Orthodox island in Stockholm. Orthodoxy in Sweden Finnish Orthodox parish
The Kingdom of Sweden has a monarchical form of government, but all the rights and freedoms of the citizens of this country are legalized in the Constitution. Religion in this state is represented by a set of religious beliefs and worldviews, the legality of which is presented in the Basic Law of the state.
History of religion
In the pre-Christian period, the Swedes were pagans, their pantheon of gods was very rich, and was a bit reminiscent of the pantheon of Ancient Greece and Rome. The priests enjoyed great respect in society; temples were built everywhere in which sacrifices were made to the gods. The most famous cult monument was the temple in Old Uppsala.
In the oral folk art of the Swedes one can find parables and legends about sacrificing the most noble and worthy young men and women in order to appease the gods. For example, King Domald of Sweden was sacrificed (with his voluntary consent) to stop the long-term harvest and save the people from starvation.
The spread of Christianity is associated with the name of Saint Ansgar, who in 859 carried out missionary activities during his visit to this country. Ansgar at that time was fleeing the invasion of the Vikings, who were pagans and brutally persecuted Christians.
Almost all countries of the world have a date for official baptism and adoption of any world religion, but in Sweden this date is missing, since there is no exact date in the chronicles and annals, and the baptism of different regions of the country took place in different years.
But it is reliably known that in the 1st-10th centuries the territory of Sweden was inhabited by two tribes: the Getae and the Svei, who had different attitudes towards the adoption of Christianity. If the Getae adopted this religion and built temples and churches on their lands, then the Svei remained pagans for another two centuries.
Acceptance of Christianity
The Swedish king Olaf Shetkonung was the first who was able to unite both the Getae and the Svei under his rule. It was he who was the first Christian ruler, since he was baptized in 1008 and founded the first bishopric on his lands and strongly welcomed the baptism of his subjects.
But almost eighty years passed until Christianity was recognized as the state religion throughout Sweden, after Inge 1 the Elder destroyed the temples of the worship of pagan gods and opened persecution of priests and pagans. Although some Vikings secretly still practiced the old religion.
The emergence of Lutheranism in Sweden
The spread of the Reformed Church in Sweden is connected with the name of Martin Luther and his followers. The Reformation here was difficult, since it was Sweden that became the first country to replace Catholicism with a reform religion.
In 1593, the Swedish Church Synod declared Lutheranism the state religion, and all other religions were banned. The Protestants of this country defined their life under the slogan: “One country, one people, one religion.”
The State of Modern Religion in Sweden
According to statistics, 85% of the state's citizens are atheists. Other sources indicate a different figure - 94%. Sweden holds the record for the number of atheists. Although every citizen of the country is assigned to the state Lutheran church from the moment of birth, upon reaching adulthood he has the right to change his religion. True, some citizens of the country do not even know that they are parishioners of this church.
Religion in Sweden is often referred to as the "religion of the non-believers" because less than 15% of the population show that they believe in Jesus Christ or other spirits or some kind of divine force. Many citizens consider the baptism, wedding or funeral service of people as a kind of tribute to the well-known order. And since the Swedes, for the most part, are very respectable and law-abiding, they perform these rituals according to the tradition received from their ancestors.
Only 1% of the country's population are Orthodox Christians, less than half a million Muslims live in the country, mainly immigrants from the East, and about 18 thousand Jews.
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The fact that a Russian Orthodox church has been operating in Stockholm for almost four hundred years is hardly known to those numerous Russian tourists who disembark the Princess Anastasia ferry in Frihamn harbor. The parish of St. Sergius of Radonezh was accepted into the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate 15 years ago, but back in 1617, according to the Stolbovo Peace Treaty, Russian merchants in Stockholm received the right to participate in Orthodox services. Since then, Orthodox services in Stockholm have not stopped. The rector, priest Vitaly Babushin, talks about the history of the Sergievsky parish and how it lives today.
