Orthodox Scandinavia

Is there any way this could be brought about, even partially? (Say, Sweden/Finland) If so, how? What would be the long-term political and economic effects of such a change?

Just food for thought.
 
I wonder if it would be possible to get Sweden and Denmark Orthodox in the middle ages, with Norway Catholic?

Norways always been of a western orientation, while Sweden has looked east...
 
A king of Sweden is excomunicated by the Pope in the XV century, and he decided to turn his back to the Catholic Church and accept the Patriarch of Constantinople as the highest religious authority. A Metropolitan of Stockholm is appointed.
 
Most obvious would be after the conversion of the Rus by Cyril and Method:
the orthodox faith goes back to Scandinavia following in reverse the Varangian expansion
 

Philip

Donor
There is a modern re-interpretation in Finland of Luther's writings. Some Finnish Lutheran theologians, led by Mannerma and influenced by discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church, have asserted that much of Luther's teachings are much closer to Orthodoxy that is commonly thought.

So, if you assume this interpretation is correct or allow some theologians in Scandinavia to construct it much earlier, you can achieve your goal. Adding in better relations with Russia and stronger overtures from Luther and Melanchthon to Jeremias II would help.
 
IIRC, there is some evidence of orthodox churches in Sweden/Finland well before the formal conversion of the countries to Catholicism. It may well be that most Christian peasants were nominally Orthodox, but the conversion of the nobles to Catholicism put an end to that.
 
Is there any way this could be brought about, even partially? (Say, Sweden/Finland) If so, how? What would be the long-term political and economic effects of such a change?

Just food for thought.

Look up that old TL of mine: A visit at the Emperors. 2.nd edition!
 
There was a fair amount of interaction between the Byzantines and Scandinavia, through Kievan rus. I suppose the best illustration of this is the Varangian guard, which was an integral part of the empire for some years and drew in large numbers of Scandinavians, most notably Harald Hardrada. Perhaps a more lasting Byzantine connection to the Norse (maybe the Scandinavian rulers in Novgorod are not slavicized) could be expoited to bring Eastern Orthodoxy to Scandinavia.
 
Finland is I think more likely than Sweden. If you believe the wiki, Karelia was largely Orthodox before it was conquered by Sweden in the early 17th century- so if Russia does better in the Russo-Swedish wars around that time, then the Orthodox in Finland will at least be a larger minority than they are IOTL. However, the language of the liturgy would remain Slavonic until at least as late as OTL, if not later.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Finland is plausible, Novgorodian merchants had missionary activities in Finland before the Swedes arrived. Just have the Novgorodian influence remain, and make the Swedes unintressed in foreign adventures.
 
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