The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

. It covers all of

Rogaland Rogaland () is a 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 479,892. The admin ...

county in western

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. The cathedral city is

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

, where the

Stavanger Cathedral Stavanger Cathedral ( no, Stavanger domkirke) is Norway's oldest cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Stavanger who leads the Diocese of Stavanger in the Church of Norway. It is located in the centre of the city of Stavanger which lies in th ...

is located. The bishop is Anne Lise Ådnøy, who has held the post since 2019.

History

The Diocese of Stavanger was established in the 12th century (either 1112 or maybe 1125) when it was separated from the

Ancient Diocese of Bergen The Catholic Diocese of Bergen or Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway existed from the eleventh century to the Protestant Reformation (1537),

. Initially, the large diocese covered the (modern) counties of

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

, and

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

as well as the regions of

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...

(in

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...

county),

Hallingdal Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. Hal ...

(in

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...

county), and the parishes of

Eidfjord Eidfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Eidfjord, where the majority of the municipal populatio ...

and

Røldal Røldal is a village in the municipality of Ullensvang in Vestland county, Norway. The village lies in the Røldal valley along the Storelva river on the north end of the lake Røldalsvatnet. Røldal is located about southeast of the town of ...

(in

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

county). After the

Protestant 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 Diocese of Stavanger continued in the new

. Over time, the diocese was reduced in size. The parish of Eidfjord was transferred to the neighboring

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 ...

in 1630. The regions of Valdres and Hallingdal were transferred to the

Diocese of Oslo Oslo bishopric is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. It ...

in 1631, but in exchange, the Diocese of Oslo had to give the upper part of

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

and transfer that to the Diocese of Stavanger. In 1682

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

, King of Denmark-Norway issued an order that the Bishop and the Prefect of the Diocese of Stavanger were to be moved to the Christianssand Cathedral, which had been consecrated in 1646 and which the King intended to be the perfect site for a new cathedral. The citizens of Stavanger protested, with the Prefect and the Bishop refusing to move and ignoring the order. It took two years before Christianssand was established as the new cathedral city. The diocese was renamed Diocese of Christianssand ( no, "Christiansands stift"). On 1 January 1925, the Diocese of Kristiansand was divided and all of the diocese located in

county was moved to the newly re-established Diocese of Stavanger and the cathedral in Stavanger regained its place as the seat of a bishop.

Bishops of Stavanger

Catholic (12th century-Reformation)

* Reinald ca. 1112–1135 * Jon Birgersson, 1135–1152 *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, 1152–?? * Amund, ??–1171 * Eirik Ivarsson, 1171–1188 * Njål, 1189/90–1207 *

Henrik Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estonian), Heikk ...

, 1207–1224 * Askell Jonsson, 1226–1254 * Torgils, 1255–1276 *

Arne Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessa ...

, 1277–1303 *

Ketil Ketil is a Norwegian masculine given name, and may refer to: * Ketil Askildt (1900-1978), Norwegian discus thrower * Ketil Bjørnstad (born 1952), Norwegian pianist * Ketil Flatnose (9th century), Norwegian hersir * Ketil Haugsand (21st century), ...

, 1304–1317 * Håkon Halldorsson, 1318–1322 * Eirik Ogmundsson, 1322–1342 * Guttorm Pålsson, 1343–1350 *

Sigfrid Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

, 1351–1352 * Gyrd Aslason, 1354–1355 * Bottolf Asbjørnsson, 1355–1380 * Hallgeirr Osmundsson, 1380/81 *

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

, 1381/82–1398/1400 * Håkon Ivarsson, 1400–1426 * Audun Eyvindsson, 1427–1445 *

Gunnar Eriksson Krång Erik Gunnar Eriksson (13 September 1921 – 8 July 1982) was a Swedish cross-country skier who won two medals at the 1948 Winter Olympics, a gold in the 4 × 10 km relay and a bronze in the individual 18 km. Eriksson won th ...

, 1445–1451/53 * Sigurd Bjørnsson, 1454–1463 * Alv Thorgardsson, 1464–1478 * Eiliv Jonsson, 1481–1512 * Hoskuld Hoskuldsson, 1513–1537

Lutheran (Reformation–1682)

* Jon Guttormsen, 1541–1557 * Jens Gregersen Riber, 1558–1571 * Jørgen Eriksen, 1571–1604 *

Laurits Clausen Scabo Laurits is a masculine given name, a Danish and Estonian variant of the Scandinavian Lauritz, related to the English names Laurence and Lawrence. It may refer to: *Laurits, fire god related to St. Lawrence in Estonian mythology Given name * Hans ...

, 1605–1626 * Tomas Cortsen Wegner, 1627–1654 * Markus Christensen Humble, 1655–1661 * Christen Madsen Tausan, 1661–1680 In 1682 the diocese seat was moved from Stavanger to

Christianssand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

Lutheran (1925–present)

The large Diocese of Kristiansand was divided with all of Rogaland county becoming the newly re-established Diocese of Stavanger *

Jacob Christian Petersen Jacob Christian Petersen or J.C. Petersen was a Norwegian theologian and priest. He served as the first Bishop of the (modern-day) Diocese of Stavanger from its re-establishment in 1925 until his retirement in 1940. Personal life Jacob Christian ...

, 1925–1940 *

Gabriel Skagestad Gabriel Skagestad was a Norwegian theologian and priest. He served as a bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger from 1940 until 1949. Skagestad was a key figure in the resistance movement of the church during the German occupation of Norway. Person ...

, 1940–1949 *

Karl Martinussen Karl Marthinussen (1890–1965) was a Norwegian theologian and priest. He served as a bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger from 1949 until 1960. Personal life Bishop Marthinussen was born on 26 November 1890 in Bergen, Norway. He was married ...

, 1949–1960 * Fritjov Søiland Birkeli, 1960–1968 * Olav Hagesæther, 1968–1976 * Sigurd Lunde, 1977–1986 * Bjørn Bue, 1986–1997 *

Ernst Oddvar Baasland Ernst Oddvar Baasland (born 3 April 1945 in Kristiansand, Norway) was the Bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger in the Church of Norway from 1998 to 2009. He resigned from his position on 15 June 2009, following the ''Baasland case'' involving his so ...

, 1998–2009 *

Erling Johan Pettersen Erling Johan Pettersen (born 1950) is a Norwegian theologian, priest, and since 2016, a Bishop Emeritus of the Church of Norway. Pettersen served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger in Stavanger, Norway from 2009 until his retirement in 20 ...

, 2009–2016 *

Ivar Braut Ivar Braut (born 1956) is a Norwegian theologian and priest. He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger from 2017-2019. He is considered to be a conservative bishop, a contrast to his predecessor. Personal life Ivar Braut was born on 28 Febr ...

, 2017-2019 * Anne Lise Ådnøy since 2019

Structure

The Diocese of Stavanger is divided into nine

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

( no, Prosti) spread out over

county. Each deanery corresponds a geographical area, usually one or more municipalities in the diocese. Each municipality is further divided into one or more

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es which each contain one or more congregations. See each municipality below for lists of churches and parishes within them.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Stavanger

Rogaland Organisations based in Stavanger