Peter Spaak (6 June 1696 – 2 December 1769) was a Swedish Protestant Reformer. Challenging the Lutheran orthodoxy as an early proponent of

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

in Sweden, he founded the society of Pietists based in the

Diocese of Gothenburg The Diocese of Gothenburg () is a diocese of the Church of Sweden. Since March 2018, the bishop has been Susanne Rappmann. The diocese includes the provinces of Bohuslän, Halland, and south-west parts of Västergötland. The episcopal see of the ...

, a society part of which was later integrated into 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 ...

Biography

Peter Spaak was born 1696 in

Uddevalla Uddevalla is a Stad (Sweden), town in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It’s the seat of Uddevalla Municipality. In 2015, it had a population of 34,781, making it the largest town fully in Bohuslän. Uddevalla is located where the river Bäveån ...

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, Sweden. His father Elias Jonæ Spaak served as the local

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

and Deputy Customs Chief Inspector, and his maternal grandfather was the Chief Judge Johan Larsson Crantzberg. Peter Spaak's brother Magnus Spaak (1699–1768) emigrated to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

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, becoming the primogenitor of the family cadet branch there, including his nephew :fr:Jacques Joseph Spaak (1742-1825). Peter Spaak was married twice. The first time was to Clara Charlotta Esberg, daughter of Zacharias Esberg the older,

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

electus of the Diocese of Växjö and sister of Zacharias Esberg the Younger,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Uddevalla. His second marriage was to Ingrid Maria Bagge, daughter of Eva Christina Radhe Palmencrona, and great granddaughter of Nils Fredriksson Bagge,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histo ...

. Professionally, Spaak served as Chief Inspector of the Customs service, and

in Uddevalla. Influenced by the

pietism 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 ...

of the

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Johann Konrad Dippel, along with Thomas Leopold and Johan Stendahl, Peter Spaak became one of the most prominent early proponents of the movement in Sweden. Originally, the new ideas were met with much opposition, culminating in the Conventicle Act in 1726. Like Leopold and Stendahl, at one time Spaak was threatened with

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

sentence for

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

. However, contrary to the fate of the former two he was eventually relieved of the allegations, attributed to his contacts with the authorities, including notably family connections to clerics such as Zacharias Esberg the older and Zacharias Esberg the Younger, as well as Jacob Benzelius and

Erik Benzelius the younger Erik Benzelius the younger (27 January 1675 in Uppsala – 23 September 1743) was a priest, theologian, librarian, Bishop of Linköping, 1731–1742 and Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1742–1743. He was a highly learned man and one of Sweden' ...

, the latter both subsequent archbishops of Uppsala. The movement gained significant influence throughout the

. Spaak established a society based in Uddevalla. For a period from 1734 onwards, Spaak resided in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, where he came in contact with the Skevikare radicals on Värmdö. Around this time,

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

meetings evaluated the influences of

Pietism 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 ...

in the realm, having gained supporters also among mainline Protestant clergy, with Spaak, Sven Rosén, and others making early appeals to

in opposition to the staunch Lutheran orthodoxy. Peter Spaak died 1769 in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Soon after, the initial criticism by the state authorities against the perceived cultural radicalism of the dissident Petists was relaxed, and the movement gained more popularity, right up to the

Royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

. King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...

visited the Skevikare

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in 1779. King

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 180 ...

made an official visit in 1797 with "tokens of appreciation". With time, Pietism was eventually reevaluated as a legitimate expression of

Lutheranism 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 ...

. By consequence, following the increased acceptance by the mainstream Protestant society, in the mid-19th century, a part of the Pietist movement was fully integrated into the official

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

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 ...

, although another part would persist in Radical Pietist deference into a Uddevalla local predecessor of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Uniting Church in Sweden, independent of the state church. Subsequent to the great fire of Uddevalla in 1806, a stone house was erected for the Pietist adherents which gave the street block its name, ''Herrnhut''. The building, later purchased by the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, remained until another fire in the 1980s.Uddevalla Missionsförsamlings 100-årsskrift (1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaak, Peter 1696 births 1769 deaths 18th-century Swedish people Age of Liberty people People from Uddevalla Postmasters Peter Spaak Swedish Protestants Pietists 18th-century Lutheran theologians

Biography

See also

References