Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - VI. From the Upsala-möte to the death of Charles XII. The Great Kings and the Great Bishops (1592—1718 A.D.)
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io. SYNCRETISM. CHARLES XI. AND ABSOLUTISM. 303
Pfalzgraf, John Kasimir, whom I have mentioned as the
patrons of the Heidelberg professor, Pareus, and he was,
therefore, naturally in favour of the syncretism, which had
its home in the Palatinate. He was long resident in
Sweden before his coronation, and had been a persistent
suitor for his cousin Christina s hand, and was much liked
by her. His most permanent achievement for the country
was the result of his invasion of Denmark in 1658, which
had gone to war with Sweden during the king s absence in
Poland. In this campaign nature helped him by freezing
over the Great and the Little Belt so that his army was able
to cross them. This was followed by the peace of
Roskilde, by which the Southern provinces and Bohuslan
were permanently united to Sweden.55
Matthias had an efficient allay in Johannes Terserus, who
had come under the direct influence of Calixtus, and was
theological professor at Abo, and afterwards at Upsala.
He had done great service to the crown by his energetic
leadership of the clergy at the Riksdag of 1650, when they
joined with the burgher and peasant estates in their protest
against the alienation of the crown domains to the nobility,
and against various tyrannies and injustices exercised by
the latter.
56
Christina s word to him,
"
Now or never," is famous in
history, and will always be associated with his name.
Charles X. nominated him as Bishop of Abo in 1658. This
king died in 1660, and during the minority of his infant
son, Charles XL, both Terserus and Matthias had to
suffer as
"
syncretistic heretics" a sad outcome of their
efforts which were made in so excellent a spirit. They
were obliged to ask leave to resign their offices at the
Riksdag of 1664. Matthias, before his death in 1670, ex
pressed regret for what he had done. Terserus lived on,
and in 1670 he was promoted again to a bishopric, that of
55
On the religious condition of these provinces, about the
time of the Union, see A. Hallenberg in K. H. Arsskrift, Vol.
viii., 193-228, and ix., 65-136 (1907 1908).
58
See Geijer :
p. 338.
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