Thus fell Roman Catholicism in Sweden. The principal cause of its fall was the profession and preaching of the truth by Olaf and his brother and their friends. Having fought well they received the recompense of their labors. We will not, however, withhold our respect from the moral resolution with which Brask and others contended for what they believed to be the truth. Personal interests and the interest of caste had undoubtedly a good deal to do with it; but we must not forget that an order of things which had the sanction of so many ages was, according to their convictions, the true order. In the minds of men there exist opposing tendencies. In the view of one class the institutions of the past are legitimate and sacred, and they cling to them with all the passion and pertinacity of which their natures are capable; while in the view of another class the future, and the future alone, presents itself under a beneficent aspect. Into the future they project their ideal; they invest it with all the loveliness created by their own imagination, and they hurry enthusiastically towards that future. This is right. Nevertheless, prudent men endeavor to develop in the present time the true and wholesome principles of the past, and to form by the influence of the life which proceeds from the Gospel a new world, in which those precious germs shall spring up which are to be the wealth of the future.[[457]]

Suppression Of The Rebellion.

After setting the affairs of the church in order, Gustavus did the same for the affairs of the State. He had quietly sent troops in the direction of Dalecarlia, and at the same time agents who were commissioned to bring back the rebels to obedience by gentle means. The grand marshal, Thure Joensson, and the bishop of Skara, not feeling secure, deserted the rebels and made their escape into Norway. The Dalecarlians, abandoned by their principal leaders, determined to treat with the king; but seeing the moderation of his agents they thought they might speak haughtily. They therefore demanded that Lutheranism in the kingdom should be punished with death and, what appeared to them to be of no less importance, that the king and his courtiers should resume the old Swedish dress. Gustavus might probably have prevailed upon them to retract these two demands, especially if he had shown them that he had but to say a word and they would be crushed. But while he was affectionate to those who were faithful to him, he firmly maintained his rights and was determined to punish any one who attacked them. He did not hold an offender guiltless. ‘The man that touches me I strike,’ he said. His character had in it the severity of law, which reigns even over the judge. He marched at the head of his army, surrounded the rebels, and seized and beheaded their leaders. The pretended Sture, being compelled to leave Norway, took refuge at Rostock. The magistrates of this town, in consequence of a demand made by the king for the surrender of the impostor, had him executed. These severe measures put an end to the rebellion.

Olaf, Anderson, and the other friends of Gustavus entreated him to put a finishing touch to the restoration of order by having himself crowned. Seeing that the priests were now completely dethroned, Gustavus took their request into consideration; and when the States renewed their entreaties, he gave orders for his coronation. On the 12th of January, 1528, in the presence of the whole Diet, and of a great assembly in the cathedral of Upsala, the prince was crowned with much pomp and solemnity by the new bishops of Strengnaes, Skara, and Abo. The discourse was delivered by the bishop of Strengnaes; and Olaf proclaimed Gustavus I. king of Sweden.[[458]]

CHAPTER X.
‘CESAROPAPIE.’
(1528-1546.)

In pursuance of the resolutions of Westeraas, the Reformation had been introduced in every part of the kingdom. But there was a large number of Swedes who still closed their eyes to the light which had arisen upon their native land. Many of the priests who retained their posts retained with them the Romish dogmas; and, taking their stand between their parishioners and the Gospel, persuaded them that any change in the services of the church was an apostasy from Christianity. The kingdom thus presented the spectacle of a grotesque medley of evangelical doctrines and Romish rites. Exorcism was practised in connection with baptism, and when the dead were buried, prayers were made for their deliverance out of purgatory. The king, therefore, determined to convoke a synod, which should be authorized to complete the work of reformation, to abolish the superstitious services of Rome, to set aside the Pope, and to establish the Holy Scriptures as the sole authority in matters of religion.[[459]]

The Synod At Orebro.

