Lewi Pethrus: His Influence Upon Scandinavian-American Pentecostalism

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LEWI PETHRUS: HIS INFLUENCE UPON SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN PENTECOSTALISM by Joseph R. Colletti Lewi Pethrus (1884-1974) represents an influence that has directly rooted Scandinavian Pentecostal church polity into the Scandinavian- American Pentecostal movement. The son of devout Swedish Baptist parents, he was converted, immersed in baptismal waters, and became a church member of a Baptist congregation in Vastergotland, Sweden, by the age of fifteen. In 1907 he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while attending a meeting of Thomas B. Barratt, who first brought the Pentecostal message to Scandinavia, in Oslo, Norway.l After attending Bethel Seminary in Stockholm, Sweden, he became the pastor of a Joseph R. Colletti (M.A., Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary), has done further graduate work at U.C.L.A. Lewi Pethrus, A Spiritual Memoir, (Plainfield, New Jersey: Logos International, 1973), p. 25. - 18- small Baptist church in Lidkoping, Sweden, and later the Filadelphia Church in Stockholm in 1911. In 1913, Pethrus and the Filadelphia Church were excommunicated by the Conference of Swedish Baptist Churches for allowing Christians who were not members of a Baptist church to participate in the Lord's Supper. According to Thomas B. Barratt, behind the conference's action was "a definite feeling of ill-will towards Pethrus' Pentecostal feelings."i The action taken by the Baptist conference proved to be a great mistake. Many other Baptist congregations, who also had "Pentecostal feelings," immediately protested against the conference's action. They believed that it was unbiblical for the conference to infringe upon the freedom and liberty of a local church. Thus with a mighty protest, many Baptist churches followed Pethrus and the Filadelphia Church. This gave growing strength to the country's Pentecostal movement.2 As one writer has noted. The closing out (excommunication) of the Filadelphia Assembly gave, it can be said, the signal to masses of Spirit- baptized friends throughout the country, who left the Bap- tist churches, and formed themselves into independent free and self-supporting assemblies. It became more and more apparent among God's Spirit-filled people that the (Fila- delphia) assembly's position regarding their freedom was the biblical pattern for its life and development.3 The one individual who soon became not only Sweden's major spokesman on local church autonomy but all of Scandinavia's for the next sixty years was Lewi Pethrus. After his excommunication, Pethrus soon taught and promoted a church polity that was so influential that this polity is still energetically practiced among all Scandinavian Pente- costal congregations in both Scandinavia and the United States today. Pethrus believed that the only organization that the New Testament taught was the local church. Any permanent organization beyond the Thomas B. Barratt, When the Fire Fell and an Outline of my Life, (Norway: Alfons Hansen and Sonner, 1927), pp. 178-9. 2Barratt, p. 179. 3 G.E. Soderholm, Short History of the Filadelphia Assemblyin Stockholm, (Haroldens Tryckeri, Stockholm, 1939), p. 32. - 19- .

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Introduction
chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Lewi Pethrus’ Importance in Swedish and International Pentecostalism The Swedish Pentecostal pioneer, Lewi Pethrus (1884–1974), did not introduce Pentecostalism to Europe – an honour often bestowed on the English Methodist immigrant to Norway, Thomas Ball Barratt (1862–1940). Pethrus did not even introduce Pentecostalism in his native Sweden – a task that befell a firsthand witness of the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles, Andrew Johnson.1 Pethrus’ ascendency to the role as the undisputed figurehead of the Swedish Pentecostal Movement (spm), and a major player on the European and global Pentecostal scene, was a lot more incremental. The story of Pethrus’ rise from his lowly workingclass background to the position as pastor of the largest Free Church congregation in Europe will be told later; yet in order to understand the larger ramifications of his ecclesiology, which is the main focus of this book, it is important to first understand why he is important for Swedish and interna- tional Pentecostalism. For most of its history, the spm perceived itself as a spiritual fellowship of independent local churches without any organisations above or between the churches. The reality, on the other hand, pointed to the fact that it was a tight- knit network with one predominant church, the Filadelfia Church of Stockholm, and its pastor, Lewi Pethrus, as the dominant figures in the centre. Filadelfia functioned, in all practical purposes, as the denominational headquarter only without the official title attached to it. Nearly all joint ventures originated or were controlled by Pethrus and Filadelfia. Some of the most prominent ones were the hymnal Segertoner, the Bible school Kaggeholm, the publications Dagen and Evangelii Härold, and the radio station, ibra radio.
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Lewi Pethrus Timeline1
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Papers of Joseph Mattsson-Boze, 1932-1988" (2018)
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