Axel ''Gottfrid'' Leonard Billing (29 April 1841 – 14 January 1925) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

cleric and theologian who served as a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

, member of the

Första kammaren The Första kammaren (literally "First Chamber", often abbreviated 'FK') was the upper house of the bicameral Riksdag of Sweden between 1866 and 1970 that replaced the Riksdag of the Estates. During the