The idea to create a temple here belonged to Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev) of Volokolamsk and Yuryevsk. He then headed the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. This entire proposal was actively supported. As the first rector of the parish, priest Alexander Piskunov, told me, at that moment the bishop did not have a meter at hand to measure this room. Then Bishop Pitirim took off the belt from his cassock and took measurements, estimating what the altar, throne, altar and iconostasis should be like. After some time, an iconostasis was made in the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, which was installed here in the temple.
The rector of our church was, as I mentioned, Priest Alexander Piskunov, and after his retirement, Archpriest Vladimir Alexandrov, who currently continues his ministry in Moscow. Thanks to the efforts of my predecessors, not only in Stockholm, but also in other cities of Sweden, groups of Orthodox believers have appeared and continue to appear, uniting not only Russians or Russian-speaking people, but also Swedes, which is especially pleasant. Currently, seven parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate are registered on the territory of the kingdom. In one of them, in Stockholm, I am the rector, and in the other three I am a ministering priest. The north of Sweden is also cared for by the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate, the rector of the parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Umeå, Mikhail Salgrin.
The premises in which the temple is located are part of the auxiliary buildings of the Lutheran Church of Mary Magdalene. How did it happen that the Swedish Church shared this small building with the Orthodox Church?
The fact is that among the parishioners there was a relative of the then rector of the Lutheran parish of Mary Magdalene. Thanks to this, the premises were given to us by the Church of Mary Magdalene for twenty-five years of free rent. But it is known that the parish of St. Sergius was forced to invest a fairly large amount in the reconstruction of the premises for worship. Thus, for about thirteen years, the Divine Liturgy has been regularly celebrated in our parish. The parish has grown a lot: as Fr. Alexander, on the first Easter, everyone who participated in the festive Liturgy sat down to break their fast at a small coffee table. And now at Christmas and Easter we rent large Protestant churches. We have an icon painting school, a children's school, and our own wonderful choir.
Do Swedes - both practicing Protestants and ordinary city dwellers - know that there are Orthodox churches in Stockholm?
Once, the late rector of the Transfiguration Church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Father Matthias Nurström, gathered the Swedes living next door to the temple. The Transfiguration Church is a brownie church, it is located in the well of a residential building. More than half of those people whose windows looked directly onto the temple did not know that there was an Orthodox parish next to them.
We don’t invite our Swedish neighbors - although there is a residential building right above us. I think they also know little about our temple, although, of course, they see our religious processions.
In your parish I had the opportunity to observe Swedes who converted to Orthodoxy. What is the path of an ordinary Swede to Orthodoxy?
The classic path to Orthodoxy for a Swede is through Catholicism. If a Swede begins to think seriously, he switches from Lutheranism to Catholicism; if he continues to think further, he converts to Orthodoxy. I know several Swedes who came to Orthodoxy in this way.
You are probably already familiar with Swedish stereotypes regarding Russians. Are there any stereotypes regarding Orthodoxy? A researcher from Sweden, Per Arne Budin, outlined a clear positive image of “Holy Rus'”; other Swedish authors indicate their attitude towards Russia with the phrase “The Russians are coming!” What will an ordinary Swede say if he is asked if he knows anything about Orthodoxy?
Swedish stereotypes regarding Russians are well known. The attitude towards Russia here is completely different. I was told the following episode: when Fr. Alexander Piskunov accidentally called our former regent and treasurer, the Swede Pavel Nordgren, Pol (that was his name before Baptism), in a conversation with Metropolitan Pitirim, Bishop Pitirim responded: “Father Alexander! Pavlusha, Pavlusha! What a Paul, he’s Russian!”
There are amazingly Orthodox Swedes. Our Pavel Nordgren, as regent, compiled his own collections of Orthodox hymns for the entire annual cycle of services. Nordgren is now retired - he has ceased to be treasurer and regent, but regularly participates in worship services.
The range of attitudes towards Russia here is very wide: from those Swedes who have practically become Russians, to those who still remember military operations with Russia and do not reject the possibility of a new conflict.
