An Eastern Orthodox Sweden?

GauchoBadger

GauchoBadger

IOTL, Medieval Sweden has extensive contacts with Russia, which, as we all know, converted to Orthodox Christianity under Byzantine influence.
Is there any way for this religious influence to somehow also be bounced off towards Sweden, resulting in an Orthodox Christian country in Scandinavia?
Would that require an Orthodox-Christianity-wank of sorts, with all of Eastern Europe (including Poland and Hungary) becoming part of the Orthodox "commonwealth"?
 

Byzantion

GauchoBadger said:
IOTL, Medieval Sweden has extensive contacts with Russia, which, as we all know, converted to Orthodox Christianity under Byzantine influence.
Is there any way for this religious influence to somehow also be bounced off towards Sweden, resulting in an Orthodox Christian country in Scandinavia?
Would that require an Orthodox-Christianity-wank of sorts, with all of Eastern Europe (including Poland and Hungary) becoming part of the Orthodox "commonwealth"?
Click to expand...
Maybe Varegian Guard Service of a strong soon-too-become Swedish King in the early stages of Christianity leads him to become devoted to Greek Orthodoxy. Sweden is declared officially Orthodox, Greek and Rus clergy are invited to built a Up a clerical bureocracy and to found monastries. Sweden become cultural Eastern Orthodox ( Smaland still pagan some time) and profits from the trade with Rus and Byzantium.
 

Hvalrossen

GauchoBadger said:
IOTL, Medieval Sweden has extensive contacts with Russia, which, as we all know, converted to Orthodox Christianity under Byzantine influence.
Is there any way for this religious influence to somehow also be bounced off towards Sweden, resulting in an Orthodox Christian country in Scandinavia?
Would that require an Orthodox-Christianity-wank of sorts, with all of Eastern Europe (including Poland and Hungary) becoming part of the Orthodox "commonwealth"?
Click to expand...
I don't think Sweden being orthodox is too ASB.
 

Deleted member 97083

Given the frequent contact between Scandinavia, Kievan Rus', and Constantinople in the Middle Ages, it's actually a surprise this didn't happen IOTL.
 
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Monter

Christianization of the Scandinavia (obviously including Sweden) was always dominated by Western missionaries, mostly from the Franks (like Ansgar of Bremen) and later the English, for an "Orthodoxization" of Sweden you need the Swedes to be exposed to actual Greek missionaries and Orthodox rites, though that is still hard because as much contact Sweden has with the Kievan Rus' and Constantinople the influence of the Christianity dominant in Denmark and Norway (both much more Western focused) are going to be more attractive.
 
CaedmonCousland

CaedmonCousland

GauchoBadger said:
What would be the effects on relations with other Scandinavian and Baltic countries if Sweden is Orthodox?
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You'd see the same sort of constant conflict that existed between Sweden or the Teutonic Knights with Novgorod. For several hundred years there were numerous attempts to impose the Pope's...rule/supremacy (?) over Novgorod. You'd likely see the same thing here, just slightly further west. Denmark and Norway would be encouraged to conquer and convert Sweden, and they'd likely so it with a gusto since there was quite a lot of conflict in Scandinavia. They'd probably also succeed since Sweden didn't achieve its preeminent status till over half a millennium later.

Not sure if you'd see Finland come under Swedish control if they were Orthodox. They did take it over as a crusade in the first place, and near endlessly squabbled with Novgorod over it. Strategically such a focus would be near impossible with Norway and Denmark biting at its western front. So you'd possibly see a Teuton or Novgorodian Finland.

The Baltic countries would depend. Historically Scandinavian attempts to press east fell short of the German attempts during the Northern Crusades. Here you are likely to see those attempts not even to be made, as unless Sweden was converted and subsequently conquered in the 1000-1150 timeframe Sweden would still be blocking them from the Baltics. If however Sweden is successfully conquered and pacified by either Norway or Sweden, you might see more resources being put in that direction (probably by Denmark).
 
Utgard96

Utgard96

Byzantion said:
Maybe Varegian Guard Service of a strong soon-too-become Swedish King in the early stages of Christianity leads him to become devoted to Greek Orthodoxy. Sweden is declared officially Orthodox, Greek and Rus clergy are invited to built a Up a clerical bureocracy and to found monastries. Sweden become cultural Eastern Orthodox ( Smaland still pagan some time) and profits from the trade with Rus and Byzantium.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's not remotely how medieval Sweden worked. We had a king get mobbed and killed for failing to take hostages, forcibly converting the country is going to fly for all of about five seconds.
 
Utgard96

Utgard96

There's also the fundamental problem that the sea trade leads to Germany, the Low Countries and Britain, not to Russia. The trade products of Russia were largely the same as those of Sweden - there wouldn't be much to trade - and there was no convenient way to move goods across from the Black Sea. Yes, we went to the Black Sea, but marauding expeditions are not the stuff of cultural exchange. When trade starts up, it's inevitably going to direct itself toward the southwest. So unless you can make Germany Orthodox somehow, I rate the chances somewhere between zero and zilch.

The aesthetic would be brilliant though.
 
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