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The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until early 20th century) has been the primate in Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church.

There have been bishops in Uppsala from the time of Swedish King Ingold the Elder in the 11th century. They were governed by the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen until Uppsala was made an archbishopric in 1164. The archbishop in Lund (which at that time belonged to Denmark) was simultaniously declared primate of Sweden, meaning it was his right to select and ordain the Uppsala archbishop by handing him the pallium. But to gain independence, Folke Johansson Ängel in 1274 went to Rome and was ordained directly by the Pope. This practice was ever increasing, so that no Uppsala archbishop has been ordained in Lund after Olov Björnsson, in 1318. But not until 1457 was the archbishop Jöns Bengtsson (Oxenstierna) allowed to declare himself prima Suecia.

At first, the city Uppsala with the archbishop was located a couple of kilometers to the north of the present city, in what is today known as Gamla Uppsala (which translates to Old Uppsala). In 1273, the archbishopric, together with the relics of king Eric the Saint, was moved to the trading center of Östra Aros, which from then on overtook the name Uppsala.

In 1531, Laurentius Petri was chosen by the King Gustav I of Sweden (Vasa) to be archbishop, taking that privilege from the Pope and in effect making Sweden protestantic. The archbishop was then declared primus inter pares -- the first among equals. The archbishop is both bishop of his diocese and archbishop; he has however no more authority than other bishops, although in effect his statements have a more widespread effect. In 2000, the archbishop of Uppsala was supplemented in the diocese by a bishop of Uppsala, currently Ragnar Persenius.

Notable archbishops

Birger Gregersson (1366-83; hymnist and author), Nils Ragvaldsson (1438- 48; early adherent of Old Norse mythology), Jöns Bengtsson (Oxenstierna) (1448-67; King of Sweden), Jakob Ulfsson (1470-1514; founder of Uppsala University), Gustav Trolle (1515-21; supporter of the Danish King), Johannes Magnus (1523-26: wrote an imaginative Scandianian Chronicle), Laurentius Petri (1531-73; main character behind the Swedish Lutheran reformation), Abraham Angermannus (1593-99; controversial critic of the King), Olaus Martini (1601- 09), Petrus Kenicius (1609-36), Laurentius Paulinus Gothus (1637-46; astronomer and philosopher of Ramus school), Johannes Canuti Lenaeus (1647-69; aristotelean and logician), Erik Benzelius the Elder (1700-09; highly knowledgeable), Haquin Spegel (1711-14; public educator), Mattias Steuchius (1714-30), Uno von Troil (1786- 1803; politician), Jakob Axelsson Lindblom (1805-19), Johan Olof Wallin (1837-39; beloved poet and hymnist), Karl Fredrik af Wingård (1839-51; politician), Henrik Reuterdahl (1856-70) Anton Niklas Sundberg (1870-1900; outspoken and controversial) and Nathan Söderblom (1914-1931; Nobel Prize winner).

Succinct chronological order

Archbishop before the Reformation

12th century

Johannes was ordained by the Archbishop of Lund, Absalon by November 1185. In 1187, a ship from the pagan Estonia entered Mälaren, a lake close to Uppsala, on a plundering expedition. It sailed to Sigtuna, a prosperous city at that time, and plundered it. On its way back, barricades were set up the only exist point at Almarestäket to prevent the ship from escaping. Johannes was there also. As the ship struggled to pass through, Johannes were among those killed. He was ordained by Absalon. Sweden got a new king, Sverker II of Sweden in 1196, who was related to the Danish Royal Court, whereby Absalon extended his authority over Sweden. When Petrus in 1196 elected three bishops, Absalon requested the Pope to interact since the bishops were the sons of other priests, and this was not allowed according to a papal decree. He also mentioned that several Swedish bishops refused to travel to his synods. Absalon was an authoritative person whom the Pope entrusted and gave him right, but by the time the message reached Uppsala Petrus had already died.

13th century

In 1200, the Pope demanded Church estate to be free from the King's taxes and that clerics should be judged only by bishops and prelates, and not to the government's courts and judges. This was a step to separation between worldy and spiritual matters, which the Swedish Church had not yet taken to itself. He also demanded Olov to dismiss the two bishops ordained by Petrus.

When Uppsala burnt in 1204, Olov's pallium was burnt and he sent a request to the Pope for a new to be made.

Valerius was not son of a peasant – most likely he was son of a church man – and since this was demanded by the current Pope, the Archbishop of Lund appealed the election to Rome. The Pope allowed a dispensation for Valerius on the grounds that there was no other suitable candidate and because Valierus was known as a learned man with good customs and virtues.

