Bishop Jesper Swedberg (1653-1735), Emanuel Swedenborg’s father and one of the leaders of the Swedish Lutheran Church, died in July 1735. He was buried beside Sara Bergia (d. 1720), his second wife, in a tomb on the south side of the cloister church of Varnhem (in Västergötland, near Skara). Sara Bergia, Swedenborg’s stepmother, had developed a great affection for the boy, and left him a large inheritance when she died in 1720. The epitaph above the door of the tomb, although exposed to the elements, has survived in excellent condition:

“The Bishop’s D.J. Swedberg’s and his d(ear) wife mrs. SARA Swedenborg’s (last) restingplace. A(nno) 1720″

The details of Jesper Swedberg’s funeral provide an interesting look into 18th century Swedish funerary customs. The excerpts below (pp. 125-6, 128, 131) are from Swedenborg’s Secret—The Meaning and Significance of the Word of God, the Life of the Angels, and Service to God—A Biography, by Lars Bergquist (London: The Swedenborg Society, 2005): 

“In July 1735 [Bishop Jesper Swedberg] had felt that his life was moving towards its close, and he took to his bed. We do not know if Swedenborg was present during his last days. The members of the Board of Mines customarily took vacation at the height of the summer, and his departure from Stockholm is not mentioned in the minutes. Before his death the bishop ‘was given the Lord’s holy supper, said a loving goodbye to his dear wife, commended her, his children, and all who survived him to God . . . and lastly besought his God and Saviour for grace and a gentle death, which he then in stillness, with reverent sighs, patiently and gladly awaited.’ 

Burial usually took place as soon as possible after the time of death; but for some reason unknown to us the bishop’s family was to wait a long six months for his funeral. The ceremony was held on 29 January the following year. We read in the minutes of the Board of Mines that Assessor Swedenborg, with his Majesty’s permission, was absent from 19 January to 1 March.  The same consent was given to his fellow Assessor and relative Lars Benzelstierna, the brother of Eric Benzelius, at one time married to Swedenborg’s sister Hedvig, who had died in 1728. They traveled down to Brunsbo and the church at Varnhem where, close to the outer walls, the bishop had buried his second wife and prepared his own resting place. The church dates from the 1200s and was once part of a Cistercian monastery with royal graves from the medieval Erik dynasty. 

In his autobiography Jesper Swedberg had given careful and strict instructions for the ceremony at his burial.  His choice of hymns and the text for what was then called the ‘funeral address’ can be seen as a symbolic summary of his view of life and of death as a passage to another and better existence. 

There should be no instrumental music in the church, wrote the bishop, only ‘solemn and divine hymns shall be sung,’ without an organ. The service should begin with ‘O Lord God of heaven, Our refuge Thou art,’ a paraphrase of Psalm 90 written by a German priest. In the Psalter it is called ‘a prayer of Moses, the man of God,’ and its theme is the eternity of God, and man’s frailty. Jesper Swedberg, as an experienced liturgist, had wanted to open his final service with a reminder of the eternal contrast between God’s majesty and man’s lowliness . . .” (125-126). 

“The sermon itself was usually followed by a short biography of the deceased. ‘I think I know my own self best, so I am making the account of my life, so far as I both honestly can and should justify it to God . . . And it shall be read from the pulpit, word for word, without modifications, neither shortened nor lengthened.’ 

An open coffin was customary at burials, but Swedberg gave orders that the lid should be closed, so that ‘no one may view my decline’” (128). 

“The ceremony at the grave was soon finished. The bishop had instructed that it should not last more than two hours, beginning at 12 noon if he were to die in the winter and be buried during the dark time of the year. In Varnhem, it was 2 o’clock on this January day. One more song, and the mourners were to return to the church. According to Swedberg’s instructions the ceremony was to be concluded, as customary, with a well-known hymn, ‘In heaven, in heaven,’ sung ‘at the altar by a handsome priest, who sings well.’ It describes life in paradise as a blessed, continued vision of God by an ever increasing cloud of witnesses: 

In heaven, in heaven
Where God himself dwells
Shall we see him
In blessedness so great,
Face to face,
Face to face,
Near the Lord Sebaoth!

After the burial, the mourners went to a modest meal in the vicinity. In his instructions the bishop had directed, with a special ‘nota bene’ in the margin, that the repast should be moderate without much wine: ‘More good ale, but definitely no sweets.’ The money saved on this was to go to the poor in the Skärcke parish where Varnhem was situated and in nearby Åsaka. This, the instruction said, ‘was more seemly, more Christian, and more pleasing to God’” (131). 

Translation of epitaph courtesy of Herman Gyllenhaal, Stockholm, Sweden.

Photographs: Ed Gyllenhaal, 1998.