For the introduction of Christianity in Sweden, as well as for the relations between Church and State in the Middle Ages, for the introduction of the Reformation and the fight against Catholicism, see below: History. About the middle of the century. XII, when the cardinal legate Niccolò di Albano presided over the first national synod of Linköping (1152), which introduced the offering of St. Peter in Sweden, the bishops of Skara, Linköping, Sigtuna, Strängnäs, Närke and Västerås already existed, and great monasteries of Ardastra, Nydala, Varnhem, etc. Shortly after, Upsala was founded, elevated to archbishopric by Alexander III in 1164. The synod of Skänninge (1248) made ecclesiastical celibacy and the study of canon law compulsory, and increased the authority of the bishops, freeing them from lay interference. For Sweden religion, please check thereligionfaqs.com.
The sec. XIII represents the moment of greatest flowering of medieval ecclesiastical life in Sweden, and it will suffice to remember St. Brigid and her teacher Matthias of Linköping, as well as the translation of the Bible (see below: Literature). The introduction, in the century. XV, of the conciliar doctrines, the affirmation of national sentiment, the political and moral conduct of many bishops (to remember, however, Archbishop Jakob Ulfsson, who founded the University of Upsala in 1477) and in particular of Archbishop Gustav Trolle, supporter of King Christian II, they largely explain – together with the action of Gustavo I Vasa and Olaus and Laurentius Petri and Laurentius Andreae – the introduction of the Reformation. Thus there was a national church in Sweden, but nevertheless not completely subject to the royal authority; just as the episcopate continued to exist and, therefore, the apostolic succession was preserved. On the other hand, the Lutheran episcopate carefully watched that Calvinist doctrines, and also the systems used in the Anglican church, did not take root in Sweden: all the more so the pro-Catholic tendencies of John III and Sigismund. From then on, the spiritual events of the Swedish church faithfully reproduce those of German Lutheranism: the century. XVII sees the triumph of Lutheran orthodoxy, strengthened by the ecclesiastical law of 1686, and by the introduction of the Catechism and Ritual of Archbishop O. Svebilius (1681-1700) and of the Innario (1695-1698) and of the Bible of Charles XII. Then it was the turn of pietism, against whose radical currents legislative provisions were issued, while thanks mainly to the bishop of Strängnäs, J. Serenius (who died in 1776), confirmation was introduced, but made compulsory only in 1811. Meanwhile, new bishoprics had been created: Visby (1645), Lund (1658; the university in 1666), Gothenburg (1665), Kalmar (today Växjö, 1678), Karlstad, Härnösand (as superintendencies, 1647; bishoprics since 1772). The last decades of the century. XVIII also saw in Sweden the triumph of the Enlightenment, in homage to which the free exercise of dissident cults to foreign Christians was recognized (1781), and in 1783 the Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Sweden was created, and to Jews (1782).
In 1810 and 1811 the Catechism and the Ritual were revised, while romanticism and liberalism penetrated Sweden, with their consequences also in the religious field. In 1860, freedom of worship and equal rights were also granted to non-Lutheran Swedes, but with limitations, later suppressed, although not completely, both in law and in custom. But, while on the one hand religious movements of the English type and origin (movements of “awakening”, evangelicalism, biblical and missionary societies) were taking root, on the other hand a reaction in the national sense developed also in the Swedish church; the organization was reformed, with the Allmänna Kirkomötet (general ecclesiastical assembly) also making room for the laity and, since 1863, has met at least every 5 years. Modern culture and certain rationalist conceptions have been able to influence all the more profoundly, since in Sweden the teachers of the gymnasiums (in Lund and Upsala those of the theological faculties) are part of the cathedral chapters; and the relations between the university and the church are very close. The most eminent figure of the Swedish clergy in recent years has undoubtedly been Archbishop N. Söderblom (v.), A great supporter of the movement for the union of churches. In 1894 a new Ritual was compiled, later replaced by that of 1917, in 1921 a new Hymnbook; we should also mention the new Swedish Bible, or “Gustavo V’s Bible”. In 1904 the bishopric of Luleå was founded, so that the church of Sweden now includes the archbishopric of Upsala and the dioceses of Gothenburg, Härnösand, Karlstad, Linköping, Luleå, Lund, Skara, Strängnäs, Västeräs, Växjö, Visby. According to the 1920 census, there were: so that the church of Sweden now includes the archbishopric of Upsala and the dioceses of Gothenburg, Härnösand, Karlstad, Linköping, Luleå, Lund, Skara, Strängnäs, Västeräs, Växjö, Visby. According to the 1920 census, there were: so that the church of Sweden now includes the archbishopric of Upsala and the dioceses of Gothenburg, Härnösand, Karlstad, Linköping, Luleå, Lund, Skara, Strängnäs, Västeräs, Växjö, Visby.
