Laurentius Petri Gothus (dead February 12 1579) was the the second Swedish Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1575-1579.
He was born in 1529 or 1530 in the province Östergötland, from where the name Gothus is derived as the means of seperating him from his predecessor as archbishop, Laurentius Petri Nericius.
He was a well-mannered and educated person, and the previous archbishop Nericius recommended him as a his court chaplain to the King Erik XIV in 1560.
When Erik's predecessor John III was crowned, Johan prefered Gothus to Nericus, since Gothus was more in agreement with his own view on Lutheranism. They advocated a mean way between Catholicism and Lutheranism in Sweden, unlike Nericus who was more inclined to Luther's teachings.
He was ordained by the King in 1575 in a cermony by Catholic proportions, with cope and all the Catholic rituals.
In the 1570's, jesuits were allowed to spread their messages. As a reaction, Gothus wrote several texts against papism and liturgy. As opposed as Gothus was to this, he was still a supporter of liturgy, as evident from some of his texts, while also at the same time in favor of Luther's works.
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