ANDERSSON, LARS. - Initiator of Protestantism in Sweden, known in Latin as Laurentius Andreae, born c. 1482, died at Strängnäs on 14 April 1525.
He studied at Skara, Uppsala, Rostock, and Leipzig; he went to Rome three times. A Catholic priest, he became archdeacon of Strängnäs in 1520. Returning from a trip to Rome, he adhered at Wittenberg to Luther’s ideas and spread them actively, especially from 1520 through Olaf Peterson (Olaus Petri, 1497–1552). From 1523 to 1531 he served as secretary and chancellor to King Gustav I Vasa (1523–60), winning the king over to the “Reformation,” urging him to confiscate Church property and extend the heresy throughout Sweden. The heresy was officially imposed by the Diet of Västerås (1527) and organized by the “council” of Örebro (1529), which Andersson directed. Later he became an opponent of the king, and on 2 January 1540 he was, with O. Peterson, condemned to death for high treason; he saved himself by paying a huge fine and retired in extreme poverty to Strängnäs.
A. promoted the Swedish New Testament (Stockholm 1526), mainly the work of O. Peterson. The complete Bible version (Uppsala 1541), known as the “Gustavus Bible,” based on the Vulgate and Luther’s 1534 translation, was produced by the “archbishop” of Uppsala Laurentius Petri (1499–1573), assisted by his brother Olaus and by A.