The assembly met at the beginning of January, 1529, at Orebro, the birthplace of Olaf and his brother, near the street in which their father used to work at the forge. The bishops of Strengnaes, Westeraas, and Skara, and ecclesiastics from every diocese of Sweden came to the meeting. The archdeacon and chancellor, Lawrence Anderson, was the king’s delegate, and presided on the occasion. Olaf sat beside him as his counsellor. Gustavus had consulted his two representatives as to the manner in which the assembly ought to be conducted. Olaf’s keen intellect, his presence of mind, and the ease with which he could fathom deep subjects and give a luminous exposition of them, qualified him well for such an office. But the very liveliness with which he had grasped the truth, the importance which he attached to a sincere reform, and his frequent intercourse with Luther, did not render him tolerant towards error. He could not endure contradiction. The king had good reason to fear that Olaf did not altogether share his views. In fact, Gustavus looked upon matters of religion from a political point of view. He was afraid of every thing which might possibly occasion disputes and schism; and if he was severe towards the guilty, he was merciful to the simple and the weak, and he did not wish to have these estranged or possibly driven to revolt by an abrupt alteration of the old ecclesiastical rites. He had therefore come to an understanding with his two delegates; and Olaf, remembering the Scripture saying, We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,[[460]] had entered, partly at least, into the views of the prince. The chancellor, who was a politician as well as a religious man, had done so much more fully.

These two reformers were, however, determined to do a really evangelical work, and they resolved, therefore, to lay a solid foundation. At the moment of their rejection of the Chair of St. Peter, from which strange dogmas were promulgated by a man, they set up another, the throne of God, from which a heavenly word proceeded. Luther had said that we must look upon the Scriptures as God Himself speaking.[[461]] While recognizing the secondary author who imprints on each book the characteristics of his own individuality, Olaf also recognized above all the primary author, the Holy Spirit, who stamps on the whole of the Scriptures the impress of His own infallibility. The main point in his view was that the divine element, the constitutive principle of the Bible, should be acknowledged by all Christians, so that they might be truly taught of God. He attained his object. All the members of the assembly made the following solemn declaration: ‘We acknowledge that it is our duty to preach the pure Word of God, and to strive with all our powers that the will of God revealed in His Word may be made plain to our hearers.[[462]] We promise to see to it that in future this object is attained by means of preaching established in the churches both in towns and in country places.’ It was resolved that Holy Scripture should be daily read and explained in the churches, at which not only the students, but also the young country pastors should be present. Readings of a similar kind were to be given in the schools. Every student was to be provided with a Bible, or at least with a New Testament. Well-informed ministers were to be settled in the towns, and the pastors of the rural districts should be bound to attend their discourses, to the end that they might increase in the understanding of the Divine Word. The pastors of the towns were also required to go into the villages, and there faithfully preach the Word of God. It was stipulated that, if the more learned ministers should find any thing to censure in the sermons of those less enlightened, to avoid scandals they should not point out the faults in their public discourses, but should modestly and privately represent them to their colleagues.[[463]] The assembly agreed in acknowledging that the numerous saints’ days were a cause of disorder and prevented necessary labor. The festivals were therefore reduced to a smaller number. It was added, ‘that simple folk must be distinctly taught that even the keeping of Christ’s passion and resurrection has no other object but to impress on the memory the work of Christ who died for us and rose again.’[[464]]

It has been said that ‘the doctors who composed this council acknowledged as their rule of faith the Confession of Augsburg.’[[465]] This is not correct; for that Confession did not appear till ten months later (June, 1530). We may imagine that Olaf of his own accord would have presented a similar confession, or one even more decided. This was not done, either because the doctrines established by Olaf at Upsala, in 1526, were looked upon as accepted, or because Gustavus was afraid that such a confession would give rise to dissension, which he so much dreaded. Little was gained by this course; for the struggles which they hoped to avoid began afterwards and disturbed Sweden for five-and-twenty years.