The Diocese of

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� ...

( is, Skálholtsbiskupa ) is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

of the

Church of Iceland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland ( is, Hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja), also called the National Church ( is, Þjóðkirkjan), is the officially established Christian church in Iceland. The church professes the Lutheran faith an ...

. It was the estate of the first bishop in Iceland, Isleifr Gizurarson, who became bishop in 1056. (Christianity had been formally adopted in 1000). His son, Gizurr, donated it to become the official see. The Diocese was amalgamated in 1801 and now forms part of the Diocese of Iceland under the leadership of the

Bishop of Iceland The following is a list of Lutheran bishops of Iceland. List See also *List of Skálholt bishops *List of Hólar bishops A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * ...

. In 1909 the diocese was restored as a

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

, with the Bishop of Skálholt being a suffragan bishop to the

Roman Catholic

* 1056–1080:

Ísleifur Gissurarson Ísleifur Gissurarson (c. 1006 – 5 July 1080), an Icelandic clergyman, became the first bishop of Iceland, following the adoption of Christianity in 1000 AD. His parents were Gissur Teitsson and Þórdís Þóroddsdóttir. After studying in H ...

* 1082–1118:

Gissur Ísleifsson Gissur Ísleifsson (ca 1042–1118; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was an Icelandic clergyman who, in 1082, became the second Catholic bishop of Iceland in the aftermath of the adoption of Christianity by the island's inhabitants. He follo ...

* 1118–1133:

Þorlákur Runólfsson Þorlákur Runólfsson (1086–1133; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was an Icelandic clergyman, who became the third bishop of Iceland from 1118 to his death in 1133, following the adoption of Christianity in 1000. He served in the diocese o ...

* 1134–1148: Magnús Einarsson * 1152–1176: Klængur Þorsteinsson * 1178–1193: St.

Þorlákur helgi Þórhallsson Thorlak Thorhallsson ( Icelandic: ''Þorlákur Þórhallsson''; 1133 – 23 December 1193) is the patron saint of Iceland. He was bishop of Skálholt from 1178 until his death. Thorlak's relics were translated to the cathedral of Skalholt in 11 ...

* 1195–1211:

Páll Jónsson Páll Jónsson (1155 – November 29, 1211; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the seventh bishop of Iceland from 1195 to 1211. He served in the diocese of Skálholt. His life is recorded in '' ...

* 1216–1237:

Magnús Gissurarson Magnús Gissurarson (c. 1175–1236; Modern Icelandic: ; non, Magnús Gizurarson} ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the eighth bishop of Iceland from 1216 to 1237. He served in the diocese of Skálholt. Magnús Gissurarson ...

* 1238–1268: Sigvarður Þéttmarsson (Norwegian) * 1269–1298:

Árni Þorláksson Árni Þorláksson (1237 – 17 April 1298; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the tenth bishop of Iceland (1269–1298). He served in the diocese of Skálholt Skálholt (Modern Icelandic ...

* 1304–1320:

Árni Helgason Árni Helgason (c. 1260 – 21 January 1320; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic clergyman, who became the eleventh bishop of the Icelandic diocese of Skálholt in 1304. He served until his death in 1320. See also *List of Skál ...

* 1321–1321: Grímur Skútuson (Norwegian) * 1322–1339: Jón Halldórsson (Norwegian) * 1339–1341: Jón Indriðason (Norwegian) * 1343–1348:

Jón Sigurðsson Jón Sigurðsson (17 June 1811 – 7 December 1879) was the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement. Biography Born at Hrafnseyri, in Arnarfjörður in the Westfjords area of Iceland, he was the son of Þórdís Jónsdótti ...

* 1350–1360: Gyrðir Ívarsson (Norwegian) * 1362–1364: Þórarinn Sigurðsson (Norwegian) * 1365–1381: Oddgeir Þorsteinsson (Norwegian) * 1382–1391: Mikael (Danish) * 1391–1405: Vilchin Hinriksson (Danish) * 1406–1413:

Jón Jón is an Old Norse common name still widely used in Iceland and the Faroes. According to Icelandic custom, people named Jón are generally referred to by first and middle names and those without a middle name are referred to with both first nam ...

(Norwegian) * 1413–1426: Árni Ólafsson * 1426–1433:

Jón Gerreksson Jón is an Old Norse common name still widely used in Iceland and the Faroes. According to Icelandic custom, people named Jón are generally referred to by first and middle names and those without a middle name are referred to with both first nam ...

