Eiler Hansen Hagerup or Eiler Hagerup d.e. (25 November 1685 – 15 April 1743) was a Norwegian

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and priest. He was the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Trondhjem from 1731 until his death in 1743.

Personal life

Eiler Hagerup was born on 25 November 1685 in Kvernes in what is now

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. His parents were the priest Hans Hansen Hagerup and his wife Ellen Eilersdatter Schøller. He was married in 1715 to Anna Cathrine Barhow (1695-1737), daughter of parish priest, Amund Barhow (1660-1725). Together they had 17 children including Hans Hagerup Gyldenpalm, Eiler Hagerup, and Christian Frederik Hagerup. The ''"d.e."'' at the end of his name means ''den eldre'' () to distinguish him from his younger nephew, Eiler Hagerup d.y. (1718- 1789), Bishop in the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

and later in

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 ...

Education and career

He was a student at

Trondheim Cathedral School Trondheim Cathedral School (, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway. History There is great dispute regarding the actual founding date of ...

. In 1702, he started at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and graduated with a

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 1704. In 1709, he was hired as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in the parish of Kvernes where his father worked. After a few years, he was hired as the parish priest in

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,659 (1 January 2025),Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

(1715-1727). In 1727, he became a lecturer in theology at

after the death of

Thomas von Westen Thomas von Westen (13 September 1682 – 9 April 1727) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest and missionary. He was a driving force in the Sami mission, and founded the education institution ''Seminarium Scholasticum'', the later Seminarium Lapponi ...

. In 1731, he was appointed Bishop of the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

as a replacement for

Peder Krog Peder Krog (8 April 1654 – 24 May 1731) was a Danish-born Norwegian Lutheran bishop. Peder Krog was born in Aarhus, Denmark. He studied in Rostock and Copenhagen, and then went to Germany to study for several years. In 1675, he was awarde ...

. During his time as bishop, he was a good administrator and he was considered a demanding manager of church business. In a letter to the priests in his diocese, he made strict demands: the

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

should be taught and the young people should learn to read with the book. The scripture must be taken seriously, and the priests must visit all homes in their parish every year. An account of the poverty of the poor shall be made across the diocese. He made a great emphasis during his time as bishop of mission work among the

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. Bishop Hagerup died in 1743 in Trondheim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagerup, Eiler Hansen 1685 births 1743 deaths Bishops of Nidaros 18th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops 18th-century Norwegian clergy University of Copenhagen alumni