As a rule, local newspapers make sure to note when Russians commit crimes. However, crimes committed by members of other minorities are not reported.
In addition to what has been said, many Swedish newspapers openly mock Christianity. But what is much more dear to me personally is that, for example, yesterday’s issue of the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published an article about Palekh, written with understanding, a sense of warmth and compassion.
Do you think it is necessary for a Swede who has converted to Orthodoxy to learn Russian? Is the amount of information in Swedish sufficient for the full spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian?
At first I thought that the Swedish language during worship should be used in proportion to the number of Swedes present at the service. It turned out that previous abbots also faced this dilemma. They tried to use some Swedish in the worship service. But all this caused a mixed reaction among parishioners. Some said: this is a Russian church, we come here, so to speak, in order to stay a little in Russia; and suddenly we hear Swedish, which we are tired of, etc.
This question is open - it is being discussed. Some parishioners welcome him, others do not. As you understand, in Russia it happens that not only in one city, but also on one street there are several different churches with different traditions and different durations of services, with different views of priests on certain theological, philosophical, political and national issues. A person can choose, but here everyone has to go to one parish - well, there is also the Church of the Transfiguration, but it is in a different jurisdiction... It is especially difficult in this situation for the clergy and choir, because everyone needs to be happy and all spiritual needs are satisfied , but everyone's needs are very different. Therefore, the question of using the Swedish language runs into this pitfall.
Does a church-going Swede need to learn Russian? Of course, it is necessary: many more books still need to be translated into Swedish. Now the real work of translating liturgical texts into Swedish is being carried out by Archimandrite Dorotheos (he is a Swede himself) from the Holy Trinity Monastery in the city of Borås, in southwestern Sweden. He has already translated a lot into Swedish, including from Church Slavonic. Translations are underway, but I would like many more people to join this process.
- Is there any discrimination against Orthodox children in Swedish schools?
The schools here have a fairly international environment. There is no sense of discrimination as such, but there is no special attention to religious issues. Acquaintance with world religions occurs within the framework of teaching social sciences, and in practice there are many children from Muslim families, for the sake of which varieties of meat are specially marked in school canteens: the problem of “halal - not halal” is perhaps the only religious problem that is already well known to Swedes.
Please tell us about the icon painting school operating at the temple. When was it created? How many people study here, what disciplines do parishioners study here?
The idea of creating an icon painting school belongs to Father Alexander Piskunov. According to him, when he and his mother arrived in Sweden, they discovered that almost every Catholic and Lutheran church had its own art or even icon painting circle. A little later, they saw the horror that is presented as freedom of creativity. When exhibitions of the “works” of such circles are held in Lutheran churches, one can, of course, treat all this with humility, but sometimes these works are on the same level as blasphemy. I am a witness to this myself. All these courses and clubs are either hidden or openly commercial. Therefore, in order to show Sweden a real icon of the Byzantine and Russian tradition, Father Alexander decided to create an icon painting school in the parish and make it free.
The plans for the icon painting school included theoretical classes, which were to be held constantly, and master classes at the end of each semester, in which it was planned to attract the best icon painters of Russia.
The uniqueness of our school lies in the unlimited duration of training, and also in the fact that those who do not want to take exams, for example, older people, can study here.
Everything that was once in our plans is now alive and makes us very happy. We hope that in the near future the St. Sergius parish will be able to outgrow its more than modest shelter in the utility room of the Swedish Protestant Church into a real temple of the Moscow Patriarchate here in the capital of the Kingdom of Sweden.
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Books
- The Loneliness of Alina Vorobeva, Dragan Mijailovich, The author of the novel is a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church Dragan Mijalovic was born in Belgrade in 1953. His parents separated when he was a child, and he was raised by a Russian for several years... Publisher: Aletheia,
The Orthodox Cathedral of St. George is one of the most visited attractions in the capital of Sweden. The temple is located in the center of Stockholm, at the address: Birger Jarlsgatan street, 92.
