Religious Figure. He was a Norwegian Lutheran Bishop of the Church of Norway. Born Eivind Jensen, he studied theology in Oslo at what was then the University of Kristiania beginning in 1903, and continued his 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 Univesity of Kristiana in 1908, he taught school for ten years and worked as a war correspondent during World War I. He eventually was called as a parish priest in Hurdal, and he continued to study for his doctorate in theology at the University, which he received in 1924. In 1928 he was selected as bishop for the Diocese of Halogaland based at Tromso. In 1937 he was chosen as bishop of the Diocese of Oslo. When Germany invaded and occupied Norway in 1940 shortly after the beginning of World War II, he became active in the resistance movement and was placed under house arrest from 1942 until the end of the war. In its Christmas 1944 edition, Time magazine put him on its cover, becoming one of the relatively few Protestant religious figures to have received this honor. He wrote a number of books, including "The Norwegian Church in Its International Setting," "Man and State," and "With God in the Darkness." Among his honors and awards include the Order of St. Olav and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Harry S. Truman. He is remembered on January 14 by The Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Religious Figure. He was a Norwegian Lutheran Bishop of the Church of Norway. Born Eivind Jensen, he studied theology in Oslo at what was then the University of Kristiania beginning in 1903, and continued his 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 Univesity of Kristiana in 1908, he taught school for ten years and worked as a war correspondent during World War I. He eventually was called as a parish priest in Hurdal, and he continued to study for his doctorate in theology at the University, which he received in 1924. In 1928 he was selected as bishop for the Diocese of Halogaland based at Tromso. In 1937 he was chosen as bishop of the Diocese of Oslo. When Germany invaded and occupied Norway in 1940 shortly after the beginning of World War II, he became active in the resistance movement and was placed under house arrest from 1942 until the end of the war. In its Christmas 1944 edition, Time magazine put him on its cover, becoming one of the relatively few Protestant religious figures to have received this honor. He wrote a number of books, including "The Norwegian Church in Its International Setting," "Man and State," and "With God in the Darkness." Among his honors and awards include the Order of St. Olav and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Harry S. Truman. He is remembered on January 14 by The Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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See more Berggrav memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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