Oloph Eric Fingal Bexell (born 6 June 1947) is a Swedish priest (

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

) and professor emeritus in

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

Biography

Oloph Bexell received his

bachelor of theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

in 1974 and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the

Diocese of Växjö The Diocese of Växjö ( sv, Växjö stift) is one of the 13 dioceses or regional units of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was also a former Roman Catholic bishopric. Lutheran diocese Diocese of Växjö is situated in southern Sweden and incl ...

the same year. In 1988 he defended his thesis in

practical theology Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...

, and was employed the same year by the Swedish Church Board for Teaching and Education. He later became a researcher (

Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

) in the history of Christianity at Uppsala University from 1989 to 1991. He received his

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

certification in church and social sciences in 1990. From 1992 to 2000 Bexell worked as a university instructor in the subject. He became professor of church studies in 2000, and

from 2006 to 2014, and was during that time subject representative in the subjects. He was subsequently senior professor of church history. His research focuses on the history of

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

hymnology Hymnology (from Greek ὕμνος ''hymnos'', "song of praise" and -λογία ''-logia'', "study of") is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be m ...

and

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, as well as on biographies, where he has authored a large number of articles in the

biographical dictionary A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in ''Who's Who'', or deceased people onl ...

Svenskt biografiskt lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

'', around 25 as of 2014. From 1995 to 2005 he was a member of the editorial board for the publication of the book ('Swedish Church History'), where he wrote volume 7, ('The era of revival and church renewal', 2003). There and in various essays he has marked pastoral history as an important part of church history. As part of the scientific history project " 1793–2000" ('History of Uppsala University 1793–2000'), he has published (2021) as a stand-alone volume. He was editor of the journal ' from 1976 to 1998, memorial secretary at the clergy meeting in Växjö from 1990 to 2002, expert member of the from 1992 to 1996, chairman of the St. Ansgar Foundation since 1995 and the Segelberg Foundation since 1997, and board member of the since 2000. He is an honorary member of the Smålands nation in Uppsala. He was formerly vice dean of the Faculty of Theology in Uppsala, and until 2015 chairman of the . He is president of the , vice-president of the

Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala), is a Swedish royal academy in Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and th ...

and member of the ('Royal Society for the Publication of Manuscripts Concerning the History of Scandinavia') and the .

Family

Bexell comes from the Bexell clerical family from Småland and is the son of

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

and Märtha Björkman. He is the brother of theologian and cousin of ethics professor Göran Bexell and author Eva Bexell.

References

Notes

Sources

* {{Authority control 1947 births People from Kalmar Academic staff of Uppsala University Swedish historians of religion Living people