Georg Sverdrup (December 16, 1848 – May 3, 1907) was a Norwegian-American
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 ...
theologian and an educator.
Background
He was born at
Balestrand
Balestrand is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center was the village of Balestrand. Other villages i ...
[ ] in
Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...
,
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 ...
to Karoline Metella Suur and
Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, a member of the
Norwegian Parliament, whose brother
Johan Sverdrup was
Prime Minister of Norway
The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...
between 1884 and 1889.
[''Georg Sverdrup. Dictionary of American Biography Base Set'' (American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936)]
He attended the
Hartvig Nissens skole in
Christiania and later graduated from the
University of Christiania in theology in the year of 1871.
Moving to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, he was educated in Semitics at the
University of Paris
The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
and befriended
Sven Oftedal before traveling to
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
to study at several other universities.
Career
Two years later, Sverdrup was appointed as the president of the Seminary.
Emphasizing the freedom of the local congregation, together with
Sven Oftedal, he founded the
Lutheran Free Church in 1897. He also served as the President of Augsburg until his death in 1907. Apart from his teachings, Sverdrup became joint editor to the ''Theologisk Kvartalskrift'' (1875–1877; sole editor until 1881), of the weekly church magazine ''Lutheraneren'' (1885–1890), later renamed as ''Luthersk Kirkeblad'' (1890–1894) and editor of the monthly magazine ''Gasseren'' (1900–1907). Many of his writings are published in a six-volume set edited by Andreas Helland.
Views
Sverdrup was raised in the
Norwegian State Church and educated in
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 ...
theology. However, he declined to become a minister, serving rather as a Professor at
Augsburg Seminary. He was member of the
Norwegian Lutheran Conference which existed between 1869 and 1890. Sverdrup believed that the congregation was "the right form of the kingdom of God on earth". He had become concerned with the role and influence of the hierarchy within the church as well as their understanding of the Bible. His beliefs resulted in his participation in the formation of the
Lutheran Free Church in 1897.
Personal life
Sverdrup married Katherine Elisabet Heiberg in 1874, with whom he had five children. Three years after her death, Sverdrup married Katherine's sister, with whom he had two children. His son George Sverdrup later also served as President of
Augsburg College.
[James S. Hamr]
''Georg Sverdrup / utdypning'' (''Store norske leksikon'')
/ref>
References
Other sources
*Hamre, James S. (1986) ''Georg Sverdrup: Educator, Theologian, Churchman'' (Northfield, Minn: Norwegian-American Historical Association)
*Helland, Andreas (1947) ''Georg Sverdrup, the Man and His Message 1848–1907 : A Biographical Sketch'' (Minneapolis, MN)
* Tavuchis, Nicholas (2013) ''Pastors and Immigrants: The Role of a Religious Elite in the Absorption of Norwegian Immigrants'' (Springer Publishing Company)
External links
The Georg Sverdrup Society Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sverdrup, Georg
1848 births
1907 deaths
American Lutheran theologians
Norwegian educators
Norwegian Lutherans
University of Oslo alumni
Norwegian emigrants to the United States
People from Balestrand
19th-century Lutherans