Scandinavian Reformation Season 1 | Episode 30
The Reformation of the 16th century
was not limited to the powerhouses of Switzerland,
Germany, France, England, and Scotland,
but also in the Nordic countries of Scandinavia
something special would take place.
Whilst the fires of martyrs were burning all across England
during the reign of bloody Queen Mary
and the Protestants in France were persecuted on numerous occasions,
In Sweden and Denmark the Reformation would unfold much more peacefully
and one could argue
they had a greater proportional impact in each respective country.
The story of the Scandinavian Reformation is inextricably linked to Martin Luther
and the Protestant bastion of Wittenberg.
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In the country of Denmark,
one of the principal figures in the Reformation was a man named Hans Tausen.
Like many others, he had grown up in a Catholic family
and spent some of his early years in a cloister.
He completed much of his education in Denmark
where he was noted for his understanding of Latin and Hebrew
but he would also go on to study in Cologne.
Whilst there, he came across some of Luther's writings
and in 1523 he went to Germany where he met Martin Luther
and became acquainted with the new ideas that were being espoused.
He would spend 18 months studying there with Luther,
after which he would return to Denmark
where initially he kept it a secret that he had been in Wittenberg.
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However, the good news of the gospel could not be hidden forever,
and it was only a matter of time
before his teachings were noted to be different from that of others.
He was soon expelled from the cloister,
but this was perhaps the biggest mistake that his opponents could make.
Now they had no control over him,
and he was able to travel and preach throughout the whole country,
causing a great revival.
He also translated the Pentateuch into Danish and this was circulated widely.
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Tausen lived faithfully here in Denmark for the rest of his life
and his influence was key in this whole country accepting the Reformed faith.
This church here in Copenhagen was built and named after him
in memory of the great influence he had on the spiritual history of this nation.
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Around the same time as Tausen was causing a revival in Denmark,
The Petri brothers were having a similar impact here in Sweden.
The work in these two countries shows
that the disciples were just as powerful and scholarly
as the giants under which they studied.
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Olaf and Laurentius Petri, the sons of a blacksmith in Örebro,
both studied at the University of Wittenberg
where they were influenced by Luther and Melanchthon.
Olaf completed his Master's in 1519
and they both returned back to their homeland of Sweden.
They helped to translate the Bible into Swedish,
and through their hard work,
at the Diet of Västerås,
Sweden was declared Lutheran-- the first country to do so.
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Olaf Petri was buried here in this church which later became the National Cathedral,
supplanting the Uppsala Cathedral,
a testament to the great work that he and his brother did.
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While it might have been easier
for the Petri brothers or Tausen to live, study, and work
in a place like Wittenberg or Geneva, God had a better thing in store for them.
Their destiny was to return to their homeland
and preach the gospel there.
They knew the language, the culture, and the customs,
and they were able to do a work there
that others from elsewhere would not have been able to do.
Whatever work you do, may you start with that which lies nearest.
Whether it be your home church
which might be small, humble, and not so lively,
or maybe it's your home country.
Not everyone is called to go to a faraway and distant land,
but we can all start working for God right where we are.
May you follow God's call as these men did in years gone by.