DOCSLIB.ORG

Sim Swedish Institute of Mission Research Publisher of the Series Studia Missionalia Svecana & Missio Publisher of the Periodical Swedish Missiological Themes (Smt)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sim Swedish Institute of Mission Research Publisher of the Series Studia Missionalia Svecana & Missio Publisher of the Periodical Swedish Missiological Themes (Smt) SIM SWEDISH INSTITUTE OF MISSION RESEARCH PUBLISHER OF THE SERIES STUDIA MISSIONALIA SVECANA & MISSIO PUBLISHER OF THE PERIODICAL SWEDISH MISSIOLOGICAL THEMES (SMT) This publication is made available online by Swedish Institute of Mission Research at Uppsala University. Uppsala University Library produces hundreds of publications yearly. They are all published online and many books are also in stock. Please, visit the web site at www.ub.uu.se/actashop MISSIONS FROM THE NORTH Nordic Missionary Council 50 years (' ( SUPPLEMENTA Norsk Tidsskrift for Misjon Redaksjon: Olav Guttorm Myklebust 1. Ludvig Munthe: Misjonreren Lars Dahle. Oslo 1968 2. Odd Kvaal Pedersen: Afrika i dag- og i morgen? Oslo 1969 3. Olav Guttorm Myklebust: Misjon i en ny tid. Oslo 1971 4. Marie Thauland: Register 1947-1971. Norsk Tidsskrift for Misjon. Oslo 1973 5. Missions from the North. Nordic Missionary Council 50 years. MISSIONS FROM THE NORTH Nordie Missionary Co un cil 50 years CHIEF EDITOR CARL F. HALLENCREUTZ EDITORS JOHS. AAGAARD NILS E. BLOCH-HOELL UNIVERSITETSFORLAGET OSLO - BERGEN - TROMS6 @ UNVERSITETSFORLAGET 1974 Printed in Norway by Furuset Boktrykkeri, Oslo ISBN: 82-00-09344-1 STUDIA MISSIONALIA UPSALIENSIA XX CONTENTS Preface . 7 Bengt Sundkler: Nordic Missionary Council . 9 johannes Aagaard: Danish Mission in the last 50 Years 41 Nils E. Bloch-Hoell: Norway's Share in World Mission 57 Matti Peltola: Fifty Y ears of Finnish Missions . 79 Carl F. Hallencreutz: Swedish Missions- An Ecumenical Perspective 95 Karsten Nissen: Integration in Nordic Missions . 123 Lars Thunberg: The Scandinavian Alternative at the Uppsala Assembly . 147 PREFACE Erik W. Nielsen was not only the inventive Research Secretary of the International Missionary Council or the visionary Director of the Theological Education Fund. He was also a most inspiring Danish member of the Nordic Missionary Council. When this regional council was constituted in Stockholm, February 13, 1923, it already had a long pre-history, as Bengt Sund­ kler proves in his contribution to this volume. The series of Nordic Missionary Meetings from Malmo 1863 inspired the work of missions from the North. After the first European Great War, however, it was felt that co-operation in Scandinavian Mission would profit from more continous relationships within a Council. This Nordic Missionary Council was formed also to encourage a Scandi­ navian contribution to international co-operation within the newly established International Missionary Council. Erik W. Nielsen suggested that the 50th Anniversary of the Nordic Missionary Council should be celebrated with a survey of develop­ ments within Nordic missions during the period of the Council. Alas, his too early death did not allow him to see this suggestion through. However the present members of the Council took up the challenge. ln consultation with Heads of Institutes of Missionary Research in the difrferent Nordic Countries the present volume was conceived. A committee of three was given responsibilities to prepare and edit the volume. Missions from the North is here presented as a sign of deep gratitude for Erik W. Nielsen's contribution to the missionary cause of the Church of God. lt will also testify to the width and variety of Scandinavian missions. Aarhus Oslo Uppsala ] ohs. Aagaard Nils E. Bloch-Hoell Carl F. Hallencreutz NORDIC MISSIONARY COUNCIL by Bengt Sundkler Here they were at it again, this time in the festive Covenant Hall in the Tullinsgate in Oslo. Sorne five hundred of them had turned up, mission leaders and experts and ordinary, or extra­ ordinary, devotees from the Northern countries. The occasion was of special importance, for only in 1950 were they in a position to meet again, after the enforced separation of the war years. The earlier conferences in this series had been held regularly in 1925, 1928, 1932 and 1936 in the other Northern capitals. The war and its aftermath had meant an end to all that, for all those years. A Danish