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Sigfrid of Växjö

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[[Image:StSigfrid.jpeg|right|thumb|St. Sigfrid, Bishop Växjö and Second Apostle of the North]]
Our father among the saints, '''Sigfrid of Växjö''' or '''Sigfried of Sweden''' or '''Sigefrid of Wexiow''' or (also '''Sigefrid''', '''Sigfried''', '''Siegfrid''', '''Siegfried''', '''Sigfridus''', '''Sigurd'''), Second [[Apostle]] of the North (d. 1045) was a [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] [[monk]] and [[bishop]] of Växjö, Sweden. His feast day is [[February 15]].
Sigfrid is said to have been born in Glastonbury, England in the second half of the 10th century. It is said that St. [[Alphege]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], converted him to the Christian faith. Sigfrid was an eminent priest in York who was sent by the legendary ''King Mildred'' to assist in the Christianization of Scandanavia. It is theorized that this could have been King Æthelred II the Unready.
At the behest of Olaf I Tryggvason, Sigfrid arrived in Norway in 995 with two bishops and his three nephews who were Cluniac [[monks]]: Unaman the [[priest]], Sunaman the [[deacon]], and Winaman the [[subdeacon]]. There he became a court bishop for the Norwegian King. Due and travelled to the Battle isle of Svolder Godey in Saltenfjorden with him to engage a tenacious adversary of 999-1000Christianity, Sigfrid and his nephews left for Sweden in 1002 where they founded three churches in Västergötland (West Gothland). This area was already being Christianized by the bishop Odinkar Hvite renowned pagan sorcerer Raud the ElderStrong. Inclement weather prevented landfall, who was based in Skara. Thus so Sigfrid and took his nephews went east liturgical [[vestments]] to the region of Värend in Småland to continue their missionary effortsprow and, lighting tapers and [[incense]], erecting first placed a [[cross ]] upon the stern and read from the [[Holy Gospel]] before [[blessing]] the vessel with [[holy water]]. The sail was ordered to be stowed away and then building the king's ships rowed into the ford, at which point a wooden church on the shores of Växjö Lakemiracle occurred wherein their passage stayed calm while a storm raged around them.
Due to the Battle of Svolder of 999-1000, Sigfrid and his nephews left for Sweden in 1002 where they founded three churches in Västergötland (West Gothland). This area was already being Christianized by the bishop Odinkar Hvite the Elder, who was based in Skara. Thus Sigfrid and his nephews went east to the region of Värend in Småland to continue their missionary efforts, erecting first a cross and then building a wooden [[Church architecture|church]] on the shores of Växjö Lake. Soon, twelve eleven prominent men of the area were soon brought to the Christian faith and [[baptism|baptized ]] in a spring near the mountain Ostrabo. Their influence began a steady stream of pilgrims, who flocked to hear the Word of God and gaze upon Sigfrid's silken vestments, gold and silver vessels, and other beautiful objects brought with him from England. In 1008, Sigfrid baptized King Olof Skötkonung in soon became curious and sent a spring near trusted councilor to investigate the village of Husabymatter. Olof Skötkonung became According to the first Christian King of Swedencouncilor, which marked as Sigrid lifted the beginning of [[paten]] during the Christianization of Sweden. Sigfrid next traveled north to re-establish [[Divine Liturgy]], the See of Upsala that had been founded by St. [[Ansgarprosphora]]became a young Boy, whom he kissed, at which time the vision disappeared. Astonished by this, the king sent for the holy bishop immediately; but the reversion en route, Sigfrid made a detour in Utvängstorp to paganism was too strong in enlighten and baptize the region and he left in failurepeople there.
In 10141008, Sigfrid baptized the royal family in a spring near the now-village of Husaby, making Olof Skötkonung the first Christian King of Sweden, which marked the beginning of the Christianization of Sweden. Sigfrid next traveled north to re-establish the See of Uppsala that had been founded by St. [[Ansgar]], but the reversion to paganism was too strong in the region and he left in failure. During this time, the English bishop Gotebald was sent from the Danish frontier city of Lund to Scania, where he built its first church and was appointed bishop. In 1014, Olof Skötkonung assisted Sigfrid in the establishment of the Diocese of Husaby (later Skara in the Christian county of Västergötland), which became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen. The first diocesan bishop, a German named Thurgaut the German, was consecrated by Sigrid. At this time, the diocese was comprised of "the Goth lands" Västergötland and Östergötland (East Gothland) also comprised the territory , some of the diocesesSmåland, and also a chunk of other surrounding counties. Sigfrid is said to have consecrated a [[vicar bishop]] for the eastern half of the diocese in the Östergötland city of Linköpingin Östergötland, and King Canute sent an English bishop named Bernhard to fill the see of Scania. By 1028, the English missionary Ulfrid attempted a third re-establishment of Christianity in Uppsala, but was martyred upon [[anathema|anathematizing]] the pagan god Thor and assaulting his idol in the local Thing.
