9 January 1593 A.D. Reformation Council: Urgent Summons to Uppsala, Sweden
Would you die for your faith? In
sixteenth century Europe, many ordinary people did.
In 16th century England,
"Bloody Mary," as she was called, openly executed hundreds of
Protestants and more died in her prisons. In 16th century France, Catholics
massacred thousands of Huguenot families in a surprise attack that took place
on St. Bartholomew's Day. Catholic Spain perpetrated atrocities on the
Protestant Netherlands because the little states disagreed with her on matters
of faith. Protestants retaliated with atrocities such as the Gorcum martyrdoms.
Across Europe, blood flowed in clashes between Catholics and Protestants. In
1593, the Swedes had reason to suspect that their turn was coming.
Lutheranism had gained a strong
hold over the minds of the Scandinavian people. What if a Roman Catholic ruler
were to take Sweden's throne? Would he butcher Protestants? It looked all too
likely. Sigismund III of Poland was in line to become Sweden's next monarch. He
was an ardent Catholic who had already kicked the Protestant Reformation out of
Poland. What is more, he was on his way to Stockholm with 20,000 crowns in his
pocket, a gift from the pope to restore Catholicism to Sweden.
Serious trouble can sometimes be
averted by timely action. In Sweden, a small group of men discussed the danger.
They thought they saw a way to prevent disaster. These men were Lutheran
leaders and Charles, Duke of Sudermania (Finland), who was a Protestant and the
uncle of Sigismund III. The men went into action.
On this day, January 9th, 1593, messengers raced into the Swedish countryside with an urgent summons
for all the clergy to assemble at Uppsala within a month. Uppsala, a few miles
north of Stockholm, had once been a Viking burial ground, but now was home to
Sweden's archbishops, who, since 1531, had been Lutheran.
Despite the frigid Scandinavian
winter, scores of churchmen heeded the call. Three hundred and six clergymen
assembled for the meeting (called a diet) which opened on March 1st. Members of
the Council of State were also in attendance. On March 10th, the assembly
decreed that all future monarchs of Sweden must be Lutheran. It declared the
Lutheran Augsburg Confession the only legal, binding confession for the Swedish
church, its subjects, and its rulers. Before Sigismund could land in Stockholm,
the Swedes chose Charles as Regent of Sweden and head of the Council of State.
Sigismund wanted to hold onto
both Poland and Sweden but could hardly be a Catholic in one country and a
Lutheran in the other. He turned to his Jesuit confessors for advice. They
urged him to subscribe to the Augsburg Confession for the good he could
accomplish. Sigismund swore to uphold the decision of Uppsala. Thereupon the
Swedes crowned him in 1594. His coronation oath included a promise to preserve
the Swedish Church. He immediately broke his word, appointing a Catholic
governor of Stockholm, founding Catholic schools, and ruling Sweden through
Polish Catholics.
Sweden's Parliament was probably
the oldest and certainly one of the most independent in Europe. It represented
all four groups of the population: peasants, burghers, clergy, and nobles.
Parliament confirmed Charles as regent, to govern when Sigismund returned to
Poland. After Sigismund sailed away late in 1594, Sweden's peasants petitioned
for a single king, saying Sigismund had forfeited his right to rule. Charles
was unwilling to lead a revolution, and Sigismund might have remained king (in
name at least), except that he raised an army to attack his own country.
Charles met him near Linköping (between the Swedish coast and Vattar) in 1597
and utterly defeated him. The Swedes made Charles their king. The church
remained highly independent. More importantly, Charles' son, Gustavus Adolphus,
became one of the greatest of the Protestant generals and saved their cause
during the Thirty Years' War that soon enveloped Europe. The urgent call that
went out from Uppsala on this date, had been timely indeed as far as the
reformers were concerned.
Bibliography
Fletcher, C. R. L. Gustavus Adolphus and the Thirty
Years’ War. New York: Capricorn, 1963.
Grell, Ole Peter, editor. The
Scandinavian Reformation. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation. New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.
Skarsten, Trygve R. "The Scandinavian
Reformation; Ramifications for Lutheran confessional identity" in Let Christ be
Christ : theology, ethics & world religions in the two kingdoms : essays in honor of
the sixty-fifth birthday of Charles L. Manske; edited by Daniel N. Harmelink. Huntington Beach, Calif. : Tentatio
Press, 1999.
"Sweden." Encyclopedia Americana. Chicago:
Encyclopedia Americana, corp., 1956.
Last updated May,
2007.
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