Valerius joined side with the king Sverker II of Sweden who belonged to the House of Sverker. The House of Sverker was one of the antagonists in a civil war that had been going on and off since 1130. In 1208 the opposing side, the House of Eric, sieged the capital Stockholm, and Sverker fled the country together with Valierus to Denmark.

Sverker gathered a small army in Denmark and tried to conquer Sweden he but was killed. Valerius then decided to accepted the opposing King Eric X's authority. As a result he was allowed to return to Uppsala, where he crowned Eric X in 1210. The Pope Innocent III sent a letter to Valerius where he proclaimed the procedure to be unauthorized and unlawful, but it seems to have had little impact.

He was one of the first known Swedish students at the University of Paris. During his time, several clerical rules were estalibhed. Lars was recruited from the recently established Franciscan monastery in Enköping and was most likely a foreigner. The Pope expressed trust in the recently crowned Swedish government monarch Birger Jarl who, unlike his predecessors, had promised to support the Church by granting it free from taxes and establish missionairies to yet un-Christianized parts – or parts who had returned to paganim – specifically Finland and the Baltic states.

But this was not realized because of the shaky situation is Sweden. There was an ongoing struggle for the power, which eventually forced the antagonists to tax Church estate to support their war.

Lars tried to enforce Clerical celibacy, which still had not been enforced in Sweden because the low population figures in Sweden required priests to marry and have children. Lars in 1258 sent the Pope a request about not having to excommunicate those who broke the celibacy vow, which indicates this was not uncommon.

Also in 1258 the move of the archbishopric to its present location was decided, but it would not be realized for another decade.

  • 1267-1277 Folke Johansson Ängel (Fulco Angelus).
Folke belonged to the influential family Ängel, which used the Archangel Gabriel as a heraldic charge.

He was, for unclear reason, not ordained until 1274. Civil distrubances may have been a cause, but also reluctance from the chapter to be under the authority of Lund. In 1274, Folke ignored the primate of Lund by travelling to Rome and get ordained by the Pope himself

Folke's most important contribution was to commission the moving of the episcopal see from its old location to its present location. At his death he was one of the first to be buried in Uppsala Cathedral. *

14th century

He studied at the University of Paris in 1278. After returning to Sweden, he became deacon in Uppsala in 1286 and was elected Archbishop in 1292. As Nils Allesson was the son of a priest, the cathedral chapter in Lund, Denmark - the primate over Uppsala - appealed the election to the Pope in Rome. The Pope did after a while accept Nils as archbishop after all, because he was a fine man, but explained that the primate status still would none the less be respected. Nils had also travelled to Rome in 1295 to meet the Pope and defend his case.

Nils was known as a vigorous Archbishop. He founded and supervised institutions for safety and order around the archdiocese, for instance accommodations for travelers. *

  • 1308-1314 Nils Kettilsson. N/A
  • 1315-1332 Olov Björnsson (Olov the Wise; Olavus sapiens).
Under his time the chapter in Uppsala decided to not be inferior the city of Lund in Denmark, and thus Olov was the last archbishop to be ordained there.* He came from a smaller town in Uppland, son of the knight Filip Finnvedson, one of the most important men in Uppland, the district were Uppsala is located. Petrus held various clerical offices until he was elected Archbishop. Following the election, he travelled to Avignon where the Pope John XXII was currently residing, to get ordained.

He had a strained relationship to the Franciscan order. On behalf of the Pope, Archbishop Paul of Nidaros (old name for Trondheim), Norway, was to make a judgement on the matter. It led to a settlement between the two parts in 1339.

In 1341 Petrus died and was buried in Sigtuna's Dominican order church today called Mariakyrkan. *

At the death of Petrus, the Pope wished to occupy the archbishop's seat through commission, but following Hemmings election by the cathedral chapter, Hemming travelled to the Pope and persuaded him to ordain him, which he did.

During his time, he helped in the political world, made a visitation through Norway and established Uppsala ecclesiastical records. His last will shows that he was also quite wealthy. *

The first mention of him is from 1320, when he was vicar in Färentuna. He was chancellor of the King Magnus II of Sweden in 1340 and continued to support him during through the 1360s when Sweden was in a civil war.

In 1342 he was appointed Bishop of Linköping, where he assisted the building of the Linköping Cathedral. He was assessor during King Magnus monetary transactions, among them the repayment of a loan Magnus hade made from the Church. After the new King Albert of Sweden took power, Petrus supported him as well.

