Johan Michael Keyser (15 January 1749–1 December 1810) 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 ...

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. He served as the

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 ...

of the Diocese of Christianssand from 1805 until his death in 1810.

Personal life

Keyser was born on 15 January 1749 in

Bragernes Bragernes is one of the central areas of the city of Drammen in Viken, Norway. Location Bragernes is located on the northern side of the Drammen River (''Drammenselva'') and contains the famous town square Bragernes square (''Bragernes Torg''), ...

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, 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 as Konner ...

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 ...

to the businessman Christen Nielsen and his wife Anna Rosine Keyser. His mother was from the Keyser family from

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

. When Johan was young, he became an orphan and was raised by his maternal grandmother, which is why Johan took his mother's maiden name as his last name. He was married twice. The first marriage was in 1781 to Karen Frederikke Vilhelmine Poppe. She died after 6 years of marriage. He then married Kirsten Margarethe Wangensteen in 1792. He was the father to professor Fredrik Wilhelm Keyser, historian

Rudolf Keyser Rudolf Keyser (1 January 1803 – 9 October 1864) was a Norwegian historian, archaeologist and educator. Biography Jakob Rudolf Keyser was born in Christiania, now Oslo, Norway. He was the son of Bishop Johan Michael Keyser ( 1749–1810) ...

and theologian Christian Nicolai Keyser. He is also the uncle to the scientist

Jens Jacob Keyser Jens may refer to: * Jens (given name), a list of people with the name * Jens (surname), a list of people * Jens, Switzerland, a municipality * 1719 Jens 1719 Jens ( ''prov. designation'': ) is a background asteroid from the central region of t ...

Education and career

Growing up, he was taught by the priest Peder Hesselberg, one first of the Herrnhutterne in Norway. He received his Cand.philol. degree in 1766 from the Frederiksborg School. After this, he held several different teaching positions. In 1777, he received the recommendation of the Bishop

Christen Schmidt Christen Schmidt (22 February 1727 – 6 October 1804) was a Norwegians, Norwegian bishop. He was born in Kongsvinger as a son of vicar Hans Jacob Schmidt and Alethe S. Lemmich. He enrolled as a student in 1745 and graduated with the cand.theol. ...

to become the resident

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in the parish of

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Jessheim. It has a population of 40,459 inhabitants. Norway's largest ...

. After 14 years there, in 1791 he moved to Christiania to become the prison priest at the Christiania Tugthus (prison). In 1795, he got a new job as the parish priest in Aker, a position that included being the palace priest for the royal family. Ten years later, he was appointed to be the

of the Diocese of Christianssand. By this time, however he was getting old and in poor health, so he accomplished little. He died on 1 December 1810, after about five years as bishop. The Danish historian D. Thrap said of him: He was a gentle, meek, pervasive personality who won the hearts of people everywhere. The simple man understood him, and the learned people did not feel bored by hearing him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyser, Johan Michael 1749 births 1810 deaths Bishops of Agder og Telemark 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran bishops