The Christian Church, Spoken Language and Written Word. Confessional Tensions in Ingria Between the Swedish Lutheran and the Russian Orthodox Church during the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

Ingria, a region that came to the Swedish Empire in the seventeenth century, showcases an interesting instance of religious contact between Swedish state Lutheranism, Russian Orthodoxy, and the grassroot Lutheranism of the local German merchants. The contact affected all three religious communities over the course of the century, especially Swedish attempts to integrate the population in the Swedish state church. These attempts initially failed, until Heinrich Stahl became superintendent and decided to conduct missionary work in Russian and combine it with education, a programme his successor Johannes Gezelius continued. While promising, these efforts were continuously impeded by Russian policies and wars.