Entrusting the administration of Växjö to Unaman and his brothers, Sigfrid left to spread Christianity in Denmark. While he was gone, however, a local greedy nobleman Gunnar Gröpe gathered a group of pagans together to kill Sigfrid's brothers and ransack the church in Växjö. When Sigfrid returned from his mission, he found his nephews' heads in a weighed tub that was at the bottom of Lake Helgasjönnear the church. The bodies were buried deep inside a forest. According to Sigfrid, the heads still possessed the ability to speak and told him the names of their murderers. Sigfrid glorified God that He allowed Unaman, Sunaman, and Winaman to become [[martyrs]]. Soon Olof Skötkonung heard of the occurrence in Växjö and offered to execute the perpetrators, which Sigfrid refused. The King also offered to extract from them weregild, which the saint also refused. This made even Finally, Sigfrid requested landed property and was gifted the estates known as Hof and Tjuby. The laying of foundation remained extremely difficult for the destitute bishop, but he eventually rebuilt the church and placed inside of it the relics of his holy kin.
Sigfrid continued to preach and build churches into In his old age, when Sigfrid had become very forgetful: once, he ordered a bath drawn during a [[Fast#Fasting_days|fasting day]], and a voice came down and reproached him, at which point he fell removed himself from the bath and repented. He visited Bremen in 1030 and reposed in the Lord in 1045. His [[relics]] were place placed below the high [[altar]] of the Växjö church and performed many miracles until the shrine was dismantled after the Swedish [[Reformation]]. Sigfrid's legacy continued under his disciples, Bishops David and Eskil, who were later martyred.
==York Episcopate==
*[http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-sigfrid/ Saints.SPQN.com: Saint Sigfrid of Sweden]
*[http://theoniondome.com/2013/02/15/february-15-saints-of-the-day-onesimus-of-the-seventy-and-sigfrid-of-sweden/ The Onion Dome: February 15 Saints of the Day – Onesimus of the Seventy and Sigfrid of Sweden]
*[http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigfrid_(mission%C3%A4r) Wikipedia: Sigfrid (missionär)] In (Swedish)
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigfrid_of_Sweden Wikipedia: Sigfrid of Sweden]
*[http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husaby Husabyvägen] In (Swedish)
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winaman Wikipedia: Winaman]
*[http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnar_Gr%C3%B6pe Wikipedia: Gunnar Gröpe] In (Swedish)
*[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2150 Catholic Online: St. Winaman]
*[http://www.sweden.orthodoxy.ru/old/Engelska/hagiography_en/st_sigfrid_of_sweden_en.html Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden: Saint Sigfrid of Växjö, Apostle of Sweden and its patron saint]
*[http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/saintss.htm Orthodox Europe: Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome]
*[http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0215.shtml#sigf St. Patrick Catholic Church: Saint of the Day: February 15]
*[http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olof_Sk%C3%B6tkonung#Olof_Sk.C3.B6tkonungs_avs.C3.A4ttning_och_sista_.C3.A5r Wikipedia: Olof Skötkonung] In (Swedish)
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Tryggvason Wikipedia: Olaf I of Norway]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Skara Wikipedia: Diocese of Skara]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16074b.htm New Advent: Ancient See of Skara]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Hamburg Wikipedia: Adalbert of Hamburg]
*[http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgot Wikipedia: Thurgot] In (Swedish)
*[http://www.nyrups.dk/Historie/Gorm/Erobreren.htm Medieval Studies > IX. King Gorm Saga > IV. Gorm the Conqueror]
*[http://kampgruppe-engel.blogspot.com/2013/03/gunnar-grope.html Kampgruppe Engel: Gunnar Gröpe]
*[http://commonplacebookofsaints.blogspot.com/2010/02/sigge-st-sigfrid-of-vaxjo.html A Commonplace Book of Saints: Sigge: St. Sigfrid of Växjö]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ealdwulf_(archbishop_of_York) Wikipedia: Ealdwulf (archbishop of York)]
*[http://www.osh.ru/pedia/religion/hristian/st/st-sigufridu.shtml Святой Зигфрид Шведский, епископ - покровитель Швеции (вместе с Олафом)] {{ru icon}}
*Moss, Vladimir. The Saints of Anglo-Saxon England: 9th to 11th centuries. Volume III. 1997.
==External link==
*[http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/servsigf.htm Commemoration of Our Father among the Saints Sigfrid, Bishop of Växjö, Enlightener of Sweden & Norway, & the Holy Martyrs Unaman the Priest, Sunaman the Deacon & Vinaman the Subdeacon] Composed by [[Reader]] [[Isaac Lambertson]]
[[Category:Bishops]]
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