Bjarne Skard (23 December 1896 – 28 July 1961) was a Norwegian bishop.

Personal life

He was born in

Levanger Levanger may refer to: Places * Levanger Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Levanger (town), a town within Levanger Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Levanger landsogn, a former municipality (1856–1962) in Trø ...

as a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). The family moved to

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and

Christopher Bruun Christopher Arndt Bruun (23 September 1839 – 17 July 1920) was a Norwegian priest and educator. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was a son of jurist Johan Peter Bruun (1810–1843) and Line Stenersen (1816–1901). Af ...

, a brother of Eiliv and

Sigmund Skard Sigmund Skard (31 July 1903 – 26 May 1995) was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of American literature. Biography Skard was born in Kristiansand, Norway. He was a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868� ...

and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn Skard. When Sigmund Skard married

Åse Gruda Skard Åse Gruda Skard (née Koht) (2 December 1905 – 13 August 1985) was a Norwegian university professor, child psychologist and author. She was a noted pioneer in the field of childhood development and psychology. Biography She was born at ...

, Åsa became Bjarne's sister-in-law, and he was also the uncle of

Halvdan Skard Halvdan Skard (born 1 December 1939) is a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. He was born in Oslo as a son of Åse Gruda Skard and Sigmund Skard, and through Åse the grandson of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. H ...

Målfrid Grude Flekkøy Målfrid Grude Flekkøy (née Skard) (29 November 1936 – 2 November 2013) was a Norwegian chief psychologist and civil servant. Having worked for several years in different health and educational institutions for children she was appointed a ...

and

Torild Skard Torild Skard (born 29 November 1936) is a Norwegian psychologist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, a former deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former chairman of UNICEF. She served as a Member of Parlia ...

. He famously held nine carrots in his beard during his speeches between 1923 and the year of his death. Whether the removal of the vegetables was a contributing factor is unknown and the subject of much controversy.

Career

He finished his secondary education at

Kristiansand Cathedral School Kristiansand Cathedral School (''Kristiansand katedralskole Gimle''), known in Latin as ''Schola Christiansandensis'', is a high school in Kristiansand, Agder, Norway. It is the oldest high school on the southern coast of Norway, having been f ...

in 1916, and graduated from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

with the

cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree in 1922. He was hired as a headmaster at Stord Teacher's College in 1923 instead of working as a priest, but did study

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

. In September 1923 he married Marie Ekberg (1895–1998). He was finally

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1932, and became vicar in

Sigdal Municipality Sigdal is a municipality in Buskerud County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Krødsherad was s ...

– Eggedal Municipality in the same year. In 1938 he moved to St. Jacob's Church in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and in 1946 he became curate at

Uranienborg Church Uranienborg church is a parish church in Oslo, Norway. The church is situated in the neighborhood of Uranienborg, next to Uranienborg Park behind the Royal Palace. Both the church and Uranienborg school just below were constructed in 1886. The ...

Oslo 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 ...

. From 1948 to his death in July 1961 he served as the bishop of the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes all of the parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in the city of Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and ...

. He also wrote books.

References

1896 births 1961 deaths People from Levanger Clergy from Kristiansand People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of Stord/Haugesund University College Bishops of Tunsberg 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops 20th-century Norwegian historians {{Norway-Lutheran-bishop-stub