The Swedish Church Ordinance of 1571 was the first complete

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

church order Church order is the systematically organized set of rules drawn up by a qualified body of a local church. P. Coertzen. ''Church and Order''. Belgium: Peeters. From the point of view of civil law, the ''church order'' can be described as the inter ...

following the Swedish Reformation in the 1520s. The main originator of the ordinance was archbishop

Laurentius Petri Laurentius Petri Nericius (1499 – 27 October 1573) was a Swedish clergyman and the first Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden. He and his brother Olaus Petri are, together with the King Gustav Vasa, regarded as the main Lutheran reformer ...

. Petri, archbishop since 1531, had published many doctrinal texts. He had, in vain, tried to persuade kings

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

and

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

to be allowed to publish a complete church ordinance. With the ascension of King

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

in 1568, Petri was granted permission, and in 1571 published ''Canon Ecclesiasticus''.Cornelius
p.76
/ref> It was formalized at a church meeting in 1572. Through the ordinance, all the fundamental

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

doctrines were written down and Catholic

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

formally lost its authority. Petri's work was however marked by a profound compromise between the old and the new. He altered the Catholic doctrines he believed were incompatible with true Christianity, but allowed others to remain if he deemed them useful. For example, the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was retained, even though it was not directly dictated by the holy scripture, and

prohibited degree of kinship In law, a prohibited degree of kinship refers to a degree of consanguinity (blood relatedness) and sometimes affinity (relation by marriage or sexual relationship) between persons that results in certain actions between them being illegal. Two majo ...

was somewhat lessened, from the seventh to sixth degree of kinship. The Church Ordinance of 1571 also contained

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

ic reservation. The Swedish Church Ordinance of 1571 also proclaimed the need of a schooling system. To benefit trade, craftsmanship and commerce in the cities, the city inhabitants were to have schools for every city child, both boys and girls, to learn how to read, write and count as well as how to manage some kind of basic commercial skill. Girls as well as boys were to be included; no schools for girls were founded, but it became common for girls to be included in the city schools' first classes. The countryside had to wait for a school system to be established until the

Swedish Church Law 1686 The Swedish Church Law 1686 () was a Swedish law which (with some alterations) regulated the relationship between the state and the church in Sweden from 1686 until the Swedish Church Law 1992, as well as in Finland (earlier a Swedish province) u ...

Aftermath

As useful as the ordinance was, it did not address the essential matter of a

statement of faith A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

. Petri planned on writing a declaration statement to the Augsburg Confession, but died shortly after, and the issue was not settled until the Uppsala Synod, 1593.Cornelius
p. 77
/ref> This ordinance was also altered by King John III of Sweden, who made several Catholic-inclined additions to it: 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. These were not reversed until the Uppsala Synod of 1593. The Swedish Church Ordinance 1571 was succeeded by the

References

* Article
Kanonisk rätt
', in Nordisk familjebok (1911) * Article
Kyrkoording
', in Nordisk familjebok (1911) * {{in lang, sv Cornelius:
Svenska kyrkans historia efter reformationen / Förra delen (1520-1693)
'' (1886–1887)

Source text

*''Den svenska kyrkoordningen 1571 jämte studier kring tillkomst, innehåll och användning'' published by Sven Kjöllerström, Lund 1971. Swedish Reformation, Church Law 1571 Law of Sweden, Church Law 1571 Christianity and law in the 16th century 1571 in Sweden 1571 in Christianity Church order, Swedish Church Law 1571 Early Modern history of Sweden, Swedish Church Law 1571 16th century in education