Erling Johan Pettersen (born 1950) is 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, and since 2016, a

Bishop Emeritus In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

. Pettersen served as 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 Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Lise Ådnøy, who has held the p ...

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

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 ...

from 2009 until his retirement in 2016.

Biography

Erling Pettersen was born on 21 February 1950 in the city of

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 ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

county,

. He is a 1977 graduate of the

MF Norwegian School of Theology MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society (MF for short) is a Norwegian private specialized university. MF focuses on education, research and dissemination of their fields of expertise. The specialized university is located at Majorstu ...

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 ...

. He was ordained as a

on 1 July 1979. Pettersen was a teacher at the

from 1975 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1984, he was a theological consultant at the ''Diakonhjemmets'' school for social workers from 1977 to 1979 and a consultant for the

from 1979 to 1985. From 1985 until 1989, he was a missionary priest in

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. After returning to Norway in 1989, he was the department head of the Institutt for Kristen Oppseding (IKO), a position he held until 1996. He was then the director of the Church of Norway executive council from 1996 to 2006. Pettersen was the main parish priest of

Nordstrand Church Nordstrand Church is a church in Oslo, Norway. The church was consecrated in 1866 as ''Østre Aker Chapel'' and was later renamed ''Sæter Chapel''. In 1905 the Nordstrand congregation was established, and the following year the church changed it ...

in Oslo from 2007-2009.

Bishop

Pettersen was nominated to be 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 ...

in 2002 and Bishop of the

Diocese of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's Diocese, bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese ...

in 2004, but he ultimately was not chosen. In 2009, after the resignation of Bishop Ernst Baasland in the

, Pettersen was again nominated to be Bishop there. He was voted in second place after Kjetil Aano, but the government chose Pettersen instead. On 19 June 2009, Pettersen was appointed

of the

, and he was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

as Bishop on 8 November 2009. There was some public questioning as to why the labour party government chose the second-place finisher for the office of Bishop of Stavanger. The Norwegian Minister of Culture and Church Affairs,

Trond Giske Trond Giske (born 7 November 1966) is a Norwegian politician who served as deputy leader of the Labour Party from 2015 until his resignation in 2018 after accusations of widespread sexual harassment and sexual assault against multiple women. Af ...

, said that Pettersen's support for the ordination of homosexual priests living in same-sex relationships was not the deciding factor even though Pettersen was the only person nominated for Bishop that supported this. After becoming Bishop, 19 priests within the diocese wanted a change because Pettersen was too liberal and not in-line with Biblical teaching. These priests requested an alternate solution so that they did not report to a Bishop that they believed was theologically incorrect. After a lot of discussion, the two sides agreed that the church and bishop's conference were split on the topic and that they would continue to try to find a local solution. Erling Pettersen retired at the end of 2016 and he was replaced by Ivar Braut.

Personal life

Pettersen has been married to his wife, Turid Barth Pettersen, since 1971. They have 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettersen, Erling Johan 1950 births Living people Bishops of Stavanger 21st-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops