Sven Oftedal (March 22, 1844 – March 30, 1911) was a

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

Lutheran minister. He served as the 3rd president of

Augsburg University Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminari ...

and helped found the

Lutheran Free Church The Lutheran Free Church (LFC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States, mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota, from 1897 until its merger into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1963. The history of the church body predate ...

Background

Sven Svensen Oftedal was born in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

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 the son of Sven Larsen Oftedal (1812-1883) and Gunhild Omundsdatter Stokka (1809-1881). His father was a teacher at the

Stavanger Cathedral School Stavanger Cathedral School (''Norwegian language, Norwegian: Stavanger katedralskole'') is an upper secondary school in the city of Stavanger, Rogaland county, Norway. It is spread over two areas; the traditional Kongsgård and the school's new b ...

. His elder brother Lars Svendsen Oftedal (1838 –1900) was a Norwegian priest and social reformer. He was also the founding editor of ''

Stavanger Aftenblad (; ) or simply ''Aftenbladet'' is a daily newspaper based in Stavanger, Norway, and owned by Schibsted Media Group. Norwegian owners held 42 percent of the shares in Schibsted at the end of 2015. is thus majority foreign-owned. History and ...

'' and served as a Member of the

Storting The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...

. He graduated from Stavanger Cathedral School in 1862. He studied at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

and earned his theology degree in 1871. He also studied languages, philosophy, and theology at several other European universities.

Career

He came to

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 ...

in 1873 to serve as a professor of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

at Augsburg Seminary, predecessor to

. Augsburg was the first seminary founded by

Norwegian Lutherans Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

in America. August Weenaas, Augsburg's first president, had recruited both Sven Oftedal and

Georg Sverdrup Georg Sverdrup (born Jørgen Sverdrup; 25 April 1770 – 8 December 1850) was a Norwegian statesman, best known as one of the presidents of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll Manor in 1814. He was a member of the Norwegian Parlia ...

from Norway to join the faculty. Sven Oftedal and Georg Sverdrup were scholars from prominent

Haugean The Haugean movement or Haugeanism () was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway, which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement emphasized personal ...

families in Norway who came to Augsburg, bringing with them a genuinely radical view of Christian education, centered on Scripture and the simple doctrines of Christianity. In time, both Oftedal and Sverdrup would serve as presidents of Augsburg. Additionally, Oftedal was chairman of the board of regents at Augsburg for 36 years. It was at Augsburg that Oftedal, along with Georg Sverdrup, founded the Lutheran Free Church. Sverdrup, Oftedal and others felt their beliefs were being compromised and broke away from the

United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (UNLC) was the result of the union in 1890 of the Norwegian Augustana Synod (established 1870), the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (established 1870), and t ...

, forming the Lutheran Free Church in 1897. The denomination would exist as a separate synod until 1963. In 1877, Sven Oftedal organized the Folkebladet Publishing Company which would merge in 1922 with the Free Church Book Concern. That company would in turn merge with Augsburg Publishing in 1963. Oftedal was also elected to the Minneapolis School Board and was appointed to the Minneapolis Library Board. Additionally, Oftedal served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for five years. Trinity Lutheran Church, which was founded in 1868, was originally a Norwegian immigrant Lutheran church, which would have roots in the Lutheran Free Church. Christian Cyclopedia: Lutheran Publication Houses

Personal life

He was married to Marie Gjertsen (1845-1926). They were the parents of four children. In 1908 he was appointed a Knight 1st Class in the

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 ...

. Oftedal died in 1911 and his widow in 1926; both were laid to rest at

Lakewood Cemetery Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian, rural cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown, Minneapolis, Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel ...

References

Other sources

*Chrislock, Carl H., ''From Fjord to Freeway: 100 Years, Augsburg College'' (Minneapolis: Augsburg College, 1969) * Dyrud, Loiell O., ''The Quest for Freedom: The Lutheran Free Church to The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations'' (Minneapolis: Ambassador Publications. 2000) * Fevold, Eugene L., ''The Lutheran Free Church: A Fellowship of American Lutheran Congregations 1897-1963'' (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House. 1969) * Nichol, Todd W., ''All These Lutherans'' (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House. 1986) * Tavuchis, Nicholas (2013) Pastors and Immigrants: The Role of a Religious Elite in the Absorption of Norwegian Immigrants (Springer Publishing Company)

External links

Sven Oftedal Society at Augustana College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oftedal, Sven 1844 births 1911 deaths Clergy from Stavanger University of Oslo alumni 19th-century American Lutheran clergy 20th-century American Lutheran clergy Norwegian emigrants to the United States Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal