The Bishop of Reykjavík is the head of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík The Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church which covers the whole of the country of Iceland, and numbered 11,454 Catholics on January 1, 2014. It reports directly to the Holy See of Ro ...

, part of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. The Norsemen who settled in Iceland from the end of the ninth century worshipped the ''

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...

'' (the

Norse gods Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nors ...

). The country converted about 999. In 1056, the country was given a bishop of its own, suffragan to the

Archbishop of Hamburg The Archdiocese of Hamburg (Lat. ''Archidioecesis Hamburgensis''; Ger. Erzbistum Hamburg) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in the north of Germany and covers the Federal States of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein as well as ...

, with his see at

Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic: ; non, Skálaholt ) is a historical site in the south of Iceland, at the river Hvítá. History Skálholt was, through eight centuries, one of the most important places in Iceland. A bishopric was established in Sk� ...

, while in 1106 a bishopric was established at

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

. These two dioceses were first under the

Archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Church of Sweden. Catho ...

, later (1152) under that of

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 ...

, and until the middle of the 16th century were in close communion with Rome. The bishops were selected by the Alþingi, but the nominees were consecrated by the metropolitan. Many of their prelates were distinguished for their virtue and wisdom. The priests of Iceland frequently went to French and English universities for studies. Many among the clergy and laity made pilgrimages to shrines of both East and West. Canon law was in force by the year 1053. Under the influence of the Church the old laws (

Grágás The Gray (Grey) Goose Laws ( is, Grágás {{IPA-is, ˈkrauːˌkauːs}) are a collection of laws from the Icelandic Commonwealth period. The term ''Grágás'' was originally used in a medieval source to refer to a collection of Norwegian laws an ...

) were written down in 1117, but civil strife led to recognition of Norwegian hegemony. Upon the death of

Haakon VI of Norway Haakon VI of Norway ( no, Håkon, sv, Håkan; August 1340 – 11 September 1380), also known as ''Håkan Magnusson'', was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as ''Haakon Magnus ...

in 1380, his son Olaf, who since 1376 had ruled Denmark, ascended the Norwegian throne and thus effected a centuries-long union of Denmark and Iceland, which later facilitated the spread of

Lutheranism 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 ...

during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. The

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assemb ...

(Icelandic

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

) was not suppressed until 1800.

Catholic Bishops

The following most recent heads of the Catholic Church in Iceland were bishops: ''Vicars Apostolic of Iceland'' *Martino Meulenberg S.M.M., June 12, 1923 - 1941 (died); *

Jóhannes Gunnarsson Jóhannes Gunnarsson, SMM (3 August 1897—17 June 1972) was an Icelandic prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Apostolic Vicar of Iceland from 1942 until his resignation in 1967. Biography Jóhannes Gunnarsson was born in Re ...

S.M.M., February 23, 1942 - 1967 (resigned); ''Bishops of Reykjavík'' * Hendrik Hubert Frehen S.M.M., October 18, 1968 - October 31, 1986 (died) * Alfred James Jolson, S.J. December 12, 1987 - March 21, 1994 (died) *

Joannes Baptist Matthijs Gijsen Joannes Baptist Matthijs Gijsen (October 7, 1932 – June 24, 2013) was a Dutch bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. After being Bishop ( emeritus) of Roermond, Limburg, the Netherlands, he became Bishop ( emeritus) of the Diocese of Reykjavík ...

, May 24, 1996 - October 30, 2007 (retired) * Pierre Bürcher, December 15, 2007 - September 18, 2015 (retired) *

Dávid Bartimej Tencer Dávid Bartimej Tencer, OFM Cap. (born 18 May 1963), is a Slovak prelate of the Catholic Church and has served as the Bishop of Reykjavík since 2015. Early life and priesthood Tencer was born on 18 May 1963 in Nová Baňa, Czechoslovakia (mod ...

, OFMCap, September 18, 2015 - onwards

Footnotes

Sources

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Reykjavík

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop Of Reykjavik (Catholic) Catholic Church in Iceland History of Christianity in Iceland

Catholic Bishops

Footnotes

Sources

See also

External links