Lars Levi Læstadius

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Lars Levi Læstadius

Lars Levi Læstadius (born January 10, 1800 in Jäkkvik , † February 21, 1861 in Pajala ) was a Swedish botanist , Evangelical Lutheran pastor and revival preacher in Lapland . He is known as the "Apostle of the Sami ". Its official botanical author's abbreviation is “ Laest. "

Live and act

Laestadius came as the son of a Swede and an amine to world and went in 1820 to Uppsala to where theology and botany study . He went on botanical trips and published several works on the flora of Lapland. In 1825 Læstadius became pastor in Karesuando (Swedish Lapland). Here, too, he continued his botanical studies and made some new discoveries. As a botanist, he took part in the La Recherche expedition in 1838. At that time he was considered to be the greatest expert on the Arctic flora .

As a pastor, he initially preached primarily against alcohol abuse, which at that time was particularly widespread among the Sami population due to the cultural uprooting caused by the Swedish rule. In 1844 he experienced his conversion experience, inspired by the meeting with the seed girl Milla Clementsdotter, the "Maria of Lapland" . In doing so, he felt called by God to bring the seeds of living Christianity. A year later the pietistic awakening began, which was to shape the religious and cultural life of the entire northern calotte for a long time . The Laestadian movement became particularly important within the Sami population, as Laestadius preached in both Sami and Finnish . His sermons were very emotional and extremely popular. They put the congregation in real ecstasy , in which the congregation members forgave one another's sins. In doing so, he met exactly the sentiments of the Sami people, whose Christian creed still bore many animistic traits even after more than 200 years of conversion . However, it was Laestadius' efforts, the seeds of a particularly pure Christianity of the highest moral preaching, he that traditional religious elements such as the singing of joik outlawed.

In 1849 he became provost in Pajala. A religious revival movement emerged from his followers, Laestadianism , which is still widespread today across the entire northern calotte.

In 1852 there were bloody riots by Læstadians in Kautokeino, the so-called "Kautokeino Rebellion" . Many people at the time blamed Læstadius for this event, although there were other motives.

Botanical dedication names

The following plant species were named after Læstadius:

  • Salix laestadiana Hartm.
  • Carex laestadii Holmberg
  • Papaver laestadianum (Nordh.) Nordh.
  • Arnica alpina laest.

The plant genus Laestadia Kunth ex Less. from the sunflower family (Asteraceae) is named after him.

Church memorial day

literature

  • Kuoljok, Sunna and Utsi, John-Erling: The Sami - people of the sun and the wind . Ajtte - Svenskt Fjäll- och Samemuseum, Luleå 1995, ISBN 91-87636-10-7 .
  • Gustaf Dahlbäck, Den gamla och nyahabenkan i Lars Levi Læstadius teologi , 1949
  • Lilly Anne Østtveit Elgvin: Lars Levi Læstadius' spiritualitet , 2010.
  • Olle Franzén: Natural historians Lars Levi Læstadius , 1973.
  • Seppo Lohi: Sydämen kristillisyys Lars Levi Læstadius ja læstadiolainen herätyksen alkuvaiheet , 2000.
  • Hannu Juntunen: Lars Levi Læstadiuksen käsitys kirkosta , 1982.
  • Kristina Nilsson: Föräldern den himmelske. En study av kvinnans betydelse for Lars Levi Læstadius teologi och förkunnelse , 1988.
  • Henning Thulin: Lars Levi Læstadius och hans förkunnelse , 1949.
  • Gunnar Wikmark: Lars Levi Læstadius' väg till den nya födelsen , 1980.
  • Alfred Otto Schwede : Lars Levi Laestadius: The Lappen Prophet. A life novel , Ev. Publishing house Berlin 1953.
  • Alfred Otto Schwede: You came from the Torne valley. The disciples of Laestadius , Ev. Publishing House Berlin 1961.
  • Alfred Otto Schwede: Laestadius calls Lapland . Ev. Verlagsanstalt Berlin 1963 (396 pages). [Corr. u. additional complete edition of the above two volumes in one volume]
  • Andreas Markusson: The eagles live in the dark. Lars Levi Laestadius. In the wilderness of Lapland , Gießen and Basel, Brunnen Verlag (2.TB-A.) 1996. ISBN 3-7655-3964-3 [From the Norwegian by Konstantin Reichardt: "Han som kjempet mot mörket", OA: V&R Göttingen]

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]

Web links

Commons : Lars Levi Læstadius  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Læstadius, Lars Levi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish revival preacher in Lapland
DATE OF BIRTH January 10, 1800
PLACE OF BIRTH Jäkkvik , Arjeplog , Sweden
DATE OF DEATH February 21, 1861
Place of death Pajala