those traditions. Spring is celebrated on the last night of April with bonfires and song. Some celebrations have a religious association, such as Advent, St. Lucia’s Day, Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has the Church of Sweden changed over time, especially in recent years?
The Church of Sweden transitioned from Roman Catholic to Lutheran during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. King Gustav I Vasa confiscated church property in 1527, making it independent, and in 1544, Sweden was declared a Lutheran nation.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Pietism influenced the church, leading to social welfare and missionary activities. Archbishop Nathan Söderblom was a key figure in the ecumenical movement, which contributed to the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948.
In January 2000, the church ceased to be supported by the state, and Lutheranism was no longer the official religion. Today, between three-fifths and two-thirds of the population remain members.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Church of Sweden, church of Sweden that, until 2000, was supported by the state; it changed from the Roman Catholic to the Lutheran faith during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
During the 9th century the Swedish people had gradually begun to accept Christianity. The first Christian missionary sent to Sweden was St. Ansgar (801–865), a Benedictine monk and first archbishop of Hamburg. Subsequently, British and German missionaries worked among the Swedes, but the country did not become primarily Christian until the 12th century. In 1164 Uppsala was made the seat of an archbishopric, and the first Swedish archbishop was appointed.
The Reformation in Sweden did not involve a radical break with past church practices; the episcopal form of church government and the apostolic succession of the clergy were maintained. Gustav I Vasa, king of independent Sweden (1523–60) after the Scandinavian union of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark had broken up, wished to eliminate the extensive economic power of the Roman Catholic church in Sweden. He was aided in introducing the Reformation in Sweden by his chancellor, Laurentius Andreae, who had studied on the European continent and was aware of the new religious teachings, and by Olaus Petri, the Reformer of Sweden, who had studied in Wittenberg, Ger., with Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. Ties with the Roman church were gradually weakened until 1527, when the king, with the approval of the Swedish Diet, confiscated the church’s property, and the Church of Sweden became independent. Some of the clergy left Sweden rather than accept Lutheranism, but gradually the new religious teachings were accepted by the remaining clergy and the people. In 1544 the king and the Diet officially declared Sweden a Lutheran nation.
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Petri was a teacher and preacher who served as pastor (1543–52) in the Storkyrkan (the Cathedral of St. Nicolas) in Stockholm, city councilman in Stockholm, and secretary (1527) and chancellor (1531) to the king. He served the Swedish Reformation in many ways. He prepared a Swedish New Testament (1526), a hymnbook (1526), a church manual (1529), and a Swedish liturgy (1531), and he wrote several religious works. The entire Bible was translated into Swedish by Olaus, his brother Laurentius Petri, and Laurentius Andreae; it was published in 1541.
Under the leadership of Laurentius Petri, first Lutheran archbishop of the Church of Sweden (1531–73), the church resisted attempts by Calvinists to influence its teachings and government. Laurentius prepared the “church order” of 1571, a book of rites and ceremonies that regulated the life of the church.
Subsequent attempts by Roman Catholics to regain power in Sweden were unsuccessful. Under King Gustav II Adolf, Lutheranism was no longer threatened, and Gustav’s intervention in the Thirty Years’ War has been credited with saving Protestantism in Germany.
Lutheran orthodoxy prevailed in Sweden during the 17th century. During the 18th and 19th centuries, however, Pietism, a movement that began in Germany and emphasized personal religious experience and reform, strongly influenced Lutheranism in Sweden. As a result, educational, social welfare, and mission activities were begun and carried on by the church. In the 20th century the church was active in the ecumenical movement. Archbishop Nathan Söderblom was an ecumenical leader whose work was eventually influential in the formation in 1948 of the World Council of Churches. In 1952 a law was passed that allowed a Swedish citizen to withdraw formally from the state church and not be a member of any church.
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Although different religions were accepted in Sweden after the Edict of Toleration of 1781, the Church of Sweden continued as the state church, with the king as its highest authority, into the late 20th century. However, beginning in the mid-1990s, the Swedish Parliament approved a series of reforms aimed at promoting religious freedom, and in January 2000 the church ceased being supported by the state. In addition, Lutheranism stopped being the country’s official religion.
The country is divided into 13 dioceses, each headed by a bishop. The archbishop of Uppsala is bishop in his diocese and presiding bishop of the Church of Sweden. Bishops are elected by priests of the diocese and by lay delegates. The Church Assembly is the decision-making body. It has 251 elected members and meets two times a year.