journalist, seated in the balcony of the Hall, was looking clown on this group of people. He had just been to Bangkok in order to attend a conference of the East Asian churches. Meeting the church leaders of the East and listening to their views, their hopes and their frustrations, he had been struck by an impression of boisterous revolutionary change in the new Asia, with its imminent dangers and immense opportunities. But here, on this Oslo balcony far from Bangkok, he was looking at these missionaries of the North, reading their more or less well­ prepared papers in subdued or somewhat anxious tones. Missions, he felt, were "in the hands of the mildest and most unpolitical people that we have, while out there missions were something that concerned nations about to be drawn into revolutionary cataclysms far greater than anything we had known in Europe" .1 One particular reason that made our journalist emphasize this impression of mildness and almost sedateness in the conference of the North, was the lack of provision for debate. The programme, he felt was loaded with lectures and did not allow for any free 9 exchange of views. His observation deserves attention. Was this lack of debate perhaps indicative of something inherent in the structure of the organization at this particular time? Nordic missions con­ ferences were somehow to be held, at certain intervals - that was the provision of the constitution. The less provocative these con­ ferences were, the more assuredly they would guarantee harmony and nice warm feelings ali round. Or-this cautious hush in the North, was it perhaps indicative of an attitude that was about to be formed at this time, in a period of the dwarfing of Europe? Did it signify the beginnings of a retreat of the Western missionary, going home to his log cabin under the northern lights? In fact, a mission horizon of the Nor th was, and is, a fundamental problem in itself. Here were the Northern mission societies of the nineteenth century, Lutheran and Reformed, big and small, ali with their particular network of relationships with particular countries in Asia or Africa: the Norwegians and Madagascar and China: the Finns and Ovambo and Japan; the Danes and Arabia or Tamil­ nad and the Swedes with their age-long bridges to Ethiopia and Congo and Tamilnad. In that perspective the mild-mannered mission­ aries of the North were somehow miraculously transformed into daring explorers in the name of their Lord, and it was in that connection that one sometimes was reminded that they, too, came from the countries of Fridtjof Nansen and of Knud Rasmussen and of Sven Hedin. For these soft-spoken little missionaries, moving so politely and circumspectly in that festive hall of Oslo were of course old and anxious by now, but, after ali, sorne of them were none other than Dr. Niels Bmnnum of Numan, the Danish doctor on the Benue river in Nigeria, or Joel Eriksson, the Swede of Mongolia fame or Dr. Karl Reichelt, imaginative explorer in the realm of the spirit, or again, Birger Eriksson of Finland and N amibia. From the balcony one could move downstairs and mix with these people and speak to them. They were Northerners, of course: Not much could be clone to that fact of origin. Y et, at heart, they some­ how seemed to be more Nigerian or Chinese than Northerners. A life-time in other elimes had conditioned and changed them. Their 10 horizon was that of East Asia or of Central Africa rather than that of the Arctic Circle. And, for argument's sake, one might hold forth that the hesitation with which they spoke at Oslo may have been caused by what seemed to them as sorne kind of unreality in this Northern situation. That scene in Oslo-in 1950, at the watershed of the century­ serves to remind us that the particular "Northern" perspective of missions, while useful and helpful, is of secondary importance, as compared with the primary concerns. AU the same, in an ecumenical situation, where regionalism and the "Six Continents" are stressed, it is of interest to see how this Northern missions fellowship emerged and grew through half a century-and more. 1. ln fact that fellowship is much older than half a century. Not 1923, but 1863 is the point of departure. It was then that the first Scandina:vian conference was .held at Malmo in Southern Sweden. This was followed by a series of five other conferences, the last in Oslo 1902. At