The Diocese of Västerås () is a diocese within the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

. Its

Episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

is located in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

Västerås Cathedral Västerås Cathedral (Swedish: ''Västerås domkyrka'') is the seat of the Diocese of Västerås in the Province of Västmanland, Sweden. The church building is a five-aisled hall church, with copper-covered roof and a single west tower with si ...

. The diocese was first established in the 12th century as part of the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, but was made part of the Church of Sweden as a result of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden.

History

The diocese existed as a Catholic diocese from the 11th to the 16th century. The see was founded at Munktorp, then moved about 1100 to

by the English

Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...

missionary David of Munktorp, who was Bishop of Västerå, and one of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

s of

. Before 1118 the

Diocese of Sigtuna The Diocese of Sigtuna was a Catholic diocese founded in Sigtuna, Sweden, established in the mid 11th century. At the time, the town of Sigtuna, situated to the north of lake Mälaren and to the south of Uppsala in the Swedish province of Uppland ...

was divided into the Diocese of Uppsala and that of Västerås. In 1134, Henry, Bishop of Sigtuna was transferred to Västerås. Heathenism was not extinct by 1182. Charles (1257–1277) was a great benefactor, and , O.S.B. (1260–1332; bishop, 1309–1332), mined copper in

Dalecarlia Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norway ...

and wrote "De Vita et Miraculis S. Erici" (Ser. rev. Svec., II, I, 272-276). Otto (1501–1522) completed the Västerås Cathedral. Peder Sunnanväder (1522–1523), formerly chancellor to

Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder (; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470 to 1497 and again from 1501 to 1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist forces led by De ...

, was executed for alleged treason in 1527. The last Catholic bishop, Petrus Magni (1524–1534), is supposed to have been consecrated 1 May 1524 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1527 a Diet was held at Västerås which Protestantized the

and separated it from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in Rome. Petrus Magni consecrated various bishops in 1528 and 1531 under protest. Though subjected latterly to humiliating tutelage by King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

, he retained the see until his death. The Dalecarlians rose repeatedly in defence of their religion, but were overcome by the cunning and violence of Gustav I. The cathedral of Västerås and the parish church of

Mora Mora may refer to: People * José Maria Mora (1847–1926), Cuban-American photographer, often credited as "Mora" * Mora (singer) (born 1996), a Puerto Rican singer * Mora (surname), a Spanish name (includes a list of people with the name) Plac ...

were the only important churches in the diocese. At Västerås there was a Dominican convent (founded 1234) and a Hospital of the Holy Spirit (founded 1345). was extinct before 1318. The

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

(Gudsberga kloster, Mons Domini) in Dalecarlia, founded in 1477, and colonized from

Alvastra Abbey Alvastra Abbey (''Alvastra klosterruin'') was a Cistercian monastery located at Alvastra in Östergötland, Sweden. History Alvastra monastery was founded in 1143 by French monks who belonged to the Cistercian Order. A number of monks and lay ...

in 1486, lasted until 1544.

Gallery

Josephson - Gustaf Vasa.jpg, Gustaf Vasa accuses Peder Sunnanväder before the

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

in Västerås; Ernst Josephson Peder Sunnanväders och Mäster Knuts skymfliga intåg i Stockholm.jpg, Peder Sunnanväder's and Mäster Knut's Ignominious Entry into Stockholm 1526; Carl Gustaf Hellqvist

References

;Attribution The entry cites: *Historiskt-geographiskt och statistiskt Lexikon ofver Sverige, VII (Stockholm, 1866), 316–18 *, Scriptores rerum Svecicarum (Stockholm, 1818–1876) *, Diplomatarium Svecanum, I-III and Indices I-II by (Stockholm, 1829) *, Svenskt Diplomatarium, 1401-1420 (Stockholm, 1875) * Carl Gustaf Kröningssvärd and , Diplomatarium Dalekarlicum (Stockholm, 1842) *Konung Gustaf den Forstes Registratur. ed. Victor Granlund IV (Stockholm, 1868) *Breviarium Arosiense (Basle, 1853) *''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...

'', IV (Paris, 1868) * Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen, Den nordiske Kirkes Grundloeggelse, II (Copenhagen, 1878), 856–857, suppl. 96, 97 * Henrik Reuterdahl, Swenska kyrkaus historia (Lund, 1838) *Israel Erlandsson (Lund, 1850) *Jules Martin, Gustave Vasa et la Reforme en Suede *Lars Gustaf Sohlberg, Domkyrkan i Westeraas (Westeraas, 1834) *Frithiof Hall, Bidrag till; Kannedomen om Cistercienserorden i Sverige (Gefle, 1899)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese of Vasteras Vasteras Västerås Västmanland County Vasteras Vasteras Dioceses established in the 12th century

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links