SWEDEN, CHURCH OF

Swedish Svenska Kyrkan, established, state-supported church of Sweden; it changed from the Roman Catholic to the Lutheran faith during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. During the 9th century, the Swedish people gradually began to accept Christianity. The first Christian missionary sent to Sweden was St. Ansgar (801865), 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 (152360) 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. Petri was a teacher and preacher who served as pastor (154352) 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 (153173), 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 Sderblom (q.v.) was an ecumenical leader whose work was eventually influential in the formation in 1948 of the World Council of Churches. The Church of Sweden has continued as a state church, with the king as its highest authority. Other religious groups, however, have been accepted in Sweden since 1781, when an Edict of Toleration was issued. In 1952 a law was passed that allows a Swedish citizen to withdraw formally from the state church and not become a member of any church. 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 and archbishop are chosen by the king from candidates submitted to him by the ministers of a diocese. A synod of lay and clerical leaders of the entire church meets annually, the king having final authority to settle conflicts. Cultural life Cultural milieu The genuine rural folk traditions are disappearing with increasing settlement in urban areas. Among those still vital in Gotland, Dalarna, and various other areas are special national costumes, dances, folk music, and the like, and many traditions are retained even in urban settlements. Spring is celebrated on the last night of April with bonfires and song across the country. This is a great students' festival in university towns, such as Uppsala and Lund. The bright Midsummer Eve is celebrated around June 24, about the time of the year's longest day; in the ceremony a large pole, decorated with flowers and leaves, is placed into the ground. Some celebrations have a religious association: Advent, St. Lucia's Day, Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. Pagan elements are still sometimes evident in these holiday ceremonies. The Lucia candlelights are a relatively recent but very popular custom performed for St. Lucia's Day on the morning of December 13, at almost the darkest time of year; the ceremony features a Light Queen, who, wearing a white gown and a crown of lighted candles, represents the returning sun. Immigration, travels abroad, and imports have changed and internationalized the Swedish cuisine. The original Swedish smorgasbord, however, remains a national favourite. The arts J.H. Roman, an 18th-century composer, has been called the father of Swedish music, but the Romantic composer Franz Berwald received wider acclaim for his 19th-century symphonies and other works. Notable 20th-century composers include the Monday group, who were inspired by the antiromantic Hilding Rosenberg in the 1920s and drew also upon leading modern composers from abroad. The vital Swedish folk song has been developed further by a number of musicians. A number of Swedish opera singers, among them Jenny Lind, Jussi Bjrling, and Birgit Nilsson, gained renown throughout the world. Few names in Swedish literature were well known internationally until the 19th century, when the writings of August Strindberg won worldwide acclaim. He is still generally considered the country's greatest writer. In the early 20th century the novelist Selma Lagerlf became the first Swedish writer to win the Nobel Prize. A favourite poet in Sweden is Harry Martinson, who, writing in the 1930s, cultivated themes and motifs ranging from the romantic Swedish countryside to those concerned with global and cosmic visions. In contemporary Swedish literature such authors as P.C. Jersild, Lars Gustafsson, and Canadian-born Sven Delblanc have found a wide audience. One of the most heavily published and translated modern Swedish writers is Astrid Lindgren, noted for her children's books, including the famous Pippi Longstocking series. For more information on Swedish literature, see the article Scandinavian literature. Swedish theatre, opera, and ballet are multifaceted. Birgit Cullberg attained international fame as director of the Swedish Royal Ballet in Stockholm. The Swedish stage and film director Ingmar Bergman gained critical acclaim outside Sweden with his film Wild Strawberries (1957). Subsequently, his earlier and later films have been shown throughout the world, and he has been hailed as one of the major filmmakers of all time. Modern Swedish art was inspired by late 19th-century romantic nationalism, originating with such painters as Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, and Bruno Liljefors. Carl Milles, who dominated monumental sculpture in the 1920s, is as famous abroad. At the Paris World's Fair in 1925, an important connection was established between Swedish industry and designers who had both academic art education and popular handicraft tradition. Superb results have been achieved in glassware, ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, silver, and stainless steel.