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Eivind Berggrav
Eivind Josef Berggrav (25 October 1884 – 14 January 1959) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop. As primate of the Church of Norway (Norwegian: Preses i Bispemøtet i Den norske kirke), Berggrav became known for his central role in the Church of Norway's resistance against the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II. Berggrav also became an important figure in 20th-century ecumenical movement and served as president of the United Bible Societies.
Berggrav was born Eivind Jensen in Stavanger and raised in Asak in Østfold. His father, Otto Jensen (like his father before him) was an educator and parish priest, who when Eivind was 22 became for a short time Norway's National Minister of Education and Church Affairs in a coalition government before returning to his Skjeberg parish. Rev. Jensen later became dean in the Diocese of Kristiania, and, in the year before his death, bishop of the Diocese of Hamar. His wife, and Eivind's mother, was Marena Christine Pedersen (1846–1924). His sister's daughter was Kari Berggrav, the pioneer press photographer
Eivind studied theology in Oslo at what was then the University of Kristiania beginning in 1903, and continued family tradition by becoming a priest in the Church of Norway. He changed his surname to that of his paternal grandmother's family: to Jensen Berggrav in 1907 and a decade later to simply Berggrav.
Upon graduating from the university in 1908, Jensen Berggrav taught school for a decade (at the Eidsvoll folkehøgskole, Holmestrand offentlige lærerskole and Akershus fylkesskole). He also started writing for the journal, Kirke i Kultur, which Berggrav continued to do intermittently for decades, until his death. During World War I Berggrav filed some stories as a war correspondent for the Morgenbladet, Norway's largest newspaper. Berggrav also became involved with the Østlandsk reisning political party and the Østlandsk ungdomsfylking youth movement with Alf Frydenberg. Both social movements sought to incorporate the language spoken in eastern Norway into the national written language. (See Norwegian language conflict).
Berggrav eventually was called as a parish priest in Hurdal, and he continued to study for his doctorate in theology at the university. In the three years after he received it in 1924, Rev. Berggrav also served as chaplain of Botsfengselet national prison in Oslo. In 1928 Berggrav was selected as bishop for the Diocese of Hålogaland based at Tromsø. He dedicated a number of new chapels as he served the largely rural diocese until 1937. In that year, although younger than many other candidates, Berggrav was selected bishop for the Diocese of Oslo, which although the first among equals, remains the highest position in Norway's national church. The funeral of Queen Maud the following year first brought Berggrav international attention. Except technically during his house arrest during 1942-1945 as discussed below, Berggrav continued to serve as bishop of Oslo and Preses of the Church of Norway until 1951.
Berggrav achieved international renown for leading the Church of Norway's resistance to the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II, even though he was under isolated house arrest during most of the war.
In the years immediately before the war, Bergrrav worked with then Crown Prince Olav and others to try to mediate between Germany and England. Shocked by the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, with its attempted capture of King Haakon VII, Berggrav initially appealed to Norwegian Christians to "refrain from any interference" and to refuse to "mix themselves up in the war by sabotage or in any other way."[citation needed] After King Haakon was forced to leave for England after 62 days of fighting, with his king's approval, Berggrav became the leader of the Administrative Council which tried to govern his occupied homeland. However, it became increasingly clear that the occupying Nazi powers would not honor their promises to allow Norwegians freedom of religion nor preserve their structures of government. On 25 September, the Nazis dissolved the Administrative Council, and instead backed a new government under Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian priest's son who had a military career before becoming a Nazi sympathiser (and whom King Haakon refused to appoint as prime minister after the 1940 Nazi invasion).
A month later Berggrav led his six fellow bishops of the Church of Norway, with ten leaders of other denominations, to form the Christian Council for Joint Deliberation. When the Nazis ordered the Church of Norway to alter its liturgical practices, Bishop Berggrav refused to comply. Matters grew even more serious in January 1942 when the Nazis wound down their occupation government and allowed Quisling (head of a party with only 1% popular support) to try again. On 1 February 1942, a group of Quisling sympathizers invaded Nidaros Cathedral and by the end of the day refused the Cathedral's Dean Kjellbu entry to conduct services. Thousands of Norwegians gathered outside to sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God", and the following day all seven Norwegian bishops resigned.
