St Ansgar Takes on the Vikings

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This is the day that … St Ansgar was born, in AD 801, according to the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia!

He became known to church historians as “the Apostle of Scandinavia” – the last of the “rough, fierce, barbaric” peoples to accept Christianity.

Ansgar was a Frenchman, born to a noble family near Amiens, Picardy. It was the time of the Vikings. “With the coming of the barbarian after the death of Charlemagne, darkness fell upon Europe. From the forests and the fjords of the north, defying storm and danger, came a horde of pirate invaders, prowling round the undefended coasts, sweeping up the broad estuaries, and spreading havoc and fear. No town, however fair, no church, however sacred, and no community, however strong, was immune from their fury. Like a river of death the Vikings poured across Europe.

Ansgar studied to be a priest and then as a young monk found a missionary call in his heart. When the call for a missionary to the Vikings was given Ansgar responded. Despite warnings from well-meaning friends he set out at the age of 26 to win the savage and cruel Vikings of Denmark to Christ. These people had resisted the gospel at a time when the rest of Europe had come under the influence of Christianity.

Ansgar began to preach in Denmark … and for two years all went well. But success was short-lived. The king, who was favourable to Ansgar’s ministry, was dethroned, and both he and Ansgar were forced to flee.

So to Sweden, where a new field of service opened up to him. A church was established. But here, too, there were problems to overcome. Ansgar was appointed Bishop of Hamburg … but “the heathen Danes and Vikings invaded Hamburg and destroyed all his belongings” (Famous Missionaries, by J. Gilchrist Lawson, page 23).

They were tumultuous days. Nations invaded and destroyed other nations. Some of Ansgar’s missionaries were murdered. But Ansgar did not give up. Eventually, in AD 847, he led King Horic of Denmark to Christ … just before the king was murdered. Then King Horic II was won to Christ.

He had planted the seed of the gospel in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

In 854 he returned to Denmark and Sweden only to find his previous work burned and destroyed. This was heartbreaking, but he found courage to press on. Though King Olaf resisted the new religion, one of the old chiefs advised that Ansgar be welcomed, saying “We see our own deities failing us. Why reject a religion thus brought to our very doors?”

Shortly after Ansgar’s death, however, the region returned to its old religious ways.

T.J. Bach, in Vision and Valour (page 24) writes: “For more than 35 years Ansgar manifested the spirit of a courageous, patient, self-denying missionary. The political changes taking place in the Scandanavian countries caused a delay in establishing the Christian Church.”

Eventually, however, some two hundred years after Ansgar had lit the torch, Christianity became firmly established in those lands.

Among his writings that have come down to us is his prayer:

“One miracle I would ask the Lord to grant me, and that is, by His grace, to make me a holy man …”

He died in Germany on 3 February, AD 865. His last words were: “Lord, remember me according to Thy great mercy. God, be merciful to me a sinner …”

This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com.

Fredrick Franson from Sweden to the World

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This is the day that … Fredrick Franson died in Idaho, Colorado in 1908.

Born in Sweden on 17 June, 1852, Fredrick grew up in a Christian environment. His family emigrated to Nebraska in 1869. At the age of 20 he was converted after reading Romans 10:6,7 and was later baptised in the Swedish Baptist Church.

It was, however, the reading of Romans 10:6,7 that led to his conversion. By this time he was 20 and had emigrated to America.

He worked as a counsellor to enquirers at some of D.L. Moody’s meetings, and became a member at the Moody Church, Chicago.

By the age of 23 he was involved in missionary work among entire communities of Swedish speaking folk in Minnesota. He was seen as a missioner to the Scandinavians in the same way Moody was gifted for reaching Americans.

Ministry in Salt Lake City led to his writing a 212-page book – Mormonism Unveiled, discussing 70 texts the Mormons miss-handle in the Scripture – and then, in 1880, he went back to Colorado.

The Westmark Evangelical Free Church records, “Westmark Church was organized November 19, 1880 by Swedish missionary-evangelist Fredrick Franson. The homesteaders and immigrant farmers of this rural community met in sod homes for Sunday School and Worship Services until the first building was erected on this location in 1883. The Swedish language was used in worship services and business meetings until it was officially changed to ‘the American language’ in 1929.”

Franson then spent nine years in Scandinavia preaching the gospel. His ministry at the Bethlehem Church in Oslo resulted in the formation of the Mission Covenant Church of Norway.

During his time in Scandinavia Franson gained the honour of being the first missionary appointed by the Moody Church, led by Dwight L. Moody, on February 5, 1878.

He returned to America on 7 September, 1890 and on 14 October, 1890, a meeting took place under his guidance in the Swedish Pilgrim Church, Brooklyn, New York, where “The Evangelical Alliance Mission” was born. That mission is now known by its acronym, TEAM and by the end of the 20th Century this mighty missionary organisation had about 1000 missionaries serving on 29 fields.

Franson continued in missionary activity, visiting several fields and is cited as part of the Korean revival in Wonsan, where a hunger for the Holy Spirit led to Korea’s first Pentecostal outpouring in 1903. “In the subsequent Bible Study meetings led by Frederick Franson, many Korean believers also confessed their sins. Confession of sins was an outstanding feature of the meeting.” (Korean Pentecostalism, Yeol Soo Eim, Gospel Theological Seminary)

This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com.