Gunnar Rosendal (4 April 1897 – 26 December 1988) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

priest,

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

, and parish priest of

Osby Osby () is a locality and the seat of Osby Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 7,157 inhabitants in 2010. Swedish ice hockey goaltender Magnus Åkerlund was born in Osby. The toy manufacturer BRIO was based in Osby, but moved to Malmö in ...

. Through his books promoting High Church Lutheran theology and spirituality, especially '' Kyrklig förnyelse'' (1935), he became a leading and disputed figure of the Catholic movement in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

Early life

Rosendal was born in Grevie parish,

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

, Sweden, the son of Andreas and Teolinda Rosendal. His mother died early and his father moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

so he and his sister were raised by an aunt. After graduating from Lunds Privata Elementarskola he began his theological studies at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Gottfrid Billing Axel ''Gottfrid'' Leonard Billing (29 April 1841 – 14 January 1925) was a Swedish cleric and theologian who served as a member of the Swedish Academy, member of the Första kammaren in the Riksdag and served as Bishop of Lund from 1898 until 1 ...

and moved to Väsby to begin his work as a priest.Kilström p. 95

International contacts

Rosendal had many contacts to the

liturgical movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

in the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, especially in

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monasteries, and personally knew many theologians of the liturgical and ecumenical movement, such as

Pius Parsch Pius Parsch, born John Bruno Parsch (May 18, 1884 – March 11, 1954) was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Parsch was born in Neustift near Olmutz, Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic. He was given the name ''Pius'' when he entered the ...

and

Paul Couturier Paul Irénée Couturier (29 July 1881 – 24 March 1953) was a French priest and a promoter of the concept of Christian unity. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Early life and career He was bo ...

. He also had plenty of contacts with

Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, e.g. Dom

Gregory Dix George Eglinton Alston Dix (4 October 1901 – 12 May 1952), known as Gregory Dix, was a British monk and priest of Nashdom Abbey, an Anglican Benedictine community. He was a noted liturgical scholar whose work had particular influence on the r ...

, and was member of

Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius The Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius is a Christian ecumenical society founded in 1928 to foster contact between Christians, especially those of the Anglican and Orthodox traditions. It is named in honour of Saint Alban, the Christian p ...

. Rosendal often liked to portray himself as Catholic as possible, but was also rooted in the theology of 17th-century

Lutheran orthodoxy Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the ''Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Rom ...

, which he knew well. On the recommendation of

Bo Giertz Bo Harald Giertz (; 31 August 1905 – 12 July 1998) was a Swedish Lutheran theologian, novelist and bishop of the Gothenburg Lutheran Diocese from 1949 to 1970. By the time he became bishop, he was already quite well known in Sweden and elsewh ...

he began to read books by

Carl Olof Rosenius Carl Olof Rosenius (February 3, 1816 – February 24, 1868) was a Swedish lay preacher, author and editor of the monthly ''Pietisten'' (The Pietist) from 1842 to 1868.''Twice-Born Hymns'' by J. Irving Erickson, (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976 ...

, which made a lasting impression. Rosendal himself used the neo-Thomistic

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm () is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. Etymology ''Paradigm'' comes f ...

and resisted all kinds of

liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position, ...

as well as the

dialectical theology In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

. Rosendal was one of the theologians that worked for the foundation of the International League for Apostolic Faith and Order (ILAFO).

Legacy

Rosendal died in

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish language, Danish ''Christianstad'') is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has ...

in 1988. In Sweden his influence can be seen in the foundation of the

high-church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originat ...

organization '' arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse'' (aKF), which was inspired by his book, '' Kyrklig förnyelse''.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

"The Catholic Movement in the Swedish Church"
by Gunnar Rosendal, 1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosendal, Gunnar 1897 births 1988 deaths People from Båstad Municipality 20th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Swedish theologians 20th-century Protestant theologians