Oslo 1902 they decided to meet again after sorne three years at Copenhagen. Political tensions between Norway and Sweden, erupting in 1905, made this impossible. But the Danes were all the time aware of their responsibility to call another Northern missions conference in their own capital. They kept on hoping in times of peace and war, for twenty long years, until at last, the Northern Missions Council was formed in 1923. This persistence, this unyielding attempt on the part of a few stubborn enthusiasts is almost as interesting as the new beginning after the First World War. It was romanticism and its bed-fellow, nineteenth century nation­ alism w hi ch produced the so-called "Scandina vianism", before the middle of the last century. lt was born in and through student rhetoric and was carried on by more practical concerns in the 1850's: Scandinavian economists and industrialists felt the need for doser co-operation. So also did the churchmen and the leaders of the newly formed or activated mission societies. 11 lt was a Dane-albeit a special kind of Dane-who took the initiative towards missionary co-operation in the North. In the com­ pact bourgeois Danish folk Church, Christian Kalkar, a converted Jew and the son of a rabbi, was a marginal person.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • RDRS Bangladesh
    annual report 2012 RDRS RDRS working area and population Working Area : 22,161 sq. km District : 14 working area Upazila (Subdistricts) : 74 Union : 534 Population of RDRS area : 21 Million Total Groups : 16,525 Participant Households : 410,000 Programme Participants : 2.25 Million Other participants Participants in health programme : 144,000 Children in education programme : 68,000 Other clients/beneficiaries : 289,658 Facilities Head Office : Dhaka Central Coordination office : Rangpur Research Centre : NBI, Rangpur Training Centres : 11 Staff : 3,096 Volunteers : 723 Annual Report 2012 Annual Report 2012 RDRS Bangladesh Text RDRS staff Editing Marion L Garry Cover photo SH Suza Photos RDRS Staff and Archive Production Supervision Sabrina Sharmin Design & Printing Cover Design: Mahbub/Drik, Inner Design: Tushar/Drik Printing: Drik, Bangladesh ([email protected]) Dhaka, March 2013 Contents Foreword 6 Bangla Summary 8 Bangladesh 2012 10 RDRS: Four Decades of Service 12 RDRS Timeline: 1971-2012 16 Relief, Rehabilitation and Development: 1971–2012 18 Civil Empowerment 22 Social Organisation 23 Community-based Policing 25 Women’s Rights 26 Adibashi Empowerment 29 Quality of Life 32 Community Health 33 Fighting Tuberculosis (Global Fund) 34 Safe Motherhood 35 Education & Training 36 Natural Resources and Environment 38 Agriculture 39 Climate Change Adaptation 43 Food for Progress for Bangladesh 45 Soil Fertility in Hill Areas 45 Food Security for Ultra-Poor Women 46 Chars Livelihoods Programme 47 Environment & Disaster Preparedness 48
    [Show full text]
  • The Origin, Development, and History of the Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventist Church from the 1840S to 1889" (2010)
    Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2010 The Origin, Development, and History of the Norwegian Seventh- day Adventist Church from the 1840s to 1889 Bjorgvin Martin Hjelvik Snorrason Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, and the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Snorrason, Bjorgvin Martin Hjelvik, "The Origin, Development, and History of the Norwegian Seventh-day Adventist Church from the 1840s to 1889" (2010). Dissertations. 144. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/144 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. ABSTRACT THE ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, AND HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH FROM THE 1840s TO 1887 by Bjorgvin Martin Hjelvik Snorrason Adviser: Jerry Moon ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT, AND HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH FROM THE 1840s TO 1887 Name of researcher: Bjorgvin Martin Hjelvik Snorrason Name and degree of faculty adviser: Jerry Moon, Ph.D. Date completed: July 2010 This dissertation reconstructs chronologically the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Norway from the Haugian Pietist revival in the early 1800s to the establishment of the first Seventh-day Adventist Conference in Norway in 1887.
