Your challenge, should you accept it, is to turn Sweden into a majority Orthodox Christian country with a POD no earlier than 999 AD. Bonus points if they stay Orthodox Christian to this day, and the Swedish alphabet is old-school Cyrillic, not Latin.
The Vikings did have their own alphabet, you know.
Odd it didn't happen really.
It was the Danes and Norwegians who had big links with the catholic world. The Swedes were mainly dabbling with Russia and then beyond that a little bit with Byzantium.
We could very well see Sweden split between a Catholic Geotland based in south Sweden and a Orthodox Svealand based around Stockholm and including south Finland and northen Estonia.
The Vikings did have their own alphabet, you know. Cyrillic was invented for the Slavs, who had no writing of their own.
We could very well see Sweden split between a Catholic Geotland based in south Sweden and a Orthodox Svealand based around Stockholm and including south Finland and northen Estonia.
Why? (aside from the coolness factor). Cyrillic HAS a letter for the 'th' sound, namely 'fita' (basically a Greek theta). In Russian, it is synonymous with 'ef' (the phi-based character), but they would know what the Greek pronunciation was and use it for Swedish. IMOI know that. One set of the bonus points is to replace the runes with the Cyrillic alphabet. (Though maybe with the exception of Þ/þ.)
4) have a Christian king between 1000 and 1100 realize that if he stays Catholic he has to listen to the Pope. If he goes Orthodox, he can have an independent national church and tell the Archbishop what to do... Remember, up until ?1053? all Scandinavia was ruled ecclesiastically from Bremen.
A side effect may result in the HRE going Orthodox if investiture conflicts happen as OTL or at least more autonomous against the Pope. Maybe even driving a reconciliation between Catholic and Orthodox and the formation of a (federal) Uniate Church.
We could very well see Sweden split between a Catholic Geotland based in south Sweden and a Orthodox Svealand based around Stockholm and including south Finland and northen Estonia.
Christianity reached Scandinavia from both Constantinople and Rome. While Rome was better organized and won out, I could see things going differently.
1) Sweden was eastern oriented. Vikings hit the Baltics and went down into Russia. If Russia converts a tad earlier, the Rurikid connexion, or simply trade could easily cause Orthodoxy to move north and convert Sweden. THis might lead to Orthodox Sweden and Catholic Denmark and Norway, which is fun.
2) there is a passing reference to '3 Orthodox bishops' (or was it Greek or Armenian or something. Eastern anyway) who tried to evangelize Iceland (yup, Iceland) in the late pagan period. Have them be successful. Have them be joined by others going elsewhere. Low probability.
3) have Haraldr Harðráði convert during his time in the Varangian guard. Better yet have e.g. Haraldr hárfagri go the same route and introduce Orthodoxy before Catholicism has a big hold.
4) have a Christian king between 1000 and 1100 realize that if he stays Catholic he has to listen to the Pope. If he goes Orthodox, he can have an independent national church and tell the Archbishop what to do... Remember, up until ?1053? all Scandinavia was ruled ecclesiastically from Bremen.
5) have Orthodox evangelism be earlier and more organized.