Orthodoxy in Sweden
Sweden is a Catholic country, but Orthodoxy occupies a special place here. The history of this religion in Sweden has deep roots. In Stockholm, back in the 18th century, Russians from Muscovy received permission to build a church. This iconic building became the first Orthodox church in Western Europe. The church was located on the territory of the town hall. Now in its place there is a city museum. In the basement of this building there is an inscription made in Russian.
Expanding contacts and influencing Orthodoxy in Sweden
The impetus for the development of contacts with Sweden was trade. In 1700–1721, Tsar Peter actively “cut” a window to Europe and especially to Sweden.
During World War II, many Orthodox Christians from Poland and the Baltic states came to Sweden, and later Greeks, Yugoslavs and Bulgarians. Already in our time, in the 1990s, a new wave of emigration took place. Since then, thousands of Orthodox Christians have lived in Sweden, and therefore there are many Orthodox churches in Sweden, and in Stockholm itself.
St. George's Orthodox Cathedral
In the St. George Church there are many icons and frescoes associated with the name of this saint. The parents of the Great Martyr George were rich people. The religious figure’s birthplace is the city of Beirut. George was a warrior. He was distinguished by courage, strength, beauty and became a close associate of Emperor Diocletian.
The emperor wanted to return paganism and persecuted Christians. George began to stand up for them and accuse the emperor of cruelty. Then Diocletian persecuted George himself. He was imprisoned and severely tortured. He endured suffering courageously. By order of Emperor George, he was executed. The people gave the great martyr the name “Victorious” for his spiritual victory over the enemies of Christianity. The relics of the saint are kept in Palestine, in the city of Lida.
In many icons, George sits on a white horse and slays a snake. This icon is an image of the legend about a snake that killed girls and boys. When the serpent wanted to kill the ruler's daughter, a young man appeared on a white horse, saved the girl and killed the enemy. It was St. George the Victorious.
Symbol of courage
In Stockholm, residents consider George the patron saint of the city. A monument was erected to him, which is a sculptural group - George on a horse kills a dragon. The rescued princess knelt nearby. The original in 1489 was made of expensive wood and gilded. This is the oldest wooden sculpture in Europe. It is kept in the Church of St. Nicholas.
In 1912, a bronze statue, a complete copy of the wooden one, was erected in the city center. It is installed on the Town Hall. The monument has a hidden meaning - St. George is perceived as a symbol of the courage of the Swedes, the dragon - enemy malice, the princess is Sweden in need of protection.
Show moreWhile preparing this material, I looked for information about the Swedish religious situation in official sources, since my private opinion is unlikely to be completely objective. However, to my surprise, the numbers found did not become a discovery for me. I developed a fairly adequate idea of the religious life of society after six years of living in Gothenburg, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Sweden.
So, here are the real numbers: the majority (about 80%) of registered believers (or 70% of the total population) formally belong to the Church of Sweden - a Lutheran church that was separated from the state only in 2000. However, the 2005 Eurobarometer survey shows that Sweden is the third-lowest country in the EU in terms of the number of believers (after the Czech Republic and Estonia): only 23% of Swedes believe in God, 53% believe in some kind of spirit or force of life, 23% do not believe in God or any spirit or force of life. Only 2% of the population regularly goes to church; about 1% of the population is Orthodox. A significant part of them are Serbs, Greeks, Romanians, Russians, but there are also small communities of Orthodox Finns, Estonians, and Georgians. Sweden has an impressive Muslim population.
Lutheranism (or Protestantism, as they say here) is the apotheosis of what defines Sweden and the character of the people here: moderation, restraint in everything - in feelings, expressions, design. Lutheran churches are not Catholic churches or Gothic cathedrals. There are a lot of churches in the city, some old and some not so old, but in appearance few can compare in beauty with the most ordinary church in the Russian province. Immediately after arriving here, I, who could not read Swedish, sinfully mistook churches for... crematoriums, some of them had such a “non-church” appearance. In the area where I live, churches are literally everywhere, only sometimes it is difficult to distinguish them from residential buildings.