(Danish) * 1435–1437: Jón Vilhjálmsson Craxton (English) * 1437–1447: Gozewijn Comhaer (Dutch) * 1448–1462: Marcellus de Niveriis (German) * 1462–1465: Jón Stefánsson Krabbe (Danish) * 1466–1475: Sveinn spaki Pétursson * 1477–1490: Magnús Eyjólfsson * 1491–1518: Stefán Jónsson * 1521–1540:

Ögmundur Pálsson Ögmundur Pálsson, O.E.S.A. (c. 1475 – 13 July 1541; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic Roman Catholic prelate, who was the last Catholic bishop of the Icelandic diocese of Skálholt, from 1521 until 1540. He was the son of Páll Gu� ...

Lutheran

*1540–1548:

Gissur Einarsson Gissur Einarsson (c. 1512 – 24 March 1548; Modern Icelandic: ) was a bishop in Skálholt from 1540 to his death, and the first Lutheran bishop in Iceland. Gissur was the son of Einar Sigvaldason on Hraun í Landbroti and of Gunnhildur Jónsd� ...

*1549–1557:

Marteinn Einarsson ’Marteinn Einarsson (died 7 October 1576) was bishop of Skálholt from 1548 to 1556. He was the second Lutheran bishop and was directly involved in the Icelandic Reformation. Early life Marteinn was born in Staðarstaður on the Snæfellsnes ...

*1558–1587:

Gísli Jónsson Gísli Jónsson (17 August 1889 – 7 October 1970) was an Icelandic politician. He served as a member of the Althing from 1942 to 1956 and from 1959 to 1963 as an independent. He served as a member of the Nordic Council from 1952 to 1956 and fro ...

*1589–1630: Oddur Einarsson *1632–1638: Gísli Oddsson *1639–1674:

Brynjólfur Sveinsson Brynjólfur Sveinsson (14 September 1605 – 5 August 1675) served as the Lutheran Bishop of the see of Skálholt in Iceland. His main influence has been on modern knowledge of Old Norse literature. Brynjólfur is also known for his support o ...

*1674–1697: Þórður Þorláksson *1698–1720: Jón Vídalín *1722–1743: Jón Árnason *1744–1745:

Ludvig Harboe Ludvig Harboe (16 August 1709 – 15 June 1783) was a Danish theologian and bishop of the Diocese of Zealand from 1757 until his death. Harboe was born at Broager Peninsula in Sønderborg, Denmark. He was mostly educated in Germany. He att ...

(Danish) *1747–1753: Ólafur Gíslason *1754–1785:

Finnur Jónsson Finnur Jónsson (May 29, 1858 – March 30, 1934) was an Icelandic-Danish philologist and Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Copenhagen. He made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature. Finnur Jónsson was b ...

*1777–1796: Hannes Finnsson *1797–1801:

Geir Vídalín Geir Vídalín Jónsson (27 October 1761 – 20 September 1823) was an Icelandic prelate who was the last diocesan Bishop of Skálholt from 1797 till 1801 when he became the first Bishop of Iceland. Biography Geir was the son of Jón Jónsson ...

The Diocese was amalgamated in 1801 and now forms part of the Diocese of Iceland.

Suffragan bishopric

The see was discontinued from 1801 to 1909. It was revived in 1909 as a suffragan bishopric to the Bishop of Iceland, with the bishop's cathedra in the traditional Skálholt cathedral church. In 1990 new legislation increased the authority and responsibilities of the Bishop of Skálholt as an assistant bishop in the Reykjavik diocese. *1909–1930:

Valdimar Briem Valdimar Briem (1 February 1848 - 3 May 1930) was an Icelandic poet, prelate, hymnwriter and translator. He served as the first Suffragan Bishop of Skálholt from 1909 till 1930. Biography Briem was born at Grund in Eyjafjörður. His father was ...

*1931–1936: Sigurður P. Sívertsen *1937–1965: Bjarni Jónsson *1966–1983: Sigurður Pálsson *1983–1989: Ólafur Skúlason *1989–1994: Jónas Gíslason *1994–2010: Sigurður Sigurðarson *2011–2018: Kristján Valur Ingólfsson *2018–present: Kristján Björnsson

References

;Additional sources * Sigurdson, Erika Ruth, 'The Church in Fourteenth-Century Iceland: Ecclesiastical Administration, Literacy, and the Formation of an Elite Clerical Identity' (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Leeds, 2011), p. 242, http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/2610

(pre-Reformation bishops). * Gunnar Kristjánsson et al., eds, Saga biskupsstólanna: Skálholt 950 ára 2006, Hólar 900 ára (Akureyri: Hólar, 2006), pp. 854–55. {{DEFAULTSORT:List of Skalholt bishops History of Christianity in Iceland Church of Iceland

Skalholt Bishops in Iceland