Marcus Olaus Bockman (January 9, 1849 – July 21, 1942) was a Norwegian-American Lutheran theologian.

Background

Marcus Olaus Bockman was born Marcus Olaus Bøckmann at

Langesund is the administrative centre of Bamble Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is located on a peninsula along the Langesundsfjorden near the Skaggerak coast. The town of Stathelle lies about to the northwest. The town was establi ...

Bamble Bamble is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Langesund ...

municipality,

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 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 ...

. He was educated at Egersund High School, Aars and Voss Latin School, and the University of Christiania (Oslo). After graduating as a Candidatus theologiæ, 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 ...

as a priest of 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 ...

Career

Bockman immigrated to the United States in 1875. He served as a Lutheran pastor near

Kenyon, Minnesota Kenyon ( ) is a city in southwestern Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, located along the North Fork of the Zumbro River. It was founded in 1856 and named in honor of Kenyon College. It is known for the Boulevard of roses on main stree ...

at Gol Lutheran Church from 1875 to 1880 and at Moland Lutheran Church from 1880 to 1888. Having first worked as a Lutheran pastor for several years, he was appointed as a Professor of Theology at the Luther Theological Seminary operated by the Norwegian Synod in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

in 1886–90. He taught at Augsburg Seminary in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

from 1890 to 1893. He was President of the United Church Seminary operated by the United Norwegian Lutheran Church in

from 1893–1917. He was made a Knight 1st class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav by King

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...

in 1912. His official portrait in the reading room of the library of Luther Theological Seminary depicts him wearing the Knight's Cross of the Order on his Norwegian clerical cassock. From 1917 to 1930 he served as the president of the Luther Theological Seminary. From 1930 until his retirement in 1937, he continued to serve as a professor at the Seminary. He died in 1942 after suffering a broken hip. The personal records and files of Marcus O. Bockman are contained within the archives of Luther Seminary.''M. O. Bockman, (Marcus Olaus), 1849-1942''
(Luther Seminary Archives, 1869 - 1982)

References

External links

1849 births 1942 deaths People from Bamble Norwegian theologians Norwegian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American Lutheran clergy University of Oslo alumni 19th-century Lutheran theologians 20th-century Lutheran theologians Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 19th-century American Lutheran clergy 20th-century American Protestant theologians {{theologian-stub