James Maroni (15 June 1873 – 12 July 1957) 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 ...

in 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 ...

. From 1930 until 1947 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 Norwegian

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 ...

Personal life

James Maroni was born on 15 June 1873 in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total popul ...

county in southern Norway. His parents were shipbuilder Nikolai Ambrosius Maroni and his wife Maria Catharina Weisser. He was married to Wilhelmine ("Willik") Margrethe Bang in 1904 in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

, Norway. Maroni's father is descended from an ancient Italian family from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

who had immigrated to Norway in the 18th century. His mother came from a family that was originally from

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

(now in Germany).

Career

Maroni was educated at the cathedral school in

, finishing his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1894. Following that, he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and received his

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 in 1898. James Maroni was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1899. His first job was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at the

Bragernes Church Bragernes Church (''Bragernes Kirke'') is a parish church at Drammen in Buskerud county, Norway. It was designed by Ernst Norgrenn (1839-1880) in Neo Gothic style and built of brick. It was consecrated in 1871. The old Bragernes church (''Gam ...

from 1899 until 1904. He then was a priest in the Vaterland Church in

Kristiania 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, an ...

from 1905 until 1913. Next, he became a curate at the Vår Frelsers Church in Kristiania. He worked there from 1913 until 1926 when he became the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Kristiania deanery. In 1930, he was appointed to be the

of the

. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, he took part in the clandestine "temporary" leadership of the Church of Norway after he resigned his "official" position to protest the Nazi government in Norway. During this time, the government required him to check in with police twice a day and he was under a speech ban. After the war, he resumed his job as an official Bishop of Agder. He continued on as bishop until his retirement in 1947. After that time, he returned to Oslo to live until his death in 1957.

Works and honors

Among his publications are ''Herrens bord'' (1919), ''Stiftsprovst Gustav Jensen'' (1923), and the sermon collection ''Den store glede'' (1950). He was awarded several honors during his lifetime including being made a Commander of the Danish a

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, a Knight of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

, and the Badge of Honour from the

Norwegian Red Cross The Norwegian Red Cross (''Norges Røde Kors'') was founded on 22 September 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1895 the Norwegian Red Cross began educating nurses, and in 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maroni, James 1873 births 1957 deaths Bishops of Agder og Telemark Norwegian people of World War II Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of the Polar Star