A supporter of the Swedish, highly revered, Saint Birgitta (1303-1373), he wrote a biography of her and hymns to her honor.
  • 1383-1408 Henrik Karlsson (Henricus Caroli).
Was also befriended with Saint Birgitta, in Rome, Italy. Took part in the important political decisions during his years as archbishop, such as the Kalmar Union in 1397.

Had a good economical skill, was a wealthy man, and acquired many farms for the Church. At his death, he left them to the chapter, but the Queen Margaret is said to have taken them in posesion instead, which marked the beginning of disputes between the chapter and the states in the union (which lasted until 1520). *

15th century

Jöns originated the influential Danish family Lodehat. His uncle was bishop of Roskilde and a former chancellor of the Queen. Jöns himself became, thanks to his family's Royal connection, chancellor to the King of Scandinavia, Eric of Pomerania.

At the death of the Archbishop Henrik, King Eric appointed Jöns, who had no connection to Uppsala, as new archbishop without regards to the candidates of the chapter.

During his time, Jöns paid little respect to the duties of archbishop. He embessled Church property and mistreated Church officials. Eventually, the chapter complained to the Pope, who conducted an investigation and dimissed Jöns Gereksson in 1421.

Was originally a monk at Vadstena monastery. As archbishop, he freed clericals of taxation, and built a permanent house for the archbishop.
  • 1432-1438 Olov Larsson (Olaus Laurentii)
  • 1433-1434 Arnold of Bergen (unofficial) (Arend in Norwegian; died 1434) was bishop of Bergen, Norway, and was never ordained as archbishop.
When Olaus Laurentii was elected by the Chapter to become Archbishop of Uppsala and Sweden, the Swedish King Eric of Pomerania was displeased because he was not consulted and therefor decided that Arnold of Bergen should become archbishop in 1433 while Olaus Laurentii was in Rome to be ordained. Arnold moved into the archbishopseat in Uppsala despite protests from the chapter.

The quarrels were resolved when Arnold died in 1434; then the king decided to accept Olaus Laurentii who had just returned from Rome. *

Gustav Eriksson Trolle (1488-1533) was a controversial person. He was in disputed with the royalties, since he was a supporter of the Danish King Christian II. In 1515 he was removed from office, but besieged himself in archbishop mansion/fortress at Almarestäket, until an assembly of chancellors ordered its destruction in 1517. In 1520, Danish king Christian conquered Swedish territory, and Gustav was reinstated. However, King Christian's reign in Sweden lasted but one year, and in 1521 Gustav was forced to flee to Denmark to seek refuge.

When the Pope months later received message of the disposal of Trolle, he ordered the sitting Swedish King Gustav Vasa to reinstate Trolle, not realizing the severity of the matter. Not being allowed to have his selected archbishop consecrated, King Gustav Vasa in effect broke off the Catholic tradition, making Sweden a Luthern nation starting 1531.

Archbishops in the midst of the reformation

In exile 1526, consecrated in Rome but never returned back home. Brother of the previous, with whom he was in exile in Rome. After the death of his brother, Olaus was consecrated by the Pope in 1544, but he never returned home. He was the last Swedish archbishop to get papal consecration.

Staying in Rome, Olaus wrote several highly regarded works about Scandinavia that still interest readers today. He also let publish works by his brother Johannes.

Archbishops after the Reformation

16th century

He and his brothers Olaus Petri where the main protestant reformers in Sweden; while his brother was more energetic, Laurentius's importance lays in his educational works which designates the foundation for the Christian Statute of Sweden consecrated at the Uppsala Council 1571. He was not related to his predecessor. The 16th century in Sweden was marked by religious conflicts regarding Lutheran tenets. Before becoming archbishop, Gothus appears to have been inclined towards King Johan III of Sweden's more Catholic stands. He was for this reason ordained by the King in a Catholic ritual with all its apparatus, and wrote the introduction to the King's "red book". As the Jesuitic tendencies grew stronger in Sweden in the 1570s, he became more wary; he refused to support the views of the King any longer, and published Contra novas papistarum machinationes which, although gives proper respect to the Church fathers, polemizes against the foundation of Catholicism and the Jesuits. He was vicar in Gävle 1570 and is reported as one of the first priests to have used the King's "red book" in his sermons, which sparked the King's interest, and he subsequently appointed him archbishop after a four year vacancy.

Björnram upset Church official by declaring that the liturgy of the King was in accordance with the Apostles' Creed and that he supported it. Surprisingly, he was none the less advocating the reading of Luther's works.

Angermannus was born around 1540 in the province Ångermanland, from where his name is derived.