    [Show full text]
  • Carl Olof Rosenius – Der Seelsorger Des Nordens
    Odd Eivind Stensland Carl Olof Rosenius – Der Seelsorger des Nordens 1. Einleitung Carl Olof Rosenius wird zu den größten Laienpredigern in Schweden gezählt. Er hat zwar nie ein Buch geschrieben, war aber dennoch einer der drei am meisten gelesenen Verfasser im Schweden des 19. Jahrhunderts – neben Selma Lagerlöf und August Strindberg. Bei Rosenius ist der Grund darin zu suchen, dass er für die Zeitschrift Der Pietist verantwortlich war, die sehr weit verbreitet war. Darin schrieb er erbauliche Artikel, die später in Buchform erschienen. Es sind ungefähr 90 verschiedene Titel von Rosenius auf Schwedisch erschie- nen. Seine Schriften wurden in über 30 Sprachen übersetzt, und seine Bücher erreichten in Schweden eine Auflage von über zwei Millionen, und in anderen Sprachen eine Million. Rosenius starb am 24. Februar 1868 im Alter von 52 Jahren. Aber im Laufe dieses kurzen Lebens prägte er ein ganzes Volk, nicht nur in Schweden, sondern auch im ganzen Norden und darüber hinaus und tut das immer noch. Es müsste viel mehr gesagt werden, als der Umfang dieses Artikels zulässt, aber ich möchte doch eine kleine Skizze von diesem Mann zeichnen, der so viel bedeutet hat – sowohl für mich als auch für viele andere Menschen. So lange es ein lebendiges Christentum gibt, wird sein Name geliebt und aktuell bleiben. 1 2. Wer war dieser Mann? Wer war dieser Mann, der so viele Menschen geprägt hat? – Carl Olof Rosenius wurde am 3. Februar 1816 in Nysätra, etwa 70 km nördlich von Umeå, als drittes von sieben Geschwistern geboren. Sein Vater hieß Anders Rosenius und war 1 Umfassend informiert über das Leben von Rosenius auf Deutsch: Sven Lodin: Carl Olof Rosenius.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert D. Hawkins
    LEX OR A NDI LEX CREDENDI THE CON F ESSION al INDI ff ERENCE TO AL TITUDE Robert D. Hawkins t astounds me that, in the twenty-two years I have shared Catholics, as the Ritualists were known, formed the Church Iresponsibility for the liturgical formation of seminarians, of England Protection Society (1859), renamed the English I have heard Lutherans invoke the terms “high church” Church Union (1860), to challenge the authority of English and “low church” as if they actually describe with clar- civil law to determine ecclesiastical and liturgical practice.1 ity ministerial positions regarding worship. It is assumed The Church Association (1865) was formed to prosecute in that I am “high church” because I teach worship and know civil court the “catholic innovations.” Five Anglo-Catholic how to fire up a censer. On occasion I hear acquaintances priests were jailed following the 1874 enactment of the mutter vituperatively about “low church” types, apparently Public Worship Regulation Act for refusing to abide by civil ecclesiological life forms not far removed from amoebae. court injunctions regarding liturgical practices. Such prac- On the other hand, a history of the South Carolina Synod tices included the use of altar crosses, candlesticks, stoles included a passing remark about liturgical matters which with embroidered crosses, bowing, genuflecting, or the use historically had been looked upon in the region with no lit- of the sign of the cross in blessing their congregations.2 tle suspicion. It was feared upon my appointment, I sense, For readers whose ecclesiological sense is formed by that my supposed “high churchmanship” would distract notions about the separation of church and state, such the seminarians from the rigors of pastoral ministry into prosecution seems mind-boggling, if not ludicrous.
