Lars Anton Anjou (18 November 1803 – 13 December 1884) was a Swedish bishop, church historian and politician.

Biography

Anjou studied at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

, where he became a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

in 1827, a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

in 1830, a

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

in 1834 and a Doctor of Theology in 1845. He was ordained a priest in 1827. In 1845, Anjou was appointed professor and pastor in the parish of Helga Trefaldighet, and in the parish of Denmark in 1851. In the academic year 1851–1852, he was rector of Uppsala University and was appointed minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs on 9 March 1855 as the successor of Henrik Reuterdahl. Among his achievements in this position is the reform of high school, in which he placed great emphasis on

classical languages A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...

. He resigned as minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs on 29 January 1859. Anjou was bishop of the

Diocese of Visby The Diocese of Visby ( sv, Visby stift) is a division of the Church of Sweden consisting of the island of Gotland. Its seat is Visby Cathedral located in the largest town on Gotland, Visby. The Bishop of Visby is also responsible for the episc ...

from 1859 until his death. He was a member of the state assembly between the years 1859 and 1866. Anjou, together with Henrik Reuterdahl, is considered to be the founder of church

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

in Sweden, primarily because of his long and influential account of the history of the Swedish Reformation. Among his works are ''Svenska kyrkoreformationens historia 1-3'' (1850-51) and ''Svenska kyrkans historia ifrån Uppsala möte år 1593 till slutet af sjuttonde århundradet'' (1866). He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1855 and an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities the same year. The following year he became an honorary member of the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societeten i Uppsala), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. ...

. From 1853 he was a bearer of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

and in 1864 he was commander with the Grand Cross. Lars Anton Anjou was the son of pastor Anton Anjou and Johanna Elisabeth Sepelius. The Anjou family is of Walloon origin, and came to Sweden in 1633. The name is today unknown in Wallonia, and probably the family took it only after arriving in Sweden; as far as is known, it has no connection to the French county of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

. Anjou is buried in the '' Östra kyrkogården'' in Visby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anjou, Lars Anton 1803 births 1884 deaths Swedish bishops People from Enköping Municipality Lars Anton Swedish Ministers of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs