Johan Willoch Erichsen (15 February 1842 – 22 August 1916) 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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

. He was Bishop of the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin () is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway, and those outside of Norway in the Seamen's Church. The cathedral cit ...

from 1899 until shortly before his death in 1916.

Life and family

Erichsen was born on 15 February 1842 in the city of

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 ...

in Lister og Mandal county in southern

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 ...

. His father was Hans Erichsen, a church worker at the Kristiansand Cathedral, and his mother was Mathilde Sophie Willoch. He went to school and graduated in Kristiansand at the

Cathedral School Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

. He 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 from the Royal Frederick University in 1864. He married Kristiane Sofie Rogstad Boeck in 1869. She died young in 1873, and in 1877 he married Kristiane's younger sister, Helga Marie Margrete Boeck. In his first marriage he had two daughters, in his second marriage, he had five daughters and a son.

Career

After graduation, Erichsen chose to teach. He taught in Oslo for several years at the ''Nissens skole'' and at an all girls school run by his aunt, Kathinka Willoch, in Kristiansand. In 1868, he was hired as a chaplain for the

Eidsvoll Church Eidsvoll Church (Norwegian: ''Eidsvoll Kirke'') is a cruciform church from in Eidsvoll, Akershus in Norway. The Romanesque building is of stone and probably one of the first cruciform stone churches to be built in Norway. Close to Eidsvoll Ch ...

(''Eidsvoll kirke''). In 1873, he took a new job as a chaplain in

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 lasted there for two years before taking a job as an assistant pastor in the Skien Church parish. He worked 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 ...

for 15 years, from 1875 until 1890, when he was called to be the

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 ...

for the

Gjerpen Church Gjerpen Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skien Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Skien (town), town of Skien. It is one of the churches for the Gjerpen parish which is part of the Skien prosti (d ...

(''Gjerpen kirke''). He worked at

Gjerpen Gjerpen is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Skien Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Gjerpen, which is now part o ...

until 1899 when he was appointed to the post of

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

, based in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. He served as bishop until 1 May 1916 when he retired due to failing health. He died a few months later on 22 August 1916.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erichsen, Johan Willoch 1842 births 1916 deaths Clergy from Kristiansand People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School Norwegian schoolteachers Bishops of Bjørgvin 20th-century Lutheran bishops University of Oslo alumni