Fredrik Olaus Nilsson

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Fredrik Olaus (F.O.) Nilsson
Born28 July 1809
Varö, Sweden
Died21 October 1881
Minnesota, United States
Burial placeSwede Bottom Cemetery, Houston County, Minnesota
OccupationPastor, missionary

Fredrik Olaus Nilsson (28 July 1809–21 October 1881), also known as F.O. Nilsson, was a pioneer Swedish Baptist pastor and missionary who founded Sweden's first Baptist congregation. He married Ulrika Sophia Olsson (1812–1903).[1]

Life[]

Nilsson was born on Vendelsö in Värö parish (in what is now Varberg municipality) in northern Halland, Sweden, in 1809.[2]

Nilsson moved to Onsala, in what is now Kungsbacka municipality, as a young man and went to sea at the age of 19. In 1834 he came to faith among Swedish-speaking Methodists in the United States.[2] In 1839 Nilsson returned to Sweden, where the following year he came into contact with Methodist evangelist . Scott succeeded in getting the in New York to employ Nilsson as a seamen's missionary in Gothenburg. Later he also worked as a Bible distributor for the British and Foreign Bible Society.[3]

In 1845 Nilsson came into contact with sailor and later sea captain  [sv] (also known as Gustavus W. or G.W. Schroeder), who was his introduction to Baptist theology.[3] After studying what the New Testament regarding baptism, Nilsson travelled to Hamburg in 1847, where he was baptised in the Elbe on 1 August by Baptist pastor Johann Gerhard Oncken.[3] When Nilsson returned to Sweden, he spoke to others about his conversion, which led to the formation of the first Baptist congregation in Sweden.

On 21 September 1848, Nilsson's wife, his two brothers and several others were baptised by Danish Baptist preacher  [sv] at Vallersvik in Landa (in the present municipality of Kungsbacka).[4] The same evening, the first  [sv] (Swedish: Sveriges baptistförsamling) was founded in Borekulla cottage in Landa parish. Nilsson wrote the Borekulla Confession, a 3,895-word document mainly regarding his religious views but which also stressed the new congregation's democratic nature, in which men and women held equal voting rights and there would be no hierarchy.[5]

On 4 July 1851, Nilsson left Sweden, having been sentenced to exile for his preaching. He travelled first to Copenhagen, then to Hamburg; from there he travelled to the Evangelical Alliance meeting in London, from 20 August to 3 September. The Evangelical Alliance later challenged Nilsson's sentence by the Swedish government.[6]

Nilsson was soon appointed pastor of the Baptist congregation in Copenhagen. In this capacity, he baptised Swedish Lutheran priest Anders Wiberg in the Baltic Sea on 23 July 1852.[7][8] In the spring of 1853, Nilsson resigned as pastor in Copenhagen. Prior to that, he visited Sweden and performed the first free church wedding in the country. The police showed up and made him give his word to leave Sweden as soon as possible.

In 1853 he travelled to the United States and settled in Minnesota. There he founded a Baptist church together with Andrew Peterson, whose diaries inspired Vilhelm Moberg's series The Emigrants.[9] The church was initially located in Peterson's home; it still exists under the name Oakwood Community Church in Waconia, Minnesota.[10] His work contributed to the founding of the Swedish Baptist General Conference, later to become the Baptist General Conference and then Converge.[11]

The Conventicle Act, which outlawed religious meetings other than those of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, was overturned in 1858. Nilsson returned to Sweden in 1860, at which point he was pardoned.[12] The same year, the first Dissenter Act was enacted, allowing nonconformists to leave the Church of Sweden. In 1861, Nilsson became the pastor of and worked there until 1868, when he returned to the United States.[1]

In 1869, the Nilsson family settled in Houston, Minnesota and joined the Swedish Baptist church there. Nilsson served on and off as the church's pastor until 1876, when 13 members left the church in protest of his theological development. His writings, inspired by transcendentalist Theodore Parker,[13] had, among other things, questioned the doctrine of the Trinity.

Nilsson died 21 October 1881 and is buried in Swede Bottom Cemetery in Houston County, Minnesota.[14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Fredrik O Nilsson |" (in Swedish). 2019-04-26. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  2. ^ a b "761-762 (Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 37. Supplement. L - Riksdag)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). 1925. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  3. ^ a b c Jessup, David. "F.O. Nilsson and the Swedish Baptists". www.pietisten.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  4. ^ "De första baptisterna visar på en tro som är värd offer - Dagen" (in Swedish). 2014-08-24. Archived from the original on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  5. ^ Dur Flackman, Thomas (February 2011). "The Pious Rebel from Vendelsö". Trail Markers. Bethel University History Center. 10 (2). Archived from the original on 2021-07-04.
  6. ^ Gustafson, David M. (2008). D.L. Moody and Swedes : shaping evangelical identity among Swedish mission friends, 1867-1899. Linköping: Linköping University, Department of culture and communication. ISBN 978-91-7393-995-9. OCLC 225548281.
  7. ^ Lundin, Claës (1890). "220 (Nya Stockholm)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  8. ^ "Notable Swedish pioneers: Anders Wiberg". The Simple Pastor. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  9. ^ 1926-, Mihelich, Josephine (1984). Andrew Peterson and the Scandia story : a historical account about a Minnesota pioneer whose diaries have been "reborn as a piece of world literature" through Vilhelm Moberg and his writings. Copublished by the author and Ford Johnson Graphics. ISBN 0-917907-00-0. OCLC 11623573.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Stanwood, Maggie. "Ghost towns of the southwest metro". SWNewsMedia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  11. ^ Magnuson, Norris. Putman, Bob (ed.). "The Story of Converge" (PDF). Converge.
  12. ^ "Landsförvisad för sin tros skull - Släktband". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  13. ^ Lawson, Truett (May 2008). "Pietism Rocks: An Identity Worth Sharing" (PDF). Baptist Pietist Clarion. Baptist General Conference. 7 (1): 16. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04.
  14. ^ "F O Nilsson (1809-1881) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
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