Editing Frederick II of Denmark (section)

== Relationship with the Church ==
The necessity of maintaining order within the church meant that royal interference into [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical]] affairs was unavoidable. There was no longer an [[archbishop]] within the [[hierarchy]], so the king was the final authority in matters that could not be settled by the bishops alone. As his father, [[Christian III of Denmark|Christian III]], put it, kings were the 'father to the superintendents'.<ref name=":17">Lockhart, Paul D., page 66</ref>

As protector of the church and therefore of the clergy, Frederick frequently intervened in disputes between clergy and [[laity]], even when the issues involved were trivial ones.<ref name=":17" />

Frederik II, repeatedly came to the defence of new parish priests whose congregations tried to force them to marry their predecessors' [[widow]]s, and sometimes to protect preachers from the wrath of overbearing noblemen. Conversely, the king – and especially Frederik II – would see to it personally that unruly, incompetent, or disreputable priests lost their parishes, or he would [[pardon]] those who had been punished by their superintendents for minor infractions. Protecting and disciplining the clergy was, after all, part of the king's obligation to the [[Church of Denmark|state church]].<ref name=":18">Lockhart, Paul D., page 67</ref>

Frederik II was more active than his late father in extending his royal authority into areas that the 1537 Ordinance had protected from secular power.<ref>''Derry, T. K. (Thomas Kingston), page 101''</ref> Frederik consulted with members of the [[University of Copenhagen Faculty of Theology|theological faculty]] at the [[University of Copenhagen]]—the so-called 'most learned ones' (''højlærde'')—but he did not shy away from making changes in the most minute liturgical matters. He stipulated the books that every parish priest should have in his library, set standardized times for worship services in the towns, and set minimal standards of competence for all preachers.<ref name=":18" />
Although Frederick interfered much in [[Ecclesiology|ecclesiastical]] affairs, [[Paul D. Lockhart|Paul Douglas Lockhart]] pointed out, that Frederick "was not interested in dictating conscience", stating that "he wanted only to prevent useless religious disputes, disputes that could weaken the kingdom and leave it vulnerable to Catholic aggression".<ref name=":22"/>

=== Book of Concord ===
[[File:Concordia,_Dresden_1580_-_fba.jpg|left|thumb|400x400px|''[[Book of Concord|The Book of Concord]]'']]
A good testimony of Frederik's stubborn resistance to all religious controversy can be found in his response to the late sixteenth-century [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] statement of faith, [[Book of Concord|the Formula and Book of Concord]].<ref name=":19">{{Cite book|last=Lockhart, Paul Douglas |title=Frederik II and the Protestant cause: Denmark's role in the Wars of Religion, 1559–1596|date=2004|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-13790-4|location=Leiden|page=78|oclc=53485232}}</ref> The 'Concord', which was written by leading [[Saxons|Saxon]] divines and sponsored by Frederik II's brother-in-law, [[Augustus, Elector of Saxony]], was an attempt to promote unity among the German Lutheran princes. As a unifier, however, the Concord was an abject failure.<ref name=":20">Lockhart, Paul D., page 71</ref>

August had recently purged his court of [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] and [[Philippists]], and [[Lutheran orthodoxy|orthodox Lutherans]] like [[Jakob Andreae|Jacob Andreae]] composed the document. The Concord was extremely orthodox.<ref name=":21">{{Cite book|last=Lockhart, Paul Douglas |title=Frederik II and the Protestant cause: Denmark's role in the Wars of Religion, 1559–1596|date=2004|publisher=Brill|isbn=90-04-13790-4|location=Leiden|page=77|oclc=53485232}}</ref> Frederik II had already clashed with his old friend and companion Augustus over theological issues: in 1575, Augustus had complained profoundly about the Calvinist sentiments expounded by [[Niels Hemmingsen]] in the [[treatise]] Syntagma institutionum christianarum (1574). Though Frederik tried to defend [[Niels Hemmingsen|Hemmingsen]], who was his favourite divine, he also wanted to keep Augustus' friendship, and he therefor dismissed Hemmingsen – with honour – from his post at the [[University of Copenhagen]] in 1579. Frederik was not nearly so receptive to August's promotion of the Concord.<ref name=":22">Lockhart, Paul D., page 70</ref>

Like many other contemporaries of his time, Frederick believed that the Book of Concord promoted discord, and not harmony. Ignoring Augustus's warnings that a Calvinist plot had taken root in Denmark's clergy, he banned the Concord from his lands in July 1580.<ref name=":20" /> Possession of the book, or even discussion of its contents, would be punished severely.<ref name=":19" /> The king burned his own personal copies, which were sent to him by his sister [[Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony|Anne]], wife of Augustus. The Concord, he argued, contained "teachings which are foreign and alien to us and to our churches, [and which] could easily disrupt the unity which ... these kingdoms have hitherto maintained".<ref name=":22" />

=== Marriage Ordinance ===
Frederik II's 'Marriage Ordinance' of 1582, inspired by [[Niels Hemmingsen]]'s writings on the institution, allowed divorce for a wide range of reasons, including [[infidelity]], [[impotence]], [[leprosy]], [[venereal disease]], and [[outlaw]]ry.<ref name=":21" />