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
Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (6 January 1493 – 19 April 1552), better known under the Latinisation of names, Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge, and major contributor to the ...
are, together with the King
Gustav Vasa, regarded as the main
Lutheran reformers of Sweden. They are commemorated by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...
on 19 April.
Early life
Laurentius was born Lars Persson in
Örebro
Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...
,
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 ...
. Laurentius studied in Germany in 1520, possibly together with his brother. Here they took influence from Lutheranism, among other things they met with
Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
himself. On returning home to Stockholm, they got stranded and nearly lost their lives as the boat went ashore on the island of
Gotland
Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...
. They both survived however, and settled on the island, and Laurentius became headmaster at a school while Olaus became assistant to a priest. Not long after, Olaus travelled with the priest to Stockholm and the crowning of King
Gustav Vasa. Subsequently, he managed to get on friendly terms with the King, and soon moved to Stockholm where he worked in the vicinity of the King.
Archbishop
At the Uppsala Council of 1531, the Swedish king
Gustav Vasa took the final step of breaking with the Roman Catholic Church, by personally appointing Laurentius as the new archbishop. On 22 September that year, Laurentius was consecrated archbishop by the
Peder MÃ¥nsson,
Bishop of Västerås. Månsson was ordained bishop in Rome by Bishop
Paris de Grassis, and by consecrating Laurentius the apostolic succession was retained 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 ...
, which was considered important. But although the consecration took place according to Catholic ritual, those who officiated at the consecration made a secret declaration that they were acting under pressure.
Later that year Laurentius married Elisabeth Didriksdotter, a daughter of the King's cousin becoming the first Swedish archbishop to be married. His brother Olaus had already become the first priest to marry in 1525.
The king forbade Laurentius to interfere with the reformation plans. Laurentius wisely defended the autonomy of the Church against the various ideas of Gustav, such as his wish to abolish all bishops, while still steady advancing and promoting the ideas of the reformation texts within Sweden. His main contribution were his abundant writings which laid the foundation for the Swedish Church Ordinance established at the
Uppsala Council 1571.
He was archbishop for 42 years, unparalleled in Sweden, and during his time he was often in conflicts with the monarchs. In 1539 his brother Olaus was sentenced to death by the King over some arguments, and Laurentius was among those forced to sign the death sentence. It has been disputed whether Laurentius was doing this because of a weak character or if he thought it better to formally obey so that he could continue to spread the reformation ideas. Olaus did eventually get pardoned in 1542, much due to his influential friends, but he was forced to keep a low profile, leaving the role of main reformator solely to Laurentius.
Diplomat
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...
entrusted Laurentius Petri to head the delegation who negotiated the
Treaty of Novgorod (1557), which ended the
Russo-Swedish War (1554–1557).
Works
The first complete Swedish translation of the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
was published in 1541, nicknamed the
Vasa Bible after the King. Laurentius was one of the main proponents supervising the project, together with his brother Olaus and the clergyman
Laurentius Andreae.
In the 1560s, when the ideas of
Calvin gained in influence, Laurentius published several texts where he spoke for Lutheranism. It has been suggested that it was the first time the Swedish Church defined its Lutheran character.
Family
His wife was Elizabeth Didriksdotter daughter of
Didrik the Mint Master and
Birgitta Kristiernsdotter Vasa (
paternal cousin of
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...
). They were betrothed on
23 September 1531, after Laurentius Petri married
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...
to
Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg. Two daughters were born in the marriage: Margaret, who married
Laurentius Petri Gothus (They had two daughters) and Magdalene, who married
Abraham Angermannus.
Notes and references
The standard reference works in English remain:
- Yelverton, Eric E., An Archbishop of the Reformation: Laurentius Petri Nericus, Archbishop of Uppsala, 1531-73 (Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN, 1959),
- Bergendoff, Conrad, Olavus Petri and the Ecclesiastical Transformation in Sweden, 1521-1552 (Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1965),
- Grell, Ole Peter (editor), The Scandinavian Reformation: From evangelical movement to institutionalisation of reform (Cambridge University Press, 1995).
* Article
Laurentius Petri' in
Nordisk familjebok (1911)
External links
Olaus Petri and Laurentius Petri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petri, Laurentius
1499 births
1573 deaths
People from Örebro
Lutheran archbishops of Uppsala
16th-century Lutheran archbishops
Protestant Reformers
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Burials at Uppsala Cathedral
16th-century Swedish clergy
Translators of the Bible into Swedish
Swedish Reformation
Lutheran saints