Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/807

 DENMARK

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DENMARK

to have found a worthy and effective adversary in only one man, the learned Carmelite Paulus Elia? (Hel- gesen), the first historian of Denmark. Soon (1526) the king openly professed the Lutheran heresy, and after he had secured its triumph in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, he proclaimed at the Diet of Odense (1527) religious freedom for Denmark proper, but, as a matter of fact, systematically undermined the C'hurcli. Three years later the adherents of the new doctrine accepted the Confessio Hajnica as their symbol. It was Frederick's son. Christian III, who after the overthrow of his political enemies made Lutheranism the established religion. On the same day he caused all bishops to be imprisoned and to be deprived of their possessions; the monks and nuns were permitted to leave the monasteries ; if they pre- ferred to remain, they were forced to admit Lutheran preachers and to suffer all possible persecution. The church property, when not appropriated by the nobil- ity, was confiscated and added to the royal treasury. In 1539 John Bugenhagen came to Denmark with the avowed purpose of establishing a new liturgy and to consecrate Lutheran bishops. A Danish translation of the Bible, done in the spirit of the prophet of Wit-

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Pro-C".\thedral of St. Ansgar, Copenhagkn (BuUt in 1843 under Austrian Government Protection)

tcnberg, was begun and completed in 1550. (For an earlier Danish translation see below.) With the ex- ception of Bishop Joachim Rbilow of Roskilde, all the prelates yielded to force ; one of them even became a Protestant. Many religious fell away and married, but most of them went into exile. A shining example of loyalty to their faith was set by the ntms of St. Bridget at Maribo on Laaland. Also several priests and monks, like Iversen, a canon of Lund, the Carmel- ite prior Kristinsen, the Franciscan Ludolf Naaman, of Flensburg, the parish priest Anders Jepsen, and nu- merous laymen chmg to the true Church in spite of all persecutions.

The Catholic customs and usages never died out completely. Thus the Protestant historian Vedel (d. 1616) held him.self bound by the commandment of fasting. To some extent the rural population even yet believe in the assistance of the saints ; the Luth- eran names for religious persons and ceremonies have never been in common use; as in former times, the people speak of bishops and priests, of saying mass, etc. The ministers wear vestments similar to those used in the Catholic Church, and the altars are decor- ated with lighted candles. For a long time the eleva- tion of the Host, auricular confession, and the ancient hymns were retained. All this was calculated to con- firm the people in the belief that nothing essential had been changed in their religion.

Though, towards tlu; end of the sixteenth century, Catholicism may in general be con.sidered a.s sup- pressed in the Danish kingdom, it still counted some

adherents in the higher circles, whose sons occasionally frequented the Jesuit college of Braimsberg, and there were strengthened in their faith or led back to it. .\t the beginning of the seventeenth century therefore, an attempt was made by the Propaganda to provide in a regular way for the spiritual welfare of the scattered faithful, and several mission stations were established. We are not sufficiently informed about these missions, but they .seem to have been by no means insignificant. The royal rescript of 10 June, 161.3, which forbade Catholic priests to perform any religious functions, under penalty of death, and the Danske Lov of Chris- tian V (1683), which threatened converts with the confiscation of their property and with banishment, were evidently intended to prevent conversions. While the Catholic religion was thus excluded for a time from Denmark proper, it could never be wholly extirpated in Holstein, then a Danish province, but within the German Empire. As early as 1597 a small Catholic community was formed at Altona, followed, in 1625, by a second at Friedrichstadt. To these was added, in 1661, a church on Nordsrand; in 1662 a chapel at Gliickstadt. As to Denmark proper, French diplomacy succeeded (16.30) in obtaining permission to erect at Copenhagen a chapel for the French embassy ; Catholic services were allowed at Fredericia in 1682.

After the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), which abol- ished the jurisdiction of bishops over the North- German Protestant territory, an Apostolic vicariate was erected to govern these scattered parishes and those in Scandinavia. Valerius Maccioni, Titular Bishop of Morocco, was the first vicar; his successor was the famous Danish scholar and convert Niels Steno. The duties of this office were subsequently discharged by the Bishop of Hildesheim (1686) and by the Bishop of Osnabrtick ; in 1761 the \ncariate was en- trusted to Joseph Gondola, Bishop of Paderborn. When Dr. Liipke, coailjutor of Osnabriick, was chosen Pro-vicar Apostolic of the North German missions (1841), he was allowed to exercise his authority only under severe restrictions. The number of Catholics amounted at that time to 865, of whom 550 lived in Copenhagen and 58 on Fredericia; the rest were scat- tered in the cities and over the country. So far con- ditions had been deplorable; they underwent, how- ever, an unforeseen change when, by the new Danish constitution (Danmarks Riges Grundlov) of 5 Jime, 1849, complete religious freedom was granted, and political and ecclesiastical equality was guaranteed to all dissenters. Even before the enactment of this law the Catholics had succeeded in building at Copenhagen (1843) a church in honour of St. Ansgar. New relig- ious life began to spring up under the pastors Zur- strassen and Griider; in 1853 the latter, for the first time since the Reformation, preached a Catholic ser- mon in Danish. The number of the faithful now grew visibly. Several societies and fraternities sprang into life. A Catholic paper (now the " Nordisk tigeblad ") endeavoured to unite the Catholics more closely and at the same time to enlighten Protestants. The beginnings of a Catholic literature appeared (translations of the Scriptures, catechisms, polem- ics). In the summer of 1859 the Bishop of Osna- briick (later cardinal), Melchers, made his first visit as pro-vicar Apostolic, and on several occasions ofltici- ated clad in his episcopal robes. A mission held by the Jesuits in 1862 bore rich fruit.

Conditions in Schleswig-IIolstein, where the Danish constitution was not in force, improved only after its annexation by Prussia in 1866 (see Ivleffner-Woker, "Der Bonifatiusverein", Paderborn, 1899). Prog- ress was rapid in Denmark itself. As early as 1867 the station of Odense w.as founded, in 1870 Randers; 1872 saw Horsens added ; 1873, Aarhus ; and several mi.ssions quickly followed. Pius IX raised the mis- sion (1869) to a prefecture (first prefect, Hermann Gruder, d. 1883). Leo XIII made it (1892) a vicari-