Mission and Revolution in Central Asia - Svenska Missionskyrkan

The basic training for the missionaries at that time included a full curriculum at the
Theological Seminary, or as the school was called at that time, the Mission School. During
the first decades of the mission era, there was no university training. At that time, P.P.
Waldenström was a leading figure within the Mission headquarters and he did not seem
interested in university training for missionaries, neither at home nor in the mission field.
Mission Secretary Lundahl, Waldenström’s collaborator for many years expresses his wonder
at Waldenström’s negative attitude towards university training within the MCCS. Lundahl
relates how Rev. Janne Nyrén (later to become MCCS President) one night walked up and
down the streets of Stockholm together with Waldenström, trying to make him understand the
value of having university trained people within the MCCS. Waldenström however did not
listen to him, but only said that Nyrén could preach just as well as any university trained
pastor, and that without having a university degree. But when Nyrén asked Waldenström if he
himself would have been able to achieve what he had done if he had not had his university
training, he was speechless. 3
Apart from their basic training at the Mission School, most of the missionaries also
received special training through courses of varying extent. During the first part of the
mission era, women missionary candidates were often sent to follow Bible courses at the
training centre of Elsa Borg, Vita Bergen, in Stockholm. Those who got their training there
were called Bible women. Twelve missionaries followed this training. The MCCS General
Conference had decided in 1882 that especially “mission brides”, i.e. women missionaries
engaged to be married, should spend some time at the Bible school of Elsa Borg. From 1891
they then did one year at the Mission School. In 1912, a two-year course was introduced at the
Mission School for them. 4
The majority of the women missionaries had a complete nurse and/or midwife training.
Several of the men missionaries also had medical training. They had received this training at
different hospitals in Sweden. Added to that were complementary courses for example at the
Livingstone College in London, at Kingsmead College or the The Mothers Hospital of
Salvation Army in London. 28 missionaries had complete or abridged medical training. One
of them was a dental technician and another one was a trained pharmacist.
11 missionaries were qualified teachers. It was mostly the women missionaries who had
gone through this form of training. But there were also some men who had studied at a
teacher training college.
Language studies started already in Sweden, where the missionaries studied either Turkish
or Chinese. The Chinese language was taught by professor Karlgren in Stockholm.
Continuous courses in Turkish were also organized. After his return home to Sweden in 1921,
Raquette was in charge of these courses.
Most missionaries had a training in one sphere, either education or medical care. Several of
them however had a double training. 16 missionaries had training within two or more areas. 5
In the course of time several missionaries became scientific field researchers, without
having any university training. Apart from Missiology, the research also embraced other
areas. Högberg for instance collected ethnographical artefacts commissioned by Professor
Erland Nordenskiöld. The aim was to include the 700-800 objects in an exhibition in Sweden
in 1907. The delivery was however delayed during transport in Russia and did not arrive in
time. Later on the collection found its way to the Ethnographical Museum of Stockkholm.
Commissioned by Nordenskiöld, Högberg also wrote a small pamphlet, “Some Facts about
3 Lundahl, 1943, p. 151 ff.
4 Nyrén, 1928, p. 13. Mosesson, 1921, p. 163.
5 Westin, 1937, p. 898. Palmaer, 1938, p. 172 ff. Lundahl, 1917, p. 537 ff. Biografiskt album, edition 1934, p.
112 ff and edition 1946, and interviews with the missionaries.
2