Einar Amdahl (3 March 1888 – 22 May 1974) was a Norwegian theologian. Einar Amdahl led the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society (, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, to spread Christianity to oth ...

for more than 30 years.

Biography

He was born in

Selbu Municipality Selbu is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mebonden. Other villages in Selbu include Flora, Trøndelag, Flora, Fossan ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

, Norway. He was the son of Peder Einarsen Amdahl (1863–1942) and Marit Bardosdatter (1862–1942). He was raised in a

Haugean movement The Haugean movement or Haugeanism () was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway, which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement emphasized person ...

home. He attended Hans Nielsen Hauge Minde in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

and graduated in 1910. He was ordained a priest in 1916 and was called to the newly created position of assistant secretary general of the Norwegian Missionary Society (''Det Norske Misjonsselskap''). He served as secretary-general for the society from 1923. Amdahl resigned from his office in 1957 to be replaced by

Fridtjov Søiland Birkeli Fridtjov Søiland Birkeli (26 May 1906 – 17 September 1983) was a Norwegian Lutheran missionary, writer, magazine editor, and bishop. He also served in the administration of the Lutheran World Federation. Biography Fridtjov Birkeli was b ...

. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, he participated in the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the German occupation of Norway, occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *As ...

, and served in an internment camp from June 1944 until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1963.

References

External links

Det Norske Misjonsselskap official website
1888 births 1974 deaths People from Selbu Norwegian theologians 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Norwegian resistance members Norwegian people imprisoned in Germany Norwegian prisoners and detainees Order of Saint Olav {{theologian-stub