Liturgical struggle
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The Liturgical Struggle (
Background
A similar idea had already appeared abroad and had its most prominent advocate in the Dutch theologian George Cassander (d. 1566). John III had, through his theological studies during his incarceration at Gripsholm (1563–1567), become acquainted with the same line of thinking, and in his secretary Petrus Fecht he had a good assistant in the endeavor to restore "the apostolic and Catholic faith of the early church."
It began with the fact that, at a Riksdag in 1574, despite objections, the king established a number of minor rules of conduct concerning the service. In 1575 he got the church's chief men to adopt the "new ordinance" (Nova Ordinantia), which in several points contradicted pure Lutheranism. The theologians from Uppsala were given a special statement on this ordinance: they considered that it contained the Church's approved doctrine, "only the right was understood," and that the ceremonies prescribed therein could well be accepted, "unless it aroused opposition." The same year, the Charter was also conditionally approved by the priests who met and the bishops of Linköping and Västerås were consecrated to their offices.
In 1576 the schism broke out completely, since the King had in the beginning of the same year, printed and distributed a new worship order, It was called the Liturgia Suecanæ Ecclesiæ catholicæ & orthodoxæ conformis. Because of the color of the printed copies, it was called the Red Book. He had written it together with Fecht. (The book's title and enterprise, as well as the regulations for the priest, annotations and notes were written in Latin, but the liturgy itself was written in both Latin and Swedish.) This order of service was different from the other, less ceremonial Swedish order already in use and adopted some of the content of the Tridentine Mass, including the use of the sign of the cross. However certain aspects which were considered offensive to Protestant eyes were removed. The struggle was mainly conducted over this order of service; hence even the very name of the struggle. The struggle was especially significant from 1576–1580 due to John III's negotiations on how to approach the Roman Catholic Church.
Resistance
The first resistance to "new ordinance" and the liturgy came from the brother of
The battle hardens
At Christmas 1576, the battle flared up in Uppsala, where Archbishop Laurentius banned the new preacher and professor Petrus Jonae (who was known for his fiery sermons) to practice the priesthood. In January 1577, Peter Jonae and his brother Olaus Luth were called by the king to Stockholm. Religious talks took place, with the Jesuit
When a parliament was announced in Stockholm to discuss the issue, the Uppsala professors were taken away in custody to Svartsjö. Salomo Birgeri, Olaus Petri, and
Despite the enforced decision, however, no significant enthusiasm for the actual introduction of the liturgy was noticed in Västergötland. Additionally, the new order of service came into question in Bishop Martin's Linköping's diocese of and in Strängnäs diocese, where Duke Karl's will was decisive. The fact that the Jesuits arrived in Sweden and publicly supported the liturgy led many who were previously supportive to oppose the new program. It seemed ominous, and even Archbishop Laurentius Petri (died February 12, 1579) turned during his last year of life against the new order of service.
The fight continues
Since the last hope of an agreement with the pope was lost by 1580, King John became more violent in the attempt to enforce his will, while again Duke Karl began to openly defy it. The king commanded his bailiffs to withhold the income of the priests who refused to follow the new liturgy. Bishop Martinus in Linköping was dismissed, but he was appointed vicar in Nyköping by Duke Karl, who at the same time also appointed the deposed clergyman in
The end of the battle
Duke Karl, after Martinus Olai died in 1585, chose Petrus Jonæ Helsingus (1586) to be bishop of Strängnäs diocese. In May of the same year, he issued the Örebro articles, in which it stressed that only the ceremonies that had been approved by the priesthood in Uppsala in 1572 would be required. At the conciliation between the king and the Duke, as confirmed in Vadstena in 1587, the religious issue was referred to a prospective church meeting; But already in that year, Karl Strängnäs diocese's clergy declared the new liturgy both unnecessary and harmful. This declaration was assisted by the other clergy in the Duchy. With the help of Abrahamus Angermannus, the Duke's rejection proved stronger than the king's beloved works from four German theological faculties.
John raged and issued a proclamation in an open-ended, hostile letter directed at the Duchy's priesthood in 1588. The King also succeeded in persuading the priests in some other parts of the country to denounce all fellowship with the Duchy's bishopric; but on the other hand reminders of the intended church meeting were made from several quarters, and the Council also requested in 1589 that such a meeting be convened. In the same year, the three teachers at the dormitory in Stockholm were arrested by Ericus Jacobi Skinnerus: Nicolaus Olai Bothniensis, Petrus Kenicius, Ericus Olai Schepperus, and others. But during the illness that preceded the king's death in 1592, his mind was alleviated, and when the clergy asked for liberty from following the new liturgy for the Duke's diocese, John III did not want to be dominate over them. In 1593 the whole battle ended during the Uppsala Synod, where the Lutheran confession of faith was adopted and the red book was rejected with the confirmation of the Church Order of 1571.
The Church of Sweden was not like the Church of England where the monarch was superior. Rather, the decision of the synod of bishops had to be respected by any new king as a prerequisite to coronation.[2]
See also
References
- Nordisk familjebok, Liturgiska striden, 1912.