Lars Levi Læstadius
Encyclopedia
Lars Levi Læstadius was a Swedish Lutheran pastor of partly Sami
ancestry. From the mid 1840s and onward he became the leader of the Laestadian movement. He was also an author, teetotaller and botanist.
, near Arjeplog
in the western mountainous parts of Norrbotten County
, the most northerly county in Sweden. His father provided for the family by hunting, fishing, and tar-making. The family lived in poverty, but with help from a half-brother of his who was a pastor at Kvikkjokk, Lars Levi was able to enter Uppsala University
in 1820, where he proved to be a brilliant student. Because of his interest in botany he was made assistant in the Botany
Department while pursuing studies in theology
. He was ordained a Lutheran minister in 1825 by the bishop of Härnösand, Erik Abraham Almquist.
His first parish was at Arjeplog in Lapland, where he became regional missionary for the Pite district. From 1826 to 1849 he was vicar
in Karesuando
parish in Lapland, and subsequently served at Pajala
parish in Norrbotten
from 1849 until his death. Before moving to Karesuando, he married a local Sami woman, Brita Cajsa Alstadius, and together they raised a family of twelve children.
In addition to his pastoral duties he continued his interest in botany, and authored a number of articles on plant life in Lapland. He also served as botanist to the French La Recherche Expedition research expedition to Samiland (1838–40). On the request from the expedition, he also wrote a lengthy piece on Sami mythology titled Fragments of Lappish Mythology
. This was not published in the expedition papers, and for many years his manuscript was lost. Several parts of the manuscript were discovered between 1933 and 1946.
At the time of Laestadius's arrival, Karesuando was a place with widespread misery and alcoholism
. Laestadius's mother tongue was Swedish, but he also spoke Pite Sami
. After a year in Karesuando, he spoke both Finnish and Northern Sami
. He usually held his services in Finnish since it was the most widespread language in the area, but on occasion also preached in the Northern Sami and Swedish languages.
Around 1833 he suffered from a complaint which the doctors first thought was pneumonia
. He recovered.
He applied for the position of dean in Pajala
. In order to get the position, he needed to complement his exams in Härnösand
, which he did; and in 1849 he became dean in Pajala and inspector of the Lapland parishes.
The resistance to Laestadius's radical Christian ethics and morale, together with his way of confronting the parishioners with their sins was harder in Pajala; and the bishop decided in 1853 that two separate church services should be held, one for the Laestadians and one for the others. This could be said that Laestadianism
, the religious revival named after him, became a movement in its own right at this time, although it remained within and never separated from the Church of Sweden
. When Laestadius died in 1861, he was succeeded by Johan Raattamaa as the leader of the Laestadian movement.
Laestadius met a Sami woman named Milla Clementsdotter of Föllinge (also known as Mary of Lapland by the Laestadian Lutheran Church) in the municipality of Krokom
in Jämtland
during an 1844 inspection tour of Åsele
in Lapland. She belonged to a revival movement marked by pietistic and Moravian influences and led by pastor Pehr Brandell of the parish of Nora in the municipality of Kramfors
in Ångermanland
. She told Laestadius about her experiences on her journey to a living faith. This was an important meeting for Laestadius, because after it, he first understood the secret of living faith. He had a religious experience, and he writes later that he at last saw the path that leads to eternal life. His sermons acquired, in his own words, "a new kind of colour" to which people began to respond. The movement spread quickly from Sweden to Finland and Norway. Laestadius based his sermons on the Bible.
Because of his participation in this expedition, Laestadius received the Medal of honor of the Legion of Honor of France
after 1841. He was the first Scandinavian to receive this honor.
paid him to travel to Skåne and Lapland in order to study and make drawings of the plants, which should be used in work over Swedish botany. He was as an internationally recognised botanist and was a member of the Edinburgh Botanical Society as well as the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala
.
A number of plant species have been named for Lars Levi Læstadius, e.g.:
Lars Levi Læstadius named many plant
species:
http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_family=&find_genus=&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=Laest.&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearchList of plants named by Laestadius in IPNI]
Lilly Anne Østtveit Elgvin, Lars Levi Læstadius' spiritualitet (Summary: The spirituality of L L Læstadius), 2010.
Olle Franzén, Naturalhistorikern Lars Levi Læstadius,1973
Seppo Lohi, Sydämen kristillisyys Lars Levi Læstadius ja læstadiolainen herätyksen alkuvaiheet, 2000.
Hannu Juntunen, Lars Levi Læstadiuksen käsitys kirkosta, 1982
Kristina Nilsson, Den himmelske föräldern. En studie av kvinnans betydelse för Lars Levi Læstadius teologi och förkunnelse, 1988.
