Eric Segelberg (20 December 1920 – 17 October 2001) was a Swedish theologian and a priest of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Swed ...

Biography

Segelberg was born in Nyköping, Sweden. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1944, and he continued to study theology and classics at both

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

and Oxford Universities, receiving a doctorate in history of religion. His dissertation in 1958 was titled "Maşbūtā. Studies in the Ritual of the Mandæan Baptism". He became professor of classics at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

, Canada, in 1968. As professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

he returned to Sweden. Widely known in many fields, he specialized in study of

patristics Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

, the Mandeans and

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Judaism, Jewish and Early Christianity, early Christian sects. These ...

. His main specialization was in

liturgics Liturgics, also called liturgical studies or liturgiology, is the academic discipline dedicated to the study of liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer sp ...

. His quite outstanding liturgical knowledge characterized his studies in the history of religion. Well-known are his studies "The ''Benedictio Olei'' in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus", (Oriens Christianus 48, 1964), and "The Ordination of the Mandæan ''

tarmida A tarmida (singular form in myz, ࡕࡀࡓࡌࡉࡃࡀ, lit=disciple, plural form in myz, ࡕࡀࡓࡌࡉࡃࡉࡀ ; fa, ترمیدا; ar, ترميذة) is a junior priest in Mandaeism. Ganzibras, or head priests, rank above tarmidas.Drower, E ...

'' and its Relation to Jewish and Early Christian Ordination Rites", ('' Studia Patristica'' 10, 1970). Segelberg was member of the

Societas Sanctae Birgittae Societas Sanctæ Birgittæ (SSB) is a High Church Lutheran religious society with character of third order for priests and laity, men and women in the Church of Sweden. Societas Sanctæ Birgittæ was founded in 1920 as a refuge for those who i ...

and in Sweden a well-known member of the Swedish high-church movement Arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse ("

The Church Union The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England. The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determine ques ...

in Sweden"). He established a trust in 1984 to enhance Christian theological research, education and youth work. In Sweden he founded ('the Segelberg Foundation for Liturgical Research), sited in Uppsala, Sweden. In 1990 a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...

'' to him was published, collecting a number of his own writings: ''Gnostica – mandaica – liturgica. Opera eius ipsius selecta & collecta septuagenario Erico Segelberg oblata'' curantibus Jan Bergman, Jan Hjärpe, Per Ström ''una cum Bibliographia Segelbergiana'' ab Oloph Bexell redacta (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Historia Religionum 11.). He died in Uppsala in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Segelberg, Eric Dalhousie University faculty 20th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Swedish theologians Religious studies scholars Scholars of Mandaeism 1920 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Protestant theologians