The assembly met at the beginning of January, 1529, at Orebro, the birthplace of Olaf and his brother, near the street in which their father used to work at the forge. The bishops of Strengnaes, Westeraas, and Skara, and ecclesiastics from every diocese of Sweden came to the meeting. The archdeacon and chancellor, Lawrence Anderson, was the king’s delegate, and presided on the occasion. Olaf sat beside him as his counsellor. Gustavus had consulted his two representatives as to the manner in which the assembly ought to be conducted. Olaf’s keen intellect, his presence of mind, and the ease with which he could fathom deep subjects and give a luminous exposition of them, qualified him well for such an office. But the very liveliness with which he had grasped the truth, the importance which he attached to a sincere reform, and his frequent intercourse with Luther, did not render him tolerant towards error. He could not endure contradiction. The king had good reason to fear that Olaf did not altogether share his views. In fact, Gustavus looked upon matters of religion from a political point of view. He was afraid of every thing which might possibly occasion disputes and schism; and if he was severe towards the guilty, he was merciful to the simple and the weak, and he did not wish to have these estranged or possibly driven to revolt by an abrupt alteration of the old ecclesiastical rites. He had therefore come to an understanding with his two delegates; and Olaf, remembering the Scripture saying, _We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak_,[460] had entered, partly at least, into the views of the prince. The chancellor, who was a politician as well as a religious man, had done so much more fully.