Deleted member 67076
How plausible would it be for the various Scandinavian states to convert to the Eastern Rite instead of the Latin one? Whats needed for this to happen?
How plausible would it be for the various Scandinavian states to convert to the Eastern Rite instead of the Latin one? Whats needed for this to happen?
There is a theory that they actually did become Greek christians first, but later became tied to the German and English churches.
I once read a 1980s book that commented on old carved stones with vegetabilian patterns (lily stones) from the earliest mediaeval churches of one Swedish province, and these did have some connection with the Greek church, I think.
By the Napoleonic Wars, any Russian prince on a Scandinavian throne would convert to Lutheranism as a condition for coronation. S/he certainly wouldn't be in any position to enforce conversion to Orthodoxy; even today 3/4 of Finland is nominally Lutheran. And a personal Union with Sweden would scare the rest of Europe enough to take action, so no Denmark-Norway for them.What if Russia had 90,000 patrolling in France to prevent the rest of the Coalition from enforcing unfavorable peace terms. If it had more reason to fear that the negotians, this would be plausible, and the Russians might be able to stop Napoleon before Waterloo. With that, Russia could gain a Romanov on the throne of Sweden and annex Norway. Gaining Denmark would be trickier, but if there was a Schleswig-Holstein War as OTL, they could ally the Prussians and make Denmark a puppet of Russia. With that, a royal marriage between the second cousins, rulers of Sweden and Russia, would create a personal union between the two. Perhaps a Queen Alexandra of Sweden and Tsar Alexander III would marry, resulting in the union. Is this at all likely?
Okay, so a Lutheran Romanov Prince. However, the personal union wouldn't scare Prussia, by then Germany, as it would be an ally of Russia. The two combined would be unchallengeable, and that's without the Danish puppets and Italian allies of Prussia.By the Napoleonic Wars, any Russian prince on a Scandinavian throne would convert to Lutheranism as a condition for coronation. S/he certainly wouldn't be in any position to enforce conversion to Orthodoxy; even today 3/4 of Finland is nominally Lutheran. And a personal Union with Sweden would scare the rest of Europe enough to take action, so no Denmark-Norway for them.