    [Show full text]
  • DICKINSON COUNTY HISTORY – CHURCHES – NORWAY, VULCAN, LORETTO [Compiled and Transcribed by William John Cummings]
    DICKINSON COUNTY HISTORY – CHURCHES – NORWAY, VULCAN, LORETTO [Compiled and Transcribed by William John Cummings] Norway, Michigan, Diamond Jubilee 1891- Anderson, of Ishpeming, district 1966 Historical Album, unpaged superintendent of Sunday schools, Rev. Mr. Chindberg, of Norway, C.A. Hansen, of Norway over the past years has had Quinnesec, Rev. Otto A. Johnson, Mrs. several churches[,] namely: Baptist, Ricahrd C. Browning, Mrs. Hassell and Evangelical Covenant, Bethany Lutheran, others. All were short and snappy and Norwegian Lutheran, Swedish Methodist, were interspersed with music. Rev. T.H. English Methodist, St. Mary Episcopal, Williamson presided at both sessions. As a Norway Congregation of Jehovah result of the convention, a live county Witnesses, St. Mary’s Catholic and St. Sunday school society was formed with the Barbara’s Catholic. following officers: Churches at present are the Evangelical President – Samuel Perkins, of Norway Covenant, St. Mary’s Catholic, Jehovah M.E. church. Witnesses, English Methodist now united Vice-President – Edwin Turnquist, of with Swedish Methodist and the Vulcan Norway, and W.M. Lewis, of Iron Mountain. Methodist churches. Bethany Lutheran is Secretary – Mrss. [sic – Mrs.] Richard C. now united with the Norwegian church. St. Browning, of Iron Mountain. Mary Episcopal is no longer active, its Treasurer – Albert H. Hooper, of Iron membership having been transferred to the Mountain. Iron Mountain church. St. Barbara Catholic Elementary Superintendent – Mrs. C.A. for many years had its church in the Third Hansen, of Quinnesec. Ward but after being destroyed by fire in Secondary Superintendent – Mrs. 1925 it was rebuilt at Vulcan[,] its present George Snowden, of Iron Mountain.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bodding Symposium 2015
    Remembrance, Reflection, Reconciliation and Renewal - The Bodding Symposium 2015 End report by Tone Bleie 20 May 2016 Remembrance, Reflection, Reconciliation and Renewal - The Bodding Symposium 2015 END REPORT BY TONE B LEIE 20 MAY 2016 Symposium participants at the reception in Oslo City Hall Photo@Shilpi Hembrom Copyright@2016 by Tone Bleie ISBN 978-82-8244-158-2 (e-version) Frontcover: Johnny Kreutz Page 1 Remembrance, Reflection, Reconciliation and Renewal - The Bodding Symposium 2015 INTRODUCTION This conference report realizes a pledge the co-organizers1 of the Bodding Symposium 2015 made as part of our initial official conference announcement. We have endeavored to avoid producing a tedious end report that simply reiterate the proceedings over three momentous conference days. Instead, we have strived to design this report so that it illuminates foundational ideas of the Bodding Symposium 2015 and summarizes its practical suggestions for follow-up. Moreover, as author I attempt to convey the “heartbeat” of three special days in downtown Oslo, enlivened through citations from symposium papers, panels, and later post-conference feedback from several of the conference’s more than 80 participants. The four partner institutions2 to the Symposium have graciously read the draft report and backed its completion. The venue, the meticulously restored Professor Residence (Professorboligen) on the University of Oslo’s historic campus grounds, is situated a stone’s throw from the Museum of Cultural History (MCH). It is the stately Art Décor building in which the magnificent Santal Bodding Collection has been preserved, stored and displayed since it was dispatched by sea from British India in a number of consignments to Norway in the early twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a ‘Good Lutheran’ in America Mark Safstrom Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois
    Augustana College Augustana Digital Commons Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Scandinavian Studies Creative Works 2012 Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a ‘Good Lutheran’ in America Mark Safstrom Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/scanfaculty Part of the History of Christianity Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies Commons Augustana Digital Commons Citation Safstrom, Mark. "Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a ‘Good Lutheran’ in America" (2012). Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works. https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/scanfaculty/3 This Published Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Scandinavian Studies at Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works by an authorized administrator of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a “Good Lutheran” in America MARK SAFSTROM he histories of church institutions may often be written by the orthodox “winners,” but dissenters, protestors, and even her Tetics undoubtedly play important roles in giving direction to the parent institution’s evolving identity. Such voices from the mar- gins often set the agenda at crucial moments, prompting both the dissenters and establishment to engage in a debate to define proper theology and practice. Once a dissenting group has formally sepa- rated from a parent body, there is a risk that teleological hindsight will obscure the nature of these conversations, including the reasons for the ultimate separation and the intentions of both the dissenters and the establishment.