Have I ever been to Lutheran churches? Yes, and I even found one where I was happy to be - this is the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Every year at the end of December, around Christmas, services are held there, and this church is perhaps the most beautiful in the city and most closely resembles an Orthodox one.
Singing Christmas carols, Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, December 2014. The girl clergy conducting the service was not included in the shot. She arrived on a bicycle, and during the service, jeans were visible from under her white cassock. How, you ask, does 80% of the population officially belong to the church? The fact is that children are baptized even by those parents who do not believe in God and are not included in that same 23% of believers. I think this is a tribute to tradition, not fashion: the Swedish church is not free, each parishioner pays more than 100 euros in contributions per year, this money is automatically deducted from the salary or benefits, for life, so few people baptize a child just like that, for the sake of the ceremony will. Perhaps those who declared their unbelief were simply embarrassed to admit it, but in fact they believe in God, which is why they baptize their children.
My refrigerator is covered with baby memorial photos, as you can see. At the christenings where I attended, a ceremony very similar to our Orthodox one was performed by pleasant elderly priests...
Well, what about that small percentage of believers who go to church regularly? In my circle there is only one such family, and they belong not to Lutherans, but to that branch of the religion that is called Christian here. These people do not drink alcohol, do not smoke, pray, their teenage daughter Yukhanna is an incredibly kind girl, this family has only heard about the problems that usually arise between parents and children in a difficult transitional age from others.
“Are you Orthodox? This is wonderful!"
“Are you Orthodox? This is wonderful!" – this is exactly the reaction that one hundred percent of my friends and colleagues had when they found out what my faith was. The conversation usually started when we accidentally saw a cross or when discussing plans for Christmas. At first I attributed such affection to ordinary politeness, was embarrassed, said “thank you” and turned the conversation to other topics, but it turned out that the Swedes really like Russian icons and priests, “a little angry, but you all Russians are also a little angry, a little smile." In general, due to the general irreligiousness of Swedish society, the idea of Orthodoxy is very superficial: some have heard about the revered St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, some have heard about Russian Christmas, which is celebrated in January, and not in December, like Catholics and Lutherans, some -he knows that in Russia there was a different calendar.
I would like to say that there was the same positive reaction to the fact that I was Russian, but I would have to lie. Unfortunately, political disagreements have taken their toll, so it’s sad to write about the attitude of Russians.
To the credit of the Swedes, they do not look for what the difference is between Orthodoxy and other branches of the same church; Orthodox means not a Muslim, not a Mormon, which means ours. When I asked them to describe in one word what the distinctive feature of the Russian Church is for them, the most common answer was “seriousness.” I must say that Lutherans are great liberals in this sense (I will not touch on the topic of same-sex marriage), here is an example from life: my friend Lisa seriously convinced the priest to change the text of the marriage vow “Do you swear to be with the servant of God... until death do you part” to “Until you feel that you are unhappy with him.” Try to imagine that you will come to an Orthodox church with such a request! Happened? I could not get. When I, a little shocked, asked Lisa why she decided to rewrite the text and how the priest reacted to it, Lisa replied: “The priest refused, I don’t understand why. He should have understood me, because he himself is married for the third time.”
Once upon a time, while living in Russia, I took my Swedish colleagues, those who asked, to church. Of course, the purpose was more of an excursion than a religious one. The churches of Moscow made an impression, but more like museums, but from existing churches I more than once took crying adult men and women who went to look at beautiful strange icons and “priests in expensive clothes” (priests during worship), and found themselves in the atmosphere of a real Church, with the smell of candles, incense, the faces of saints, and special light. They experienced incredible shock, some said that they had not cried for decades before, but here it seemed like nothing hurt, nothing had happened, and the tears were flowing.
It seems to me that deep down, precisely because the Russian Orthodox Church has rituals, canons and that very seriousness, Orthodoxy evokes such respect.
The main photo shows an Orthodox church in Stockholm
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