Ole Edvard Borgen (8 November 1925 – 24 March 2009) was a Norwegian theologian and Methodist bishop. He was born in Lillestrøm as a son of meat merchant Omar Emil Borgen (1900–1985) and Harda Pytte (1901–1989), and older brother of

Peder Borgen Peder Johan Borgen (26 January 1928 – 8 April 2023) was a Norwegian Methodist minister, had a Doctorate in Theology, and was a professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He was considered to be a pioneer "within the theological ...

. In June 1949 he married Martha Olava Rygge (1928–2003). He attended Tomb Agricultural School from 1944 to 1946, and also completed an apprenticeship in

sausage making The origins of meat preservation are lost to the ages but probably began when humans began to realize the preservative value of salt. Sausage making originally developed as a means to preserve and transport meat. Primitive societies learne ...

, intent to take over his father's store and the family farm. He was elected to Lillestrøm city council, serving from 1950 to 1956. Besides that, the entire family adhered to the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

creed, and in 1956 Borgen travelled to the United States to study different subjects. From 1959 to 1962 he was a choir leader and pastor for youths in Edgemont Baptist Church, Durham, and from 1963 he was a pastor at West Side Avenue Methodist Church in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. In 1968 he took his doctorate at

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

with the thesis ''John Wesley on the Sacraments. A Theological Study''. He had then been stationed in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

since 1966, as an aide to the Methodist bishop to the Nordic countries, Odd Hagen. After a spell as secretary at the Methodist World Council office in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Borgen served as the Methodist bishop to the Nordic countries from 1970 to 1989. He was a delegate to the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

and became president of the Council of Methodist Bishops, as the first non-American. He rounded off his career as a professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

Asbury Theological Seminary Asbury Theological Seminary is a Christian Wesleyan seminary in the historical Methodist tradition located in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is the largest seminary of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It is known for its advocacy of egalitarianism, giv ...

from 1989 to 1992. He died in March 2009 in

Lørenskog is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipa ...

References

1925 births 2009 deaths People from Skedsmo People from Lillestrøm Akershus politicians Norwegian theologians Norwegian Methodists Norwegian bishops 20th-century Methodist bishops Drew University alumni Asbury Theological Seminary faculty Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian expatriates in Switzerland 20th-century Protestant theologians 20th-century Norwegian clergy {{Norway-reli-bio-stub