Lewi Pethrus Timeline1

Appendix: Lewi Pethrus Timeline1

1884 Lewi Pethrus is born 11 March in Västra Tunhem, Västergötland. Son of Johan and Kristina Johnson. 1895 Receives his first job as a shepherd boy in the summer. 1899 Moves to Vänersborg and is baptised in the Baptist chapel. Begins working in A.F. Carlsson’s shoe factory. Changes his name from Petrus Lewi Johansson to Lewi Pethrus. 1901 Moves to Oslo. Active in a Baptist congregation in the city. 1902 Becomes an associate to pastor Adolf Milde in the Baptist congregation in Arendal, Norway. Preaches his first sermon. Has what he later perceives as his experience of Spirit baptism when he views a sunrise at sea. 1903 Is called as a preacher to the Baptist congregation in Bengtsfors, Dalsland. 1905 Reads Vikor Rydberg’s Bibelns lära om Kristus [The Bible’s teaching of Christ] and loses his faith in Jesus’ divinity. A time of doubt and despair follows. Regains his faith and peace of mind after what he perceives as a personal encounter with Jesus. 1906 Becomes pastor in the Baptist congregation in Lidköping. 1907 Reads about T.B. Barratt’s meetings in Oslo and travels there. Is confronted with Barratt’s three questions: ‘Do you want to become anything for Jesus? Do you want to do anything for Jesus? Do you want to go anywhere for Jesus?’ and answers ‘yes’ to these. Receives knowledge of the teaching of Spirit baptism. This Pethrus came to regard as his entrance into the Pentecostal movement. 1910 Is called to become pastor of the newly formed Stockholm’s seventh Baptist church, Filadelfia. 1911 Preaches his inaugural sermon in the Filadelfia church. The Filadelfia church’s rescue mission is started. 1912 Publishes his first book, the sermon compilation Jesus is Coming, on his newly established publishing house Filadelfia. 1913 Is married to the Norwegian Lydia Danielsen in April. The same month the Filadelfia church is excommunicated from the Baptist’s Stockholm district because of a different view of the Lord’s Supper. Pethrus is ready to accept baptised believers from other denominations to the communion table, while the district claims that only Baptists are allowed to be welcomed. 1914 Publishes the first edition of the Pentecostal movement’s hymnal Segertoner. 1915 The oldest son Oliver is born. After follows Miriam 1916, Dora 1918, Karl-Jacob 1920, Ingemar 1922, Knut 1924, Paul 1924, Rakel 1924 and Liljen 1925.

1 The following biographical data is taken from Halldorf, Lewis Brev, 333–336 with minor additions.

254 Appendix: Lewi Pethrus Timeline

1916 The first issue of Evangelii Härold is published. 1919 At the weekly conference in Kölingared, the present pastors oppose denomina- tionalism. In autumn Pethrus releases the book De kristnas enhet [The Unity of the Christians]. 1921 The Filadelfia church change location from Uppsalagatan to Sveavägen. The police take action against the English preacher Smith Wigglesworth’s meetings. Sven Lidman joins the Pentecostal movement. 1924 Pethrus travels for the first time to America. 1928 The Filadelfia church passes 3,000 members. The police raid the Filadelfia church’s shelter Arken in the Old City. 1929 Franklin conflict and the split with Alfred Gustafsson. 1930 The new church at Rörstrandsgatan is inaugurated. It is at this time Sweden’s largest church, viewed in terms of seating. 1931 Pethrus publishes the sermon compilation Gud med oss [God with Us], the book which he considers as his most important. 1934 The Filadelfia church passes 5,000 members. 1937 On his own initiative, Pethrus approaches John Magnusson of the Örebro Mission Society for a possible merger with the Pentecostal Movement. Magnusson rejects Pethrus’ suggestion, which creates tension between the two movements. 1941 Östermalm’s Free Church is joined to the Filadelfia church. Pethrus leaves Sweden in order to move to America but he returns in autumn. 1942 The Filadelfia church buys Kaggeholm castle and begins a folk high school. 1944 Östermalm’s Free Church is re-established, and a group of members led by Elis Lindskog leaves Filadelfia. Pethrus invites denominations that practice believ- er’s baptism to a first ecumenical conference, which yields little results. 1945 The newspaper Dagen is started. 1946 Pethrus invites the Örebro Mission Society to an ecumenical conference in order to clear the problems that linger from 1937. 1948 The Lidman conflict. The Latter-Rain revival springs up in Canada. 1949 Lewi Pethrus visits America and establishes contacts with the Latter-Rain revival through Joseph Mattsson-Boze. Becomes honorary doctor of theology at Wheaton College, Illinois. 1950 William Freeman visits Sweden in January. The Renewal Revival springs up gets its definite break-through at the preacher’s conference in December. 1951 Ragnar Ljungquist accepts the invitation to pastor Östermalm’s Free Church and is isolated from the Pentecostal movement. 1952 Allmänna Spar-och Kreditkassan is started. 1953 The first two volumes of Lewi Pethrus’ memoirs are published. The first half in the first volume, Den anständiga sanningen [The Decent Truth], is a response to