Swedish Church Ordinance 1571
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Swedish Church Ordinance of 1571 was the first complete Swedish church order following the Swedish Reformation in the 1520s.
The main originator of the ordinance was archbishop Laurentius Petri. Petri, archbishop since 1531, had published many doctrinal texts. He had, in vain, tried to persuade kings Gustav Vasa and Eric to be allowed to publish a complete church ordinance. With the ascension of King John in 1568, Petri was granted permission, and in 1571 published Canon Ecclesiasticus. It was formalized at a church meeting in 1572.
Through the ordinance, all the fundamental Lutheran doctrines were written down and Catholic canon law formally lost its authority. Petri's work was however marked by a profound compromise between the old and the new. He altered the Catholic doctrines he believed were incompatible with true Christianity, but allowed others to remain if he deemed them useful. For example, the episcopate was retained, even though it was not directly dictated by the holy scripture, and prohibited degree of kinship was somewhat lessened, from the seventh to sixth degree of kinship.
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