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Eivind Berggrav
Eivind Josef Berggrav (25 October 1884 – 14 January 1959) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop. As primate of the Church of Norway (Norwegian: Preses i Bispemøtet i Den norske kirke), Berggrav became known for his central role in the Church of Norway's resistance against the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II. Berggrav also became an important figure in 20th-century ecumenical movement and served as president of the United Bible Societies.
Berggrav was born Eivind Jensen in Stavanger and raised in Asak in Østfold. His father, Otto Jensen (like his father before him) was an educator and parish priest, who when Eivind was 22 became for a short time Norway's National Minister of Education and Church Affairs in a coalition government before returning to his Skjeberg parish. Rev. Jensen later became dean in the Diocese of Kristiania, and, in the year before his death, bishop of the Diocese of Hamar. His wife, and Eivind's mother, was Marena Christine Pedersen (1846–1924). His sister's daughter was Kari Berggrav, the pioneer press photographer
Eivind studied theology in Oslo at what was then the University of Kristiania beginning in 1903, and continued family tradition by becoming a priest in the Church of Norway. He changed his surname to that of his paternal grandmother's family: to Jensen Berggrav in 1907 and a decade later to simply Berggrav.
Upon graduating from the university in 1908, Jensen Berggrav taught school for a decade (at the Eidsvoll folkehøgskole, Holmestrand offentlige lærerskole and Akershus fylkesskole). He also started writing for the journal, Kirke i Kultur, which Berggrav continued to do intermittently for decades, until his death. During World War I Berggrav filed some stories as a war correspondent for the Morgenbladet, Norway's largest newspaper. Berggrav also became involved with the Østlandsk reisning political party and the Østlandsk ungdomsfylking youth movement with Alf Frydenberg. Both social movements sought to incorporate the language spoken in eastern Norway into the national written language. (See Norwegian language conflict).
Berggrav eventually was called as a parish priest in Hurdal, and he continued to study for his doctorate in theology at the university. In the three years after he received it in 1924, Rev. Berggrav also served as chaplain of Botsfengselet national prison in Oslo. In 1928 Berggrav was selected as bishop for the Diocese of Hålogaland based at Tromsø. He dedicated a number of new chapels as he served the largely rural diocese until 1937. In that year, although younger than many other candidates, Berggrav was selected bishop for the Diocese of Oslo, which although the first among equals, remains the highest position in Norway's national church. The funeral of Queen Maud the following year first brought Berggrav international attention. Except technically during his house arrest during 1942-1945 as discussed below, Berggrav continued to serve as bishop of Oslo and Preses of the Church of Norway until 1951.
Berggrav achieved international renown for leading the Church of Norway's resistance to the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II, even though he was under isolated house arrest during most of the war.
In the years immediately before the war, Bergrrav worked with then Crown Prince Olav and others to try to mediate between Germany and England. Shocked by the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, with its attempted capture of King Haakon VII, Berggrav initially appealed to Norwegian Christians to "refrain from any interference" and to refuse to "mix themselves up in the war by sabotage or in any other way."[citation needed] After King Haakon was forced to leave for England after 62 days of fighting, with his king's approval, Berggrav became the leader of the Administrative Council which tried to govern his occupied homeland. However, it became increasingly clear that the occupying Nazi powers would not honor their promises to allow Norwegians freedom of religion nor preserve their structures of government. On 25 September, the Nazis dissolved the Administrative Council, and instead backed a new government under Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian priest's son who had a military career before becoming a Nazi sympathiser (and whom King Haakon refused to appoint as prime minister after the 1940 Nazi invasion).
A month later Berggrav led his six fellow bishops of the Church of Norway, with ten leaders of other denominations, to form the Christian Council for Joint Deliberation. When the Nazis ordered the Church of Norway to alter its liturgical practices, Bishop Berggrav refused to comply. Matters grew even more serious in January 1942 when the Nazis wound down their occupation government and allowed Quisling (head of a party with only 1% popular support) to try again. On 1 February 1942, a group of Quisling sympathizers invaded Nidaros Cathedral and by the end of the day refused the Cathedral's Dean Kjellbu entry to conduct services. Thousands of Norwegians gathered outside to sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God", and the following day all seven Norwegian bishops resigned.
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