In the 1570s he made got recognized in Stockholm as a critic of King Johns's liturgy, and the King disposed him by eventually putting him in jail in Åbo, Finland. But he managed to escape back to Stockholm, where he had influential friends. Eventually he could no longer get their protection, and had to flee to Germany, where he lived for 11 years. He visisted the renowned universities there and wrote several book of Lutheran contents, directed to Swedish readers.

In 1593 the cathedral chapter in Uppsala elected him archbishop, and he moved back to Sweden and took the seat. He was a harsh critic of Catholicism and the remains which were still in practice around Sweden. On an inspection tour through his diocese in 1596 he was so rashly removing the ritual items from provincial churches that he would have been attacked by the angry peasants had not his procession protected him. In 1599 the King had had enough of him, and tried him in a court he himself had commissioned for herecy and neglect of his duties. Angermannus was put in prison in Gripsholm, where he was forced to remain until his death in 1607.

Like his predecessor Angermannus, Bothniensis was imprisoned for 1,5 years due to his resistance of John III's non-Lutheran liturgy.

He in 1593 became the first professor of theology at the Uppsala University. Died before being consecrated.

17th century

Born 1557, in Uppsala. educated first in Uppsala, then abroad. Was against the liturgy of King John III of Sweden. Was made archbishop thanks to the support by Duke Charles (Charles IX of Sweden), although they later clashed due to their fundamentally different beliefs. Born 1555. Was against the King's liturgy, and imprisoned for a short duration of 1589. Participated in the Uppsala Synod 1593. Was archbishop for a long time, into his old age. Born 1565. Was knowledgeable in several subjects, and was --before concescrated archbishop -- professor of astronomy and logistics at Uppsala University. Wrote several works on astronomy, astrology and theology. Commissioned the new Bible translation and revising the Swedish book of hymns. Published many works, most notably A simple explanation of Martin Luther's little catechism.

18th century

19th century

(Uppsala May 13, 1736 – December 2, 1836) was a member of the Swedish Academy. He belonged to the influential noble families von Rosén and Rosenstein.

He was knowledgeable in the classic languages, had an unusual knowledge in agriculture and was a member of all the Swedish Academies at the time except the Art academy. These included Science and Literature (1807), Science (1808), Lit history (1810), Agriculture (1818), Swedish Academy (1819), Scientific society in Uppsala (1820) and Musical (1822). He was regarded as a generous and social person, friendly, good looking and cheerful. *

After acquiring his Master of Arts in philosophy and theology and becoming assistant professor in Latin at Uppsala University, he moved to Strängnäs where he was eventually appointed bishop in 1839. He was also an influential politician in the Swedish Riksdag from 1828 to his death.

He was known as a soft and gently person, but very firm to his beliefs. *

Stemming from Malmö, he was early orphanaged and had to rely on others for his education and support. Despite this he managed to get a higher education at the Lund University in theology, philology and Church history, influenced by local academic dignities such as Erik Gustaf Geijer as well as the German Schleiermacher whose works had just become appreciated in Lund.

He later published a thorough history of the Church in Sweden, and was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1852. (Source: *)

He acquired a philosophie doctor's degree in Uppsala, became dean and was ordained priest, and then undertook a travel through Europe in 1849-50.

He was known as a controversial person; very outspoken, no stranger to using strong language, despising hypocrisy, but he displayed a remarkable sense of wit and authority.

At a dinner party he once exclaimed "Second to chastity, small schnapps glasses are the worst I know!" which has become a somewhat familiar quotation in Sweden. (Source: *)

20th century

Was Ph.D. in Uppsala and subsequently a dean professor of philosophy and bishop of Växjö.

He wrote many international historical and theological books. For his contribution to the history of the Anglican Church, in 1942 he was awarded the Lambeth Cross, the highest award in the Anglican Church.

He used his deep historical knowledge when he as archbishop took measures concerning the organisation, liturgy and methods of preaching; he furthermore had an international interest and was chairman of the Faith and Order commission. (Source: * and Kyrkohistoriskt Personlexikon by Carl Henrik Martling).

(Born February 19, 1902 in Eskilstuna; died February 13, 1991 in Uppsala.) (Born 25 August, 1907 in Svenljunga, Älvsborgs län; died March 19, 1972 in Uppsala.) He wed the present King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on June 19, 1976 in Storkyrkan in Stockholm.

See also

External links

References

  • Svea Rikes Ärkebiskopar, Uppsala, 1935

Archdiocese of Uppsala | History of Sweden | Lutheran archbishops by diocese | Religion in Sweden | Roman Catholic archbishops by diocese

Liste der Erzbischöfe von Uppsala | Lista över Sveriges ärkebiskopar

 

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