Halvor Bergan (8 August 1931 – 3 May 2015) was 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He 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 Agder The Diocese of Agder og Telemark () is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of t ...

from 1983 until his retirement in 1998.

Personal life

He was born 8 August 1931 in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county, Norway. He died on 3 May 2015.

Education and career

Bergan graduated from the Menighetsfakultetet school in 1957 with a

Cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

degree. He was

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

ed by the Bishop 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 ...

, Karl Marthinussen, in 1958. Later, in 1980, he graduated from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

with a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, 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 equivalent to the Doctor o ...

degree, with a thesis on church history. He began his career in 1958 as an assistant priest in

Håland The Norwegian surnames Haaland and Håland () may refer to the following people: Sports Football * Alfie Haaland (born 1972), Norwegian footballer * Atle Roar Håland (born 1977), Norwegian footballer * Benedicte Håland (born 1998), Norw ...

, just west of

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 ...

. Then, in 1966, he took a new job as an assistant priest in

Solum The solum (plural, sola) in soil science consists of the surface and subsoil layers that have undergone the same soil forming conditions. The base of the solum is the relatively unweathered parent material. Solum and soils are not synonymous. So ...

, just west of

. From 1971 to 1980, he was the first parish priest for the new parish of Nenset in Solum. From 1980 until 1983, he served as the parish priest of

Sauherad Sauherad is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It was part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Midt-Telemark. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020. ...

. In 1983, Halvor Bergan was appointed to be the Bishop of the

, based at

Kristiansand Cathedral Kristiansand Cathedral () is a cathedral of the Church of Norway in Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Kvadraturen (Kristiansand), Kvadraturen area in the central part of the Kristiansand (town), city of Kristi ...

. He held this role until the end of 1998 when he retired and moved to Melum in

Works

*' (1982 – his doctoral thesis) *' (1993)

References

1931 births 2015 deaths People from Skien Bishops of Agder og Telemark {{Norway-Lutheran-bishop-stub