Henning Thulin, Lars Levi Læstadius och hans förkunnelse, 1949
Gunnar Wikmark, Lars Levi Læstadius’ väg till den nya födelsen, 1980
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
ancestry. From the mid 1840s and onward he became the leader of the Laestadian movement. He was also an author, teetotaller and botanist.
Early life
Laestadius was born in Swedish LaplandSwedish Lapland
Lappland is a province in northernmost Sweden. It borders Jämtland, Ångermanland, Västerbotten, Norrbotten, Norway and Finland. About a quarter of Sweden's surface area is in Lappland.Lappland originally extended eastward...
, near Arjeplog
Arjeplog
Arjeplog is a locality and the seat of Arjeplog Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,947 inhabitants in 2005.It is a popular winter test site for the European car industry....
in the western mountainous parts of Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...
, the most northerly county in Sweden. His father provided for the family by hunting, fishing, and tar-making. The family lived in poverty, but with help from a half-brother of his who was a pastor at Kvikkjokk, Lars Levi was able to enter Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
in 1820, where he proved to be a brilliant student. Because of his interest in botany he was made assistant in the Botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
Department while pursuing studies in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. He was ordained a Lutheran minister in 1825 by the bishop of Härnösand, Erik Abraham Almquist.
His first parish was at Arjeplog in Lapland, where he became regional missionary for the Pite district. From 1826 to 1849 he was vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
in Karesuando
Karesuando
Karesuando is the northernmost locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 313 inhabitants in 2005....
parish in Lapland, and subsequently served at Pajala
Pajala
Pajala is a locality and the seat of Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,985 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Lars Levi Læstadius lived and worked in Pajala Municipality in the middle of the 19th century...
parish in Norrbotten
Norrbotten
Norrbotten is a Swedish province in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.- Administration :...
from 1849 until his death. Before moving to Karesuando, he married a local Sami woman, Brita Cajsa Alstadius, and together they raised a family of twelve children.
In addition to his pastoral duties he continued his interest in botany, and authored a number of articles on plant life in Lapland. He also served as botanist to the French La Recherche Expedition research expedition to Samiland (1838–40). On the request from the expedition, he also wrote a lengthy piece on Sami mythology titled Fragments of Lappish Mythology
Fragments of Lappish Mythology
Fragments of Lappish Mythology is the detailed documented account of the Sami religious beliefs and mythology during the mid-19th century. It was written between 1838–1845 by Swedish minister Lars Levi Læstadius, but was not published until 1997 in Swedish, Finnish in 2000 and in English in 2002...
. This was not published in the expedition papers, and for many years his manuscript was lost. Several parts of the manuscript were discovered between 1933 and 1946.
At the time of Laestadius's arrival, Karesuando was a place with widespread misery and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Laestadius's mother tongue was Swedish, but he also spoke Pite Sami
Pite Sami
Pite Sami, also known as Arjeplog Sami, is a Sami language traditionally spoken in Sweden and Norway. It is a critically endangered language that has only about 25–50 native speakers left and is now only spoken on the Swedish side of the border along the Pite River in the north of Arjeplog...
. After a year in Karesuando, he spoke both Finnish and Northern Sami
Northern Sami
Northern or North Sami is the most widely spoken of all Sami languages. The speaking area of Northern Sami covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland...
. He usually held his services in Finnish since it was the most widespread language in the area, but on occasion also preached in the Northern Sami and Swedish languages.
Around 1833 he suffered from a complaint which the doctors first thought was pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. He recovered.
He applied for the position of dean in Pajala
Pajala
Pajala is a locality and the seat of Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,985 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Lars Levi Læstadius lived and worked in Pajala Municipality in the middle of the 19th century...
. In order to get the position, he needed to complement his exams in Härnösand
Härnösand
Härnösand is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 18,003 inhabitants in 2005. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape rises just some miles north of Härnösand...
, which he did; and in 1849 he became dean in Pajala and inspector of the Lapland parishes.
The resistance to Laestadius's radical Christian ethics and morale, together with his way of confronting the parishioners with their sins was harder in Pajala; and the bishop decided in 1853 that two separate church services should be held, one for the Laestadians and one for the others. This could be said that Laestadianism
Laestadianism
Laestadianism is a conservative Lutheran revival movement started in the middle of the 19th century. It is strongly marked by both pietistic and Moravian influences. It is the biggest revivalist movement in the Nordic countries. It has members mainly in Finland, North America, Norway, Russia and...
, the religious revival named after him, became a movement in its own right at this time, although it remained within and never separated from the Church of Sweden
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
. When Laestadius died in 1861, he was succeeded by Johan Raattamaa as the leader of the Laestadian movement.
