Laurentius Petri Nericius (1499 – 27 October 1573) was a

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 ...

clergyman and the first

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

Archbishop of Sweden. He and his brother

Olaus Petri Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (6 January 1493 – 19 April 1552), better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge, and major contributor to the Protestant Reformatio ...

are, together with the King

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 ...

, 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 Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxi ...

on 19 April.

Early life

Laurentius was born Lars Persson in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, an ...

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 southwe ...

. 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, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

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 province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to th ...

. 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

. 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 1531, the Swedish King

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 Månsson,

Bishop of Västerås 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 i ...

. 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 ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Swed ...

, 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 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 ...

entrusted Laurentius Petri to head the delegation who negotiated the

Treaty of Novgorod (1557) The Treaty, Truce or Second Peace of Novgorod was concluded in March 1557. It ended the Russo-Swedish War (1554–1557), a series of skirmishes in the Viborg and Oreshek areas resulting from Swedish attempts to keep Livonia, where the Teutonic ...

, which ended the

Russo-Swedish War (1554–1557) The Russo-Swedish War of 1554–1557, considered a prelude to the Livonian War of 1558–1583, arose out of border skirmishes. It ended when the parties agreed on a truce in the Treaty of Novgorod (1557). Prelude Relations between Sweden and R ...

Works

The first complete Swedish translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

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 Laurentius Andreae (Swedish: Lars Andersson ) (c. 1470 – 14 April 1552) was a Swedish Lutheran clergyman and scholar who is acknowledged as one of his country's preeminent intellectual figures during the first half of the 16th century. In his ...

. In the 1560s, when the ideas of

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvin T ...

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 Diriksdotter daughter of Didrik the Mint Master and Birgitta Kristiernsdotter Vasa ( paternal cousin of

). They were betrothed on 23 September

1531 Year 1531 ( MDXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 26 – Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake, in which thousands die. * Fe ...

, after Laurentius Petri married

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

* 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 people Translators of the Bible into Swedish Swedish Reformation