Frederik Nannestad (21 October 1693 – 11 August 1774) was a Norwegian

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, author, and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Biography

Frederik Nannestad was born at

Eidsberg Eidsberg was a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the town of Mysen. In 2020, Eidsberg was absorbed into the Indre Østfold municipality. Eidsberg was established as a municipality on 1 Jan ...

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other sid ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the son of Christopher Jenssen Nannestad (1633–1707) and his third wife, Karen Tønnesdatter Unrow (1652–1716). He father had been a parish priest in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

. Nannestad received his master's degree from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1718. Initially he remained in the academic environment. In 1732 he became the dean in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwes ...

. On 6 August 1732, he married Martha Elizabeth Jensdatter Wissing (1712–1734). She died two years later and he remained a widower for the rest of his life. In 1742 he received his

doctorate of theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equ ...

. On 11 May 1748, he was appointed the 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 ...

. In 1758, after 10 years of work there, was he named the bishop of the

Diocese of Oslo Oslo bishopric is the Church of Norway's 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 1068. I ...

following the death of Bishop Niels Dorph. Nannestad remained a conservative orthodox theologian throughout his career. He had a reputation for learning and proper administration. He retired and left office on 1 October 1773 and died less than a year later.

Selected works

*''Dissertatio theologica de Mariolatria Pontificiorum horrenda, ex occasione monumenti cujusdam Edsbergensis in Norvegia'' (

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

1742) *''Hilaria Aarhusiensia ipso die unctionis Regiæ Friderici'' (Copenhagen 1748) *''Tronhiems Æres-Portes Beskrivelse, saadan som den mod Hs. kgl. Majestæts forventede Nærværelse'' (

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

1749?) *''En christelig Prædiken over Psalm. LXXXIX, v. 1–6'' (1749?) *''Afskeds-Skrivelse til Tronhjem, afsendt fra Christiania'' (1759)

References

1693 births 1774 deaths Bishops of Nidaros Bishops of Oslo 18th-century Lutheran bishops 18th-century Norwegian clergy {{bishop-stub