Israel Acrelius (December 4, 1714 – April 25, 1800) was a noted Swedish

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 ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Early life and education

He was born in Österåker,

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, in 1714 to Johan and Sara Acrelius ( Gahm). His brother was the surgeon Olof af Acrel. He attended

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

and was ordained as a priest 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 ...

in 1743. He served as the

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 ...

of churches in Riala,

starting in 1745.

Ministry

Beginning in 1749, Acrelius took a post in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, site of a Swedish Lutheran congregation which dated to the time of the

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

colony. At that time,

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

remained a Swedish Lutheran parish. The church would remain so until placed under the jurisdiction of the

Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...

in 1791. Acrelius served simultaneously as both pastor and provost to the Swedish congregations in the area. He was a minister at St. Paul's Church in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

in 1756. He learned

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and provided aid to

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Lutherans in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He also made notable

zoological Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, and

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collections. Because of health concerns, Acrelius returned to Sweden in 1756. The king gave him a large pension, and he received the lucrative pastorate of a church in the parish of

Fellingsbro Fellingsbro (, locally ) is a locality and a parish situated in Lindesberg Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 1,384 inhabitants in 2010. It is home to the Fellingsbro folk high school. History The parish of Fellingsbro is mentioned already ...

in the province of

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...

during 1758. Shortly thereafter in 1759, he published his ''History of New Sweden'', which dealt with the religious and secular history of the area. This book was translated into English by

William Morton Reynolds William Morton Reynolds (4 March 1812 – 5 September 1876) was a Lutheran and later Episcopal minister in the United States, professor of Latin, and President of Capital University at Columbus, Ohio, and of the Illinois State University. He was a ...

, who learnt Swedish for the purpose, and published in 1874.Townsend Ward, "Memorial notice of the Rev. William M. Reynolds, D.D." in ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'', Vol. 1
p. 107
/ref>

Notes

References

* ''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' (Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963)

* Burr, Horace ''The Records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, Wilmington, Del., from 1697 to 1773'' Holy Trinity Church. Wilmington, Del. Published by Historical Society of Delaware, 1890) * Wallington, Nellie Urner ''Historic Churches of America'' (New York: Duffield & Co., 1907) * * Israel Acrelius, ''A History of New Sweden; or, the Settlements on the Delaware River'', translated by William M. Reynolds (Philadelphia: Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, vol. 11, 1874) {{DEFAULTSORT:Acrelius, Israel People from Österåker Municipality 18th-century American Lutheran clergy 18th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Swedish Lutheran missionaries Lutheran missionaries in the United States Uppsala University alumni People from Wilmington, Delaware Lutheranism in Delaware 1714 births 1800 deaths Religious leaders from Delaware Church of Sweden clergymen in Colonial North America