ABOUT THE STATUE:
The statue is located in front of the Storkyrkans, also known as the Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of St. Nicholas) and Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral). The statue was created by Swedish sculptor Theodor Lundberg. It was dedicated in 1898 and depicts this major contributor to the Protestant Reformation in Sweden in his priest clothes. He is holding a book in his hands. The statue sits atop a stone plinth with the following inscription:
Olavvs Petri
1493-1552
Gvds Ords Predikare
Kyrkoprest
1st. Nicolai
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Olauus Petri
1493-1552
Preacher of God's Word
The church priest
1st. Nicolai
A small plaque on the church to the right of the statue contains the following information about the statue:
Olaus Petri
Rest 1898
Theodor Lundberg
1852 - 1926
Gåva av Olaus - Petrisällskapet
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Olaus Petri
Erected 1898
Theodor Lundberg
1852 - 1926
Gift of Olaus - Petri Society
ABOUT THE MAN:
"Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (January 6, 1493 – April 19, 1552), better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge and major contributor to the Protestant Reformation in Sweden. His brother, Laurentius Petri (Lars Persson), became the first Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden.
Early life
Born in Örebro, in south-central Sweden and the son of a local blacksmith, Olaus Petri learned to read and write at the local Carmelite monastery. He then went to the capital and studied at the University of Uppsala, where he read theology and German. Later, he attended the University of Leipzig until 1516, and finally finished his education and received a Master's degree at the University of Wittenberg in February 1518. While in Wittenberg with his younger brother Lars, Olaus met with and was influenced by the main characters of the German reformation, Philipp Melanchthon and Martin Luther.
Career
Both Petri brothers returned to Sweden in 1519, nearly dying as their ship ran aground on Gotland island during a storm. They remained on Gotland for a while, with Olaus preaching and assisting the local priest, Soren Norby, and Lars teaching at the local school. In 1520, Olaus returned to Strängnäs on the mainland, accepting ordination as a deacon and serving bishop Mattias Gregersson Lilje as secretary, chancellor of the Diocese of Strängnäs, canon of the Strängnäs Cathedral and dean of the cathedral school.
Olaus accompanied his mentor, Bishop Gregersson, to Stockholm and attended the tumultuous crowning of Danish King Christian II, who had captured Stockholm and held it for about a year until returning to Denmark, where he was soon deposed and replaced by his uncle, who became King Frederick I of Denmark. Meanwhile, at the notorious Stockholm Bloodbath in early November, King Christian violated his promises of a general amnesty for the Sture party, and during the post-coronation festivities arrested and executed 80-90 churchmen and secular Swedish nobles, including Bishop Gregersson. When Olaus expressed his outrage, he was almost executed as well, but a German who had seen him in Wittenberg identified Olaus as a fellow German and thus saved his life. King Christian tried to appoint his friend, Odense's bishop Jens Andersen Beldenak, to the now-vacant Strängnäs bishopric, but both Danes soon returned to Denmark, and the scholar-priest Laurentius Andreae, who had been named archdeacon in 1520, ran the diocese.
The massacre provoked the Swedish War of Liberation, including the election and crowning of Gustav Vasa as King in Strängnäs in 1523. Olaus (whose father died in 1521, after which he and his brother joined the insurgents under Vasa's leadership) attended the coronation, swore fealty to his monarch, and soon became the kingdom's chancellor. A year later Olaus was appointed Stockholm's town secretary and moved to the new capital, where he also served as a judge (despite lack of specific legal training), and town councilor.
Olaus became known for his advocacy of Lutheranism and criticism of prevailing Roman Catholicism. In October 1524, the Uppsala Cathedral's chapter excommunicated both brothers on grounds of heresy. They remained, however, confident in the new Swedish king's strong support. In 1525 Olaus married, as Lutheran practice permitted, and also implemented another of Luther's ideas by having the mass sung in Swedish for the first time. Throughout this period Olaus was also involved in scholarly endeavors, including translating Lutheran works into Swedish. In 1526, Olaus published the first Swedish translation of the New Testament, and also published a catechism in Swedish."
--Wikipedia (
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