Johan Christian Heuch or J. C. Heuch (23 March 1838–13 February 1904) was a Norwegian

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 ...

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 ...

and politician for the Conservative Party.

Personal life

He was born in

Kragerø Kragerø () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include H ...

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 ...

as the son of merchant and politician

Johan Christian Heuch Johan Christian Heuch or J. C. Heuch (23 March 1838–13 February 1904) was a Norwegian bishop in the Church of Norway and politician for the Conservative Party of Norway, Conservative Party. Personal life He was born in Kragerø, Norway a ...

(1794–1843) and his wife Christine Elisabeth Bonnevie (1803–1863). His paternal grandfather Peter Andreas Heuch (1756–1825) was among the wealthiest persons in Southern Norway. On the maternal side he was a great-grandson of Honoratus Bonnevie and a first cousin of Jacob Aall Bonnevie; the latter was the father of zoologist Kristine Elisabeth Heuch Bonnevie. In December 1861, he married Kirsten Anna Janette Elieson (1839–1913), a daughter of jurist and politician

John Collett Postumus Elieson John Collett Postumus Elieson (21 February 1810 – 27 May 1876) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. Elieson was born at Rygge in Østfold, Norway. He worked as an attorney and later district stipendiary magistrate in Drammen. He was elected t ...

. Their daughter Kristine Elisabeth married barrister Fredrik Moltke Bugge.''Hvem er hvem?'' 1912
/ref> Other direct descendants of J. C. Heuch include ceramicist

Hanne Heuch Hanne Heuch (born 1 June 1954) is a Norwegian ceramist. She was born in Oslo, and is the great-granddaughter of bishop Johan Christian Heuch. She took her education at the Norwegian National Academy of Crafts and Design (now a part of the Bergen N ...

Career

Despite the merchant background of his family, J. C. Heuch embarked on an academic career. His father died before J. C. turned five years old, and at the age of fifteen he moved to Christiania to be educated. He finished his secondary education in 1856 when he received 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 ...

. He then graduated from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

with the

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 1861. Among his lecturers at the university was the orthodox Lutheran

Gisle Johnson Gisle Christian Johnson (10 September 1822 – 17 July 1894) was a leading 19th-century Norwegian theologian, revivalist, and educator. Biography Gisle Christian Johnson was born at Fredrikshald (now Halden) in Østfold, Norway. He grew up at ...

. Because of health issues, Heuch did not intend to work as a clergyman; however he was headhunted by priest and writer

Jørgen Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Pe ...

, and worked under him 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 ...

in the parish of

Bragernes Bragernes is one of the central areas of the city of Drammen in Buskerud, Norway, on the north side of the Drammen River (''Drammenselva''). Bragernes Church Bragernes Church (''Bragernes kirke'') was erected in 1871 in neo-Gothic style in th ...

. He 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 1865. In 1869, he followed Moe to his new position in the parish of

Vestre Aker Vestre Aker (Western Aker) is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It has a population of 50,157 as of 2020. The previous Aker Municipality was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948. The borough of Vestre Aker was org ...

. Due to his health he had to take a sabbatical in Rome from 1873 to 1874, but when he returned to Norway he was hired as a priest working in municipal and private institutions of Christiania. Starting in 1875, he was also a teacher at the Practical-Theological Seminary at the Royal Frederick University. He also edited the magazines ''Luthersk Kirketidende'' from 1875 and '' Luthersk Ugeskrift'' from 1877. He was hired as the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Uranienborg in Christiania in 1880, and his sermons became well-attended. Theologically, he was orthodox, like his former lecturer Gisle Johnson. He became known for the 1883 publication ''Vantroens Væsen'', the printing of a series of lectures from 1881 where he denounced

infidel An infidel (literally "unfaithful") is a person who is accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one's own religion, such as members of another religion, or irreligious people. Infidel is an ecclesiastical term in Christianity around which th ...

ity. He later issued ''Kirken og vantroen'' (1888). He referred to Jens Jonas Jansen, a priest on the liberal side of the spectrum, as a "dangerous" man in 1902. Other adversaries of his in the public debate were

Arne Garborg Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer. Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into i ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

(whom he nonetheless knew on a personal level),

Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...

, and

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

ideologist

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. Assuming perspectives from the positivism philosophical school, his main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', f ...

Politically, he belonged to the Conservative Party, strongly supporting High Church Lutheranism against the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

movement affiliated with the Liberal, and later, Moderate Liberal parties. He was selected as a member of the central committee of the Conservative Party at its foundation in 1884. For the term 1889–1891 he served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament, representing the constituency of ''Kristiania, Hønefoss og Kongsvinger'', and when

Emil Stang Emil Stang (14 June 1834 – 4 July 1912) was a Norwegian jurist and politician. He served as the prime minister of Norway from 1889–1891 and again from 1893–1895. He also served as the first leader of the Conservative Party from 1884–188 ...

became

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, Heuch took his seat in Parliament. In 1889, Heuch was appointed as the new bishop of the Diocese of Kristiansand. The laity movement had a stronghold in this part of the country, and despite the fear of some, Heuch came to terms with these parts of the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. He became a popular bishop, especially when visiting the parishes. He remained bishop until his death in 1904.

Honors

He was a Commander, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

from 1896, and held the Grand Cross 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 ...

. The road ''Biskop Heuchs vei'' in

Nordre Aker Nordre Aker (Northern Aker) is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History This area became part of the city of Oslo in 1948. Before that it was a part of the former Aker municipality in Akershus county. Demographics and housing With a pop ...

has been named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heuch, Johan Christian 1838 births 1904 deaths Bishops of Agder og Telemark 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops Conservative Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo People from Kragerø Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Norwegian expatriates in Italy Norwegian magazine founders Members of the Storting 1889–1891