Johannes Palmqvist (1805–1894) was a pioneer Swedish

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, along with his younger brothers Gustaf Palmquist and

Per Palmqvist Per Palmqvist, also Palmquist, (8 April 1815 – 10 August 1887) was a Swedish Baptist pioneer and organist. He is regarded as one of the founders of Sunday school in Sweden. Palmqvist, along with his two brothers Johannes and Gustaf Palmquist, ...

. He was known as the father of the ''läsare'' (Reader) movement in

Närke Närke () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergö ...

province, Sweden.

Biography

Palmqvist was born in Pilabo, Norra Solberga parish,

Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in Sept ...

, in 1805 to Sven Larsson, a

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

, and Helena Nilsdotter. He had six siblings. Their father died when Palmqvist was a young teenager, leaving his mother to raise the family. She was described as "pious and zealous". The children were raised in a

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

environment and visited influential revivalist preachers such as , Peter Lorenz Sellergren, and . Like his brothers, Palmqvist was also quite musical. He studied in Stockholm to become an organist and teacher; while there he met the influential Scottish Wesleyan Methodist preacher George Scott, who lived and preached in Sweden from 1830–1842. Initially Lutheran, Palmqvist became a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

in Stockholm in 1832 and in 1834 moved to Stora Mellösa, where he would live for several decades. He first worked in the local parish as a musical director (), responsible for music during the services and bell-ringing as well as doing

diaconal A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

work. Palmqvist was also a

folk school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;' ...

teacher there. Since the Conventicle Act prohibited religious gatherings outside of those of 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 ...

, Palmqvist began to hold

temperance meetings The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders em ...

at which he preached, causing controversy and forcing him to leave his teaching job in 1850. He did, however, remain a music director for eight more years. In 1852 he married Anna Stina Lindberg. Several years after his younger brothers, in 1858, he became a Baptist and was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

. He built a school and chapel the same year and founded a Baptist church in Vallby the year after, which quickly grew to 250 members. Palmqvist soon became a key figure in the revivalist ''

läsare (lit. 'reader') or the Reader movement was a Swedish Pietistic Christian revival movement of people who stressed the importance of reading (), that is, reading the Bible and other Christian literature. It was influenced by both the Herrnhute ...

'' (Reader) movement in the province of

and an early temperance activist. He served as the Baptist's church pastor until 1871, when he moved to Stockholm and became lay preacher at a Baptist church there. Palmqvist died in 1894.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmqvist, Johannes 1805 births 1894 deaths Swedish Baptist ministers 19th-century Baptist ministers Baptist Christianity in Sweden Converts to Baptist denominations People from Småland Pietists Radical Pietism