Johannes Palmqvist (1805–1894) was a pioneer Swedish

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, along with his younger brothers

Gustaf Palmquist Gustaf Palmquist, also Palmqvist, (26 May 1812 – 18 September 1867) was a pioneer Swedish Baptist pastor and missionary in Sweden and the United States. He was one of three brothers, including Johannes and Per Palmqvist who were active early ...

and Per Palmqvist. He was known as the father of the ''läsare'' (Reader) movement in

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the sou ...

province, Sweden.

Biography

Palmqvist was born in Pilabo, Norra Solberga parish,

Jönköping County Jönköping County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in September 2017. The capita ...

, in 1805 to Sven Larsson, a

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

, and Helena Nilsdotter. He had six siblings. Their father died when Palmqvist was a young teenager, leaving his mother to raise the family. She was described as "pious and zealous". The children were raised in a

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

environment and visited influential revivalist preachers such as , Peter Lorenz Sellergren, and Jacob Otto Hoof. Like his brothers, Palmqvist was also quite musical. He studied in Stockholm to become an organist and teacher; while there he met the influential Scottish

Wesleyan Methodist The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny We ...

preacher George Scott, who lived and preached in Sweden from 1830–1842. Initially Lutheran, Palmqvist became a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

in Stockholm in 1832 and in 1834 moved to

Stora Mellösa Stora Mellösa () is a locality in Örebro Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the ...

, where he would live for several decades. He first worked in the local parish as a musical director (), responsible for music during the services and bell-ringing as well as doing diaconal work. Palmqvist was also a

folk school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

teacher there. Since the Conventicle Act prohibited religious gatherings outside of those of 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 ...

, Palmqvist began to hold temperance meetings at which he preached, causing controversy and forcing him to leave his teaching job in 1850. He did, however, remain a music director for eight more years. In 1852 he married Anna Stina Lindberg. Several years after his younger brothers, in 1858, he became a Baptist and was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

. He built a school and chapel the same year and founded a Baptist church in Vallby the year after, which quickly grew to 250 members. Palmqvist soon became a key figure in the revivalist ''

läsare (lit. 'reader') or the Reader movement was a Swedish Pietistic Christian revival movement of people who stressed the importance of reading (), that is, reading the Bible and other Christian literature. It was influenced by both the Herrnhuters ...

'' (Reader) movement in the province of

and an early temperance activist. He served as the Baptist's church pastor until 1871, when he moved to Stockholm and became lay preacher at a Baptist church there. Palmqvist died in 1894.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmqvist, Johannes 1805 births 1894 deaths Swedish Baptist ministers 19th-century Baptist ministers Baptist Christianity in Sweden Converts to Baptist Christianity People from Nässjö Municipality Pietists Radical Pietism