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134 A History of Sweden
He especially delighted in beautifying the churches.
The splendor of the Catholic service with its beautiful
music appealed to him rather than the very simple
Lutheran service. He thought the Swedish people were
stolid, and wished to arouse and fire their minds with
a grander and more beautiful church service. Such a
service was prescribed in the new church book, which
he, with the aid of his secretary, had prepared and in-
duced the Estates to adopt. The book was meant as a
compromise between the Catholic and the Lutheran
service. It was printed in both Swedish and Latin, for
the king was anxious to have the Catholic mass re-
stored. The manual was known as the Red Book from
the color of its binding.
This step, which John had taken to approach the
Catholic Church, was not his last effort. Like many
other peace-loving people, he thought it a pity that
Lutherans and Catholics, who worshiped the same God,
should hate and condemn each other. Might not both
parties return to primitive Christianity? His wife,
a Polish princess, was a Catholic. She had inspired
him with a strong leaning toward the Eoman Church.
Think if he could achieve the honor of uniting the two
severed communions ! When he ascended the throne he
wrote to the pope about this plan, and received in deep
secrecy messengers from him. The pope, however,
could not sanction John’s plan of uniting the Luther-
an faith with the Roman Catholic. That ended John’s
Catholic zeal. But he still held stubbornly to his new
church book, and persecuted and reviled the ministers
that refused to use it. For them a place of refuge was
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