A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book
Archbishop Laurentius Petri (1499–1573): The respected authority of the Swedish reformation
Authors: Korpiola Mia
Editors: Kjell Å Modéer; Helle Vogt
Publishing place: Abingdon
Publication year: 2021
Book title : Law and the Christian Tradition in Scandinavia: The Writings of Great Nordic Jurists
Series title: Law and Religion
First page : 105
Last page: 127
ISBN: 978-0-367-85824-7
eISBN: 978-1-003-01525-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003015253-10
Web address : https://www.routledge.com/Law-and-The-Christian-Tradition-in-Scandinavia-The-Writings-of-Great-Nordic/Modeer-Vogt/p/book/9780367858247
Archbishop Laurentius Petri (1499–1573) was the first evangelical archbishop of Uppsala. He held his office from 1531 until his death, setting the direction of the Swedish Reformation during over four decades. While Laurentius Petri upheld the Lutheran tenets and the supreme authority of the Bible, his Reformation maintained conservative features for example in some matrimonial impediments and church structure. He exhibited certain doctrinal and practical flexibility. While he staunchly upheld the notion of two swords and accepted that ecclesiastical jurisdiction could be determined by the crown, he demonstrated independence in relation to the monarch, refusing to yield his convictions about prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity. Laurentius Petri was no trained lawyer and he did not refer often to canon law or Evangelical church law. Thus, the Swedish Reformation was not a very legal reform. Yet, through his published works, most notably the 1571 Church Ordinance that remained in use for over a century, and his personal authority, he carried the Lutheran reforms through religious disputes and political strife.