- Eivind Berggrav
Eivind Josef Berggrav (born
October 25 1884 inStavanger , died 1959) was a NorwegianLutheran bishop , primarily known today for his status asPraeces of the Church of Norway (the Praeces is the head of the council of Bishops) and its resistance against the Nazi invasion of Norway during World War II.As his father,
Otto Jensen , he studiedtheology and became apriest and subsequently bishop, first in thediocese ofHålogaland in the North of Norway (1928-1937) and secondly inOslo (1937-1951)Berggrav is celebrated for his leadership in the Norwegian
Christian resistance to the Nazi occupation during world war II. Berggrav did not initially publicly oppose the occupation, initially appealing to Norwegian Christians to "refrain from any interference" and to refuse to "mix themselves up in thewar by sabotage or in any other way." However, as it became increasingly clear that the occupying Nazi powers would not honor their promise to allow Norwegians freedom ofreligion and the preservation of their structures ofgovernment , Berggrav joined in forming theChristian Council for Joint Deliberation , and when thechurch was ordered to alter its liturgical practices, Bishop Berggrav refused to comply. OnApril 9 ,1942 , Berggrav was arrested. He (along with four other members of the Christian Council) was initially imprisoned in theGrini concentration camp , but he was later moved to an isolated location in the forests north of Oslo where he was placed insolitary confinement , and allowed to see no one but his Nazi guards.In December 1944 Berggrav was featured on the cover of
TIME magazine , becoming one of the relatively fewprotestant religious figures to have been thus honored (others featured before 1960 includeHarry Emerson Fosdick (1925),Henry Sloan Coffin (1926),Martin Niemöller (1940),Reinhold Niebuhr (1948),Henry Knox Sherrill (1951), Otto Dibelius (1953),Henry P. Van Dusen (1954),Billy Graham (1954),Franklin Clark Fry (1958), andPaul Tillich (1959)).Berggrav was also an important figure in 20th-century ecumenical movements, including the Universal Church movement and the World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches. He is the author of "The Norwegian Church in Its International Setting", "Man and State", and "With God in the Darkness, and Other Papers Illustrating the Norwegian Church Conflict."
Berggrav's life and memory are commemorated by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America onJanuary 13 each year.External links
*Article in [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791745-1,00.html TIME magazine, December 25, 1944]
*Frontpage in [http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,1101441225,00.html TIME magazine, December 25, 1944]
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