Andreas Fleischer (5 November 1878–23 November 1957) 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 the ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to China, and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

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 ca ...

. He was born in

Hegra HEGRA, which stands for ''High-Energy-Gamma-Ray Astronomy'', was an atmospheric Cherenkov telescope for Gamma-ray astronomy. With its various types of detectors, HEGRA took data between 1987 and 2002, at which point it was dismantled in order ...

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 ...

, and was a brother to General

Carl Gustav Fleischer Carl Gustav Fleischer KCB (28 December 1883 – 19 December 1942Fleischer 1947, p. 216) was a Norwegian general and the first land commander to win a major victory against the Germans in the Second World War. Having followed the Norwegian gove ...

. He was Bishop of the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) 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. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

from 1932 to 1949. He wrote several books during his lifetime, including some in Chinese.

Early life

Andreas Fleischer was born in the village of

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

county,

on 5 November 1878. His father was a pastor, Carl Edvard Fleischer and his mother was Johanne Sophie Fergstad. He went to school in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, graduating in 1896. He then went to the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

and received his

Cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

degree in 1902.

Career

Fleischer's first job was as a priest in

in 1903. This position was not long lasting. In 1904, Fleischer moved to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to become a missionary in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

province. While in China in 1908, he married Petra Amalie Margreta Ulsaker, the daughter of another Norwegian minister. He worked there until 1912, shortly after the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

in China. After returning to Norway, he worked in several parishes as a priest. In

Fitjar Church Fitjar Church ( no, Fitjar kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Fitjar Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fitjar. It is the church for the Fitjar parish which is part of the Sunnhordland pr ...

from 1912-1917,

Stord Church Stord Church ( no, Stord kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Stord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Leirvik on the southern side of the Stord (island), island of Stord. It is the church for th ...

from 1917-1922, and the parish of

Brunlanes Brunlanes is a parish and former municipality within Larvik municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It was annexed by Larvik on January 1, 1988. The administrative centre of the municipality was located in the adjacent villages of Nevlunghavn an ...

from 1922-1932. In 1932, he was appointed as

for the

. After retiring in 1948, he traveled the country as a speaker for the Norwegian Missionary Society, speaking about missions and his history as a missionary in China. He died in the village of

Vikedal Vikedal or Vikadal is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located along the Sandeidfjorden, about south of the village of Sandeid and about northwest of the village of Imslandsjøen. Vikedal Ch ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

county on 23 November 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischer, Andreas 1878 births 1957 deaths People from Stjørdal Bishops of Bjørgvin Norwegian expatriates in China Norwegian Lutheran missionaries Lutheran missionaries in China