Erling Eidem (23 April 1880 – 14 April 1972) was a Swedish theologian who served as

archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church. Historical ove ...

1931–1950. Eidem was son of Anders Magnus Andersson, a merchant in Gothenburg, and his spouse Pauline Eidem, whose maiden name he took. He received his filosofie kandidat degree from the University College of Gothenburg in 1903, his theology degree from

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1907, became licentiate there in 1912 and completed his doctorate of theology in 1918. He was

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

in Lund 1913-1924, and was assistant at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

1918-1919. He was vicar of Gårdstånga parish 1924-1928 and professor of Biblical studies in Uppsala 1926-1928, and in Lund from 1928 until 1931, when he was elected archbishop of Uppsala. He married Elisabeth Eklund, a daughter of the theologian Pehr Eklund, dean of the cathedral of Lund and professor of church history at the university. During the 1930s, Eidem expressed nationalist views, but kept a clear distance from the German

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

regime and warned the

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 in Germany for the prevalent

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. After the war years, Eidem was one of the churchmen who donated money to the

high church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

St. Ansgar Foundation in Uppsala. Following the murder of

Kaj Munk Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk; 13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World War II. He i ...

on 4 January 1944 the Danish resistance newspaper

De frie Danske De frie Danske () was a Danish resistance newspaper published in Copenhagen about monthly from December 1941 to 24 May 1945. It was the first Danish non-Communism, communist resistance newspaper and the first to bring photographs. It was also one ...

brought condemning reactions from influential Scandinavians, including Eidem. Eidem was the last archbishop to be ''ex officio'' Pro-Chancellor of Uppsala University.

References

*''Vem är det'' 1955 *''Sveriges dödbok 1950-1999'' (CD-ROM, published 2000 by the Swedish Federation of Genealogical Societies) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eidem, Erling 1880 births 1972 deaths People from Gothenburg Lutheran archbishops of Uppsala 20th-century Lutheran archbishops University of Gothenburg alumni Burials at Uppsala old cemetery