Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1943, Page 110

SWEDISH AND DANISH CHRISTIANITY
By Sten Rodhe,
lic. theol.
BOTH in Sweden and Denmark Christianity was first pre-
ached by Ansgar. In the 9th century this monk from the
monastery of Corvey in France came to the court of a
Danish king, and from there he later set out on the perilous
journey to Birka in Central Sweden. Other monks from the con-
tinent followed in his footsteps. Even more important than these
were the missionaries coming from England. Already from the
start Danish and Swedish Christianity thus developed under
both continental and English influence, and this double influence
has continued. The two countries in their views on Christianity
still take up a mediating position between the European continent
and the Anglo-Saxon countries.
For centuries, however, German influence has generally
been dominant. The reformers of both Sweden and Denmark,
Olaus Petri and Hans Tausen, respectively, studied under Mar-
tin Luther at Wittenberg. In both countries, however, the
emancipation from Rome was brought about chiefly by the inter-
vention of the kings, and only gradually the people adopted the
new view of Christianity. But it did penetrate, and the people
became sound Lutherans with a marked front against both Roman
Catholicism and Calvinism. The people became one with its
Lutheran church, which got an official stamp and was closely
connected with the state. During the Thirty Years’ War par-
ticularly Sweden under the leadership of Gustavus II. Adolphus
acted as the defender of Lutheranism in Europe. And during
the destruction which at present passes over the world, the Scan-
dinavian countries stand out as the chief representatives of the
Lutheran view of Christianity.
Swedish and Danish Christianity have many, indeed most
features in common. To Scandinavian feeling of solidarity this
is of no mean importance. A Swede arriving in Denmark im-
mediately feels at home in a Danish church and inversely. He
understands what is said both as regards form and contents.
The divine service in both countries is on the whole uniform,
although Sweden has preserved a richer liturgy. The look of the
interior of the church is also uniform in both countries, taking