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1592.]
State of the Church, and
popular belief.
john and charles.
Provisions of the Kirk’s
Ordinance.
1c5
king of Poland, the cardinal advises that the
Protestants there abiding should be fed with hopes
until after the coronation 9 ; but if the king had
even promised them on oath the freedom of their
religion, he was not bound to its observancex.
It is certain that the Swedish church at the
accession of John was in the greatest disorder. In
the articles stipulated with the clergy in the years
1569 and 157-i complaint is made that ignorant
students were called to the priestly functions—that
homicides, topers, and adulterers exercised them
with impunity—that many clergymen neglected their
calling for the sake of trade and secular business—
that they gave 110 thought to their sermon before
they came into the church, and then read out of
the Homily-book (Postillan) what might come to
hand, whether it might suit or not the gospel of the
day ; that they went to the altar in torn and
unclean vestments, and dispensed the sacrament with
foul hands. Many churches had fallen into decay
and ruin. The church plate had disappeared so
entirely, that clay vessels were used in the
dispensation of the sacrament, notwithstanding the clergy
(as the king complains in 1577) had silver cups in
their own houses. The nobility and possessors of
fiefs held not only the crown’s two-thirds of the
tithes, to which the former considered themselves
entitled by their privileges, but also often that
portion which was intended for the maintenance of the
churches and the clergy. The king issued repeated
prohibitions against this abuse, and expended large
sums on the erection and improvement of the
churches, on the provision of befitting decorations,
vessels, and the like. He used to re-clothe ragged
priests who came in his way. That this care was
extended also to the restoration of several convents
aroused attention. That of Vadstena in particular
received proofs of the king’s as well as the queen’s
favour.
From all this it is manifest that the old order of
things had been departed from, while the new was
yet undigested. The greatest uncertainty prevailed.
King Gustavus I. had constantly denied that he had
introduced a new faith. In John’s days,
notwithstanding the changes introduced, a great portion of
the people supposed nothing else than that they
were still Catholics. The king himself insisted
upon this to the pope, who demanded an
unconditional restoration of the Latin mass, whereas John
wished to preserve, at least partly, the Swedish
liturgy. The contrary, he declares, would have
been taken as an innovation in the Catholic
religion, to which the people of this realm for the
most, part regard themselves as still addicted 2.
The Kirk’s Ordinance (Ivyrko-ordning), drawn
up by Laurence Peterson, was first in 1571
promulgated and adopted. It appears therefrom that
a call from the congregation, prior to the institution
of a priest, was required. On the bishop devolved
the duty of examining the candidate, and, if he
were found qualified, of consecrating him, or,
otherwise, of appointing another pastor. Chaplains
(kapellaner) are mentioned as assistant priests in
larger parishes which had the means of supporting
them. In the examination of priests regard was
to be had as to whether the probationer were tole-
rably conversant with the holy Scriptures. Yet it is
declared to be a pernicious opinion that a preacher
knew enough if he could only read Swedish, now
that the service was mostly performed in the
vernacular tongue. He must have attended a Latin
school, that is, a school where Latin was spoken ;
yet no teacher was bound to read any other
language than Swedish and Latin. Whosoever wished
to learn another tongue, as the Greek or Hebrew,
must provide masters for himself. No academical
instruction is spoken of; but shortly after this time
king John began the restoration of the seminary of
Upsala. The school-lads were to be divided into three
or four classes, according to their progress, and the
elders to serve as assistants to the juniors ; yet the
schoolmasters were to take good heed that the
younger were not neglected. Of those we find it
remarked: "No one can be more worthy of good
maintenance than a faithful and assiduous teacher;
for like as his labour in the school is highly
needful, even so is it hard and irksome." From the
school ordinance we learn that the hour of meeting
was five o’clock in the morning, and ten that of the
midday meal; on Wednesdays and Saturdays were
revisals, and every day written exercises. It was
enjoined that the scholars should be practised in
psalmody. The bishops were to take care that the
people were instructed in the Catechism, and that
no one was admitted to confession who did not
know the Lord’s Prayer, the Commandments, and
the Creed. The minister was allowed in preaching
to make use of a homily-book for his assistance,
"seeing that many who should instruct the people
are themselves very simple, yet not so that they
should keep entirely to the homily-book, and never
read the Scriptures or other edifying books."
Pulpits, which were yet wanting in many of the churches,
were to be erected. During the sermon itself a
person excluded from communion for notorious
transgressions might remain in the church, but
must afterwards withdraw ; if he resisted and
would not go out, divine service was to close. The
severest church penalty (preserved from former
times) was, to stand naked before the church-door.
In each of the seven cathedrals of the kingdom
there was to be a bishop, an official or provost of
the bishop, a minister, a schoolmaster, a reader of
theology, a penitentiary (poenitentiarius), and a
churchwarden (syssloman). The bishop was to be
elected by persons competent thereto, of the clergy
and others, who possessed experience in the matter,
under the sanction of an oath ; and he was to be
confirmed in his office by the civil magistrate.
The episcopal title was again generally assumed
under the reign of John, although the appellation
of ordinary likewise appears in the kirk’s ordinance.
The aged Laurence Peterson, Sweden’s first
Lutheran archbishop, expired in October, 1573,
and thenceforth John more plainly discovered his
intentions. In the place of the deceased the king
caused his son-in-law Laurentius Petri Gothus to
be chosen, a man of a compliant humour, and by
the perusal of the Fathers (on whose works he
afterwards as archbishop held prelections in
Upsala) pointed out for the same middle way between
9 Verum ego, quod suspenses regia majestas animos
lieeretirorum ttneat tantisper dum coronata fuerit, noil
im-pedio. Carolo, Cardinali Loiharingo Epistola, 1. c. 350.
1 Non teneri majestatem ut praestet, etiamsi jurejurando
confirmasset. Stanislao Rescio Secretario suo Epist. 1. c.
353.
2 Turn ne haec regna, quje alioqnin putant magna ex
parte esse in religione Catholica, animadvertant tam cito in
religionem Catholicam ritus sibi novos introduci.
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