Laestadius met a Sami woman named Milla Clementsdotter of Föllinge (also known as Mary of Lapland by the Laestadian Lutheran Church) in the municipality of Krokom
Krokom
Krokom is a locality and the seat of Krokom Municipality in Jämtland County, Sweden with 2,087 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
in Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
during an 1844 inspection tour of Åsele
Åsele
Åsele is a locality and the seat of Åsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 1,920 inhabitants in 2005. Its elevation is 313 m .- References :...
in Lapland. She belonged to a revival movement marked by pietistic and Moravian influences and led by pastor Pehr Brandell of the parish of Nora in the municipality of Kramfors
Kramfors
Kramfors is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 6,235 inhabitants in 2005.Geographically the town is situated on the western shore of the Ångerman River. This river was the reason that Kramfors was founded, because in the 19th century it was a...
in Ångermanland
Ångermanland
' is a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden. It borders to Medelpad, Jämtland, Lapland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name "Ångermanland" comes from the Old Norse "anger", which means "deep fjord" and refers to the deep mouth of the river Ångermanälven...
. She told Laestadius about her experiences on her journey to a living faith. This was an important meeting for Laestadius, because after it, he first understood the secret of living faith. He had a religious experience, and he writes later that he at last saw the path that leads to eternal life. His sermons acquired, in his own words, "a new kind of colour" to which people began to respond. The movement spread quickly from Sweden to Finland and Norway. Laestadius based his sermons on the Bible.
La Recherche Expedition (1838-1840)
Laestadius was invited by the French Admiralty to participate in the La Recherche Expedition of 1838-40. He was recognized for his knowledge in botany and of the Sami languages that the expedition would undertake. Laestadius was a field guide for the islands and in the interior of Northern Norway and Sweden, studying both plant life and the culture of the Sami inhabitants for the expedition. During this project and long afterward, Laestadius started his manuscript Fragments of Lappish Mythology which described a snapshot of the Sami traditional religious beliefs that were passing into history due to the Christianization program in full swing at that time. For various reasons, this manuscript was not published until 1997, over one hundred and fifty years after the expedition.Because of his participation in this expedition, Laestadius received the Medal of honor of the Legion of Honor of France
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
after 1841. He was the first Scandinavian to receive this honor.
Botany
Laestadius undertook his first botanic trip as a student. Later the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
paid him to travel to Skåne and Lapland in order to study and make drawings of the plants, which should be used in work over Swedish botany. He was as an internationally recognised botanist and was a member of the Edinburgh Botanical Society as well as the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala
Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala
The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala , is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign....
.
A number of plant species have been named for Lars Levi Læstadius, e.g.:
- Salix laestadiana Hartm.
- Carex laestadii Holmb.
- Papaver laestadianum Nordh.Rolf Nordhagen (botanist)Rolf Nordhagen is a Norwegian botanist.-Personal life:He was born in Kristiania as a son of artist Johan Nordhagen and Christine Magdalene Johansen . He was a brother of Olaf Nordhagen. In August 1925 in Oslo he married Elisabeth Marie Myhre...
Lars Levi Læstadius named many plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
species:
http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_family=&find_genus=&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=Laest.&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearchList of plants named by Laestadius in IPNI]
Literature
Gustaf Dahlbäck, Den gamla och nya människan i Lars Levi Læstadius teologi, 1949Lilly Anne Østtveit Elgvin, Lars Levi Læstadius' spiritualitet (Summary: The spirituality of L L Læstadius), 2010.
Olle Franzén, Naturalhistorikern Lars Levi Læstadius,1973
Seppo Lohi, Sydämen kristillisyys Lars Levi Læstadius ja læstadiolainen herätyksen alkuvaiheet, 2000.
Hannu Juntunen, Lars Levi Læstadiuksen käsitys kirkosta, 1982
Kristina Nilsson, Den himmelske föräldern. En studie av kvinnans betydelse för Lars Levi Læstadius teologi och förkunnelse, 1988.
Henning Thulin, Lars Levi Læstadius och hans förkunnelse, 1949
Gunnar Wikmark, Lars Levi Læstadius’ väg till den nya födelsen, 1980
External links
- Laestadius - Revivalist and Botanist
- Laestadius sermons in English, Swedish and Finnish in text and audio files
- http://www.laestadiusarkivet.se Pajala Library Special website containing Laestadius' original manuscripts and works
- A Godly Heritage, edited by Aila Foltz and Miriam Yliniemi with assistance from Rodger Foltz, Jouko Talonen, and Elmer Yliniemi, is a collection of articles about the Laestadian Revival Movement. http://www.sprucegrovechurch.org/AGH_Book/AGHcover.jpg
- Worth seeing in Pajala
