Career
Hedberg was ordained 1834 and became curate in Siuntio, then in Lohja, belonging since 1836 to Pietist revivalist movement led by Savonian farmer and lay preacher Paavo Ruotsalainen. Soon Hedberg became one of the leaders of this movement in southern Finland. 1842 he became temporary curate in distant Raippaluoto and 1843 curate in Pöytyä.
He began to read Luther, Praetorius, and Book of Concord, and wrote in Raippaluoto a devotional commentary to 1st chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, "The Doctrine of Faith unto Salvation" (Engineer transl 1998), which focused on justification by faith alone, being full of joy about salvation.
1862 he became parish priest of Kimito. Hedberg published several religious newspapers for his readers.
He kept reading neo-Lutheran theology, Luther and evangelical Roman Catholics Martin Boos and Johannes Gossner. He organised a fundraising as a gift for persecuted Old Lutherans of Prussia.
Also in Sweden he had lots of readers associated with Rosenius.
His theological influence had become so remarkable, that the Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland was founded in 1873 to foster and maintain confessional Lutheran revival in Finland. Later years Hedberg focused more and more on sacraments and on mystical union with Christ. In Street Andrew"s church in Kimito the Eucharist was celebrated every Sunday during Hedberg"s time, which was at that time very rare.
As celebrant he also always used chasuble.