The Diocese of Funen () is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

within the

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...

St. Canute's Cathedral St. Canute's Cathedral (), also known as Odense Cathedral, is named after the Danish king Canute the Saint (), otherwise Canute IV. It is a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture. The church's most visited section is the crypt where the remain ...

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

serves as the seat of its bishop.

Tine Lindhardt Tine Lindhardt (born 16 November 1957), a Danish theologian, is the Lutheran bishop of the Diocese of Funen from 4 November 2012. Lindhardt studied theology at Aarhus University, graduating in 1984. She has worked as a parish priest and has also ...

has been the bishop of the diocese since 2012.

History

The

Roman Catholic bishopric of Odense The former Diocese of Odense () was a Roman Catholic diocese in Denmark which included the islands of Funen, Langeland, Tåsinge, Lolland, Falster, Als, and Ærø. Its episcopal see was located in Odense at St. Canute's Cathedral. The diocese was ...

was established some time before 988. During the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in 1536, the Catholic diocese dissolved and was replaced by the current Lutheran Diocese of Funen. The newly established diocese's first bishop was

Jørgen Sadolin Jørgen Jensen Sadolin (c. 1490 – 29 December 1559 in Odense) was a Danish reformer and first protestant bishop of the Diocese of Funen. Early life and origins He was the son of Jens Christensen, a curate and subsequently a canon of Viborg Ca ...

, a Protestant reformer who had preached in Odense before the Reformation. In 1803, the region of

Lolland-Falster Lolland-Falster is a common term for the two islands Lolland and Falster. The islands are only separated by the narrow strait '' Guldborgsund'', and as such have traditionally been grouped together. Both the Gedser-Rostock and Rødby-Puttgarden f ...

split off from the diocese to form the

Diocese of Lolland-Falster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. The islands of

Als Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

and

Ærø Ærø () is one of the Denmark, Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of the Region of Southern Denmark, Southern Denmark Region. Since 1 January 2006 all of Ærø has constituted a single Municipalities of Denmark, municipality, known as Ærø M ...

similarly split off in 1819 to form their own diocese, though this diocese was eventually dissolved. Æro came back under Funen's jurisdiction in 1864, while Als is now part of the

Diocese of Haderslev The Diocese of Haderslev ( Danish: ''Haderslev Stift'') is a diocese within the Church of Denmark, established in 1922. List of Bishops * Ove Waldemar Ammundsen, 1923–1936 * Carl Wulff Noack, 1936–1955 * Frode Beyer, 1956–1964 * Thyge Vilhel ...

. Today, the Diocese of Funen consists of the islands of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

, and

. As of 2020, the diocese consists of 11 subordinate deaneries (): Assens, Bogense, Fåborg, Hjallese, Kerteminde, Langeland-Ærø, Middlefart, Nyborg, Odense Sankt Knuds, Midtfyn, and Svendborg. These deaneries are further divided into 234

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es with a total of 251 individual churches.

List of bishops

, 1537–1559 * Jacob Madsen Vejle, 1587–1606 * Hans Knudsen Vejle, 1606–1616 * Laurids Jacobsen Hindsholm, 1651–1663 * Niels Hansen Bang, 1663–1676 *

Thomas Kingo Thomas Hansen Kingo (15 December 1634 – 14 October 1703) was a Danish bishop, poet and hymnwriter born in Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry. Early life and education His parents were Hans ...

, 1677–1703 * Christian Rudolf Müller, 1704–1712 *

Christian Muus A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

, 1712–1717 **''Vacant (1717–1732)'' *

Jacob Ramus Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

, 1763–1785 *

Tønne Bloch __NOTOC__ Tonne is a metric unit of mass. Tonne, Tønne, Tønnes, Tönnes or Tonnes may also refer to: Places * Tonnes, Norway, a village in Lurøy, Nordland county, Norway * Sainte-Croix-Grand-Tonne, a former commune in northwestern France Ot ...

, 1786–1803 * Peder Hansen, 1804–1810 *

Fredrik Plum Fredrik or Frederik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name '' Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in No ...

, 1811–1834 *

Nicolai Faber Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the surname ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (crater), a crater on the Moon See also * Niccolai, a surname * Nicolae (disambiguation) * Nicolao * ...

, 1834–1848 **''Vacant (1848–1851)'' *

Christian Thorning Engelsoft A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

, 1851–1889 **''Vacant (1889–1900)'' *

Hans Valdemar Sthyr Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

, 1900–1903 * Laurits Nicolai Balslev, 1903–1922 **''Vacant (1922–1958)'' * Hans Øllgard, 1958 * Knud Christian Holm, 1958–1984 * Vincent Lind, 1984–1995 * Kresten Drejergaard, 1995–2012 *

, 2012–2023 * Mads Davidsen, 2023-present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funen, Diocese Of Church of Denmark dioceses

Diocese of Funen The Diocese of Funen () is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. St. Canute's Cathedral in Odense serves as the seat of its bishop. Tine Lindhardt has been the bishop of the diocese since 2012. History The Roman Catholic ...

1536 establishments in Denmark