    [Show full text]
  • Presiding Bishop Dr. Olav Fykse TVEIT Church of Norway PO Box
    Presiding Bishop Dr. Olav Fykse TVEIT Church of Norway P.O. Box 799, Sentrum Rådhusgata 1-3 0106 OSLO NO - NORWAY lutheranworld.org Per e-mail: [email protected] Geneva, in December 2020 LWF Assembly 2023 – One Body, One Spirit, one Hope Dear Presiding Bishop TVEIT, I am delighted to write with information about the next LWF Assembly, which will take place in Krakow, Poland in September 2023. As you know the Assembly is the highest governing body of the Lutheran World Federation, meeting normally every six years. It is the place and the event where the global nature of the communion is powerfully and tangibly expressed because of the participation of delegates from each of its member churches. Celebrating worship together, praying together, reflecting over God’s word and God’s calling in today’s world, the Assembly is a high point in the member churches’ common journey as a communion. As part of its business, it elects our President, appoints our Council members, and sets the strategic direction of our organization. This will be our 13th Assembly after 75 years of the LWF. I very much hope that your church will be represented and will participate fully. Plans are already underway. The LWF Executive Committee approved the theme of the Assembly, as well as the Assembly budget and the “Fair share” apportionment of Assembly fees. Your contribution is factored into this important equation that ensures we will be one body of Christ with much to offer one another from the rich diversity of our Communion. The fair share Assembly fee for The Church of Norway is calculated to be Euro 506.134.
    [Show full text]
  • Danes in Montana, 1906-10. Part II: Salvation
    The Bridge Volume 40 Number 2 Article 7 2017 Soil and Salvation: Danes in Montana, 1906-10. Part II: Salvation Jakob Jakobsen Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge Part of the European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, and the Regional Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Jakobsen, Jakob (2017) "Soil and Salvation: Danes in Montana, 1906-10. Part II: Salvation," The Bridge: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol40/iss2/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Bridge by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Soil and Salvation: Danes in Montana, 1906-10. Part II: Salvation by Jakob Jakobsen A Bodtker Grant-funded Article Author’s Note: When I discovered that my great-grandfather and his wife had partici- pated in the founding of the Dagmar sett lement in Montana in 1906, I did not expect my initial interest in this to lead to a research grant from the DAHS, enabling me to dive even deeper into their adventure, for which I am very grateful. My fascination with their story derives from its connection to the collective history of Danish America. In this sense, my ancestors acted as individuals, but their identity navigation took place in a cultural landscape that changed due to larger developments. As a result, they can teach us some- thing about their time – and vice versa. While making choices along their way, two objectives seem to have guid- ed them in their navigation: a search for soil and a striving for salvation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Two Folk Churches in Finland
    The Two Folk Churches in Finland The 12th Finnish Lutheran-Orthodox Theological Discussions 2014 Publications of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 29 The Church and Action The Two Folk Churches in Finland The 12th Finnish Lutheran-Orthodox Theological Discussions 2014 Publications of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 29 The Church and Action National Church Council Department for International Relations Helsinki 2015 The Two Folk Churches in Finland The 12th Finnish Lutheran-Orthodox Theological Discussions 2014 © National Church Council Department for International Relations Publications of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 29 The Church and Action Documents exchanged between the churches (consultations and reports) Tasknumber: 2015-00362 Editor: Tomi Karttunen Translator: Rupert Moreton Book design: Unigrafia/ Hanna Sario Layout: Emma Martikainen Photos: Kirkon kuvapankki/Arto Takala, Heikki Jääskeläinen, Emma Martikainen ISBN 978-951-789-506-4 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-789-507-1 (PDF) ISSN 2341-9393 (Print) ISSN 2341-9407 (Online) Unigrafia Helsinki 2015 CONTENTS Foreword ..................................................................................................... 