Gunnar Rosendal (4 April 1897 – 26 December 1988) was a Swedish

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

priest,

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

, and parish priest of

Osby Osby () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Osby Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 7,157 inhabitants in 2010 and 13,238 inhabitants in 2022. It is the birthplace of the toy manufacturer BRIO, whose museum, the BRIO Lekoseum, ...

. Through his books promoting High Church Lutheran theology and spirituality, especially '' Kyrklig förnyelse'' (1935), he became a leading and disputed figure of the Catholic movement in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

Early life

Rosendal was born in Grevie parish,

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, Sweden, the son of Andreas and Teolinda Rosendal. His mother died early and his father moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

so he and his sister were raised by an aunt. After graduating from Lunds Privata Elementarskola he began his theological studies at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1918. He was ordained on 25 May 1922 by bishop Gottfrid Billing and moved to Väsby to begin his work as a priest.Kilström p. 95

International contacts

Rosendal had many contacts to the

liturgical movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

in the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, especially in

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monasteries, and personally knew many theologians of the liturgical and ecumenical movement, such as Pius Parsch and Paul Couturier. He also had plenty of contacts with

Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, e.g. Dom Gregory Dix, and was member of

Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius The Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius is a Christian ecumenical society founded in 1928 to foster contact between Christians, especially those of the Anglican and Orthodox traditions. It is named in honour of Saint Alban, the Christian ...

. Rosendal often liked to portray himself as Catholic as possible, but was also rooted in the theology of 17th-century

Lutheran orthodoxy Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the ''Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Roma ...

, which he knew well. On the recommendation of Bo Giertz he began to read books by

Carl Olof Rosenius Carl Olof Rosenius (3 February 1816 – 24 February 1868) was a Swedish lay preacher, author and editor of the monthly '' Pietisten'' (The Pietist) from 1842 to 1868.''Twice-Born Hymns'' by J. Irving Erickson, (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976) ...

, which made a lasting impression. Rosendal himself used the neo-Thomistic

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm ( ) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word ''paradigm'' is Ancient ...

and resisted all kinds of

liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position ...

as well as the dialectical theology of

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

. Rosendal was one of the theologians that worked for the foundation of the International League for Apostolic Faith and Order (ILAFO).

Legacy

Rosendal died in

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

in 1988. In Sweden his influence can be seen in the foundation of the

high-church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, nd sacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although used in connection with various Christia ...

organization ''

arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse Arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse (aKF), ''The Church Union'' in Church of Sweden, is the umbrella organisation for the High Church Lutheranism, Lutheran High Church movement in the Church of Sweden. The organisation's beginnings were originall ...

'' (aKF), which was inspired by his book, '' Kyrklig förnyelse''.

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

"The Catholic Movement in the Swedish Church"
by Gunnar Rosendal, 1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosendal, Gunnar 1897 births 1988 deaths People from Båstad Municipality 20th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Swedish theologians 20th-century Protestant theologians