5 THE TWELFTH THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF FINLAND AND THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF FINLAND, 2014 Communiqué. ............................................................................................. 9 A Theological and Practical Overview of the Folk Church, opening speech Bishop Arseni ............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Depictions of Laestadianism 1850–1950
    ROALD E. KRISTIANSEN Depictions of Laestadianism 1850–1950 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.87789 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) he issue to be discussed here is how soci- country. Until 1905, Norway was united ety’s views of the Laestadian revival has with Sweden, and so what happened in changed over the course of the revival T Sweden was also important for Norway. movement’s first 100 years. The article claims that society’s emerging view of the revival is This was even the case for a fairly long time characterized by two different positions. The first after 1905, especially with regard to a reli­ period is typical of the last part of the nineteenth gious movement that united people from century and is characterized by the fact that three Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland the evaluation of the revival took as its point of departure the instigator of the revival, Lars Levi and Norway). Laestadius (1800–61). The characteristic of Laes- The Laestadian revival originated in tadius himself would, it was thought, be char- northern Sweden during the late 1840s, acteristic of the movement he had instigated. and was led by the parish minister of Kare­ During this first period, the revival was sharply criticized. This negative attitude gradually suando, Lars Levi Læstadius (1800–61). changed from the turn of the century onwards. Within a few years, the revival spread The second period is characterized by greater to the neighbouring countries Finland openness towards understanding the revival on and Norway. In Norway, most parishes its own premises.
    [Show full text]
  • Carl Olof Rosenius
    Carl Olof Rosenius Mention has already been made of the hymns of Rosenius. These, like the songs of Lina Sandell, were likewise a powerful factor in the spread of the evangelical movement in Sweden. Rosenius was the son of a parish pastor in Norrland, Sweden. From the time of his birth, February 3, 1816, he was dedicated by his pious parents to the holy ministry. After having pursued studies for a short time at Upsala University, however, he became disgusted with the low moral and spiritual standards existing among the students, and for a while his own faith was severely shaken. During these spiritual difficulties he came in contact with George Scott, the Methodist evangelist in Stockholm, and eventually he began to hold meetings as a "lay preacher." In 1842 Scott and Rosenius began the publication of Pietisten, a religious monthly that was destined to play a most important part in the spiritual revival in Sweden. When Scott was constrained the same year to leave Sweden because of violent opposition to his movement, Rosenius became his successor, not only as editor of Pietisten, but also as the outstanding leader among those who were trying to bring about the dawn of a new spiritual day. Rosenius centered his activity in the Swedish capital, preaching and writing. He also traveled extensively throughout the country, and so the movement spread. Numerous lay preachers, known as "läsare," sprang up everywhere, holding private meetings in homes and in so-called "mission houses" that were built nearby the parish churches. Agitation for separation from the Established Church found no sympathy with Rosenius, who stood firmly on the Lutheran doctrine and regularly took communion at the hands of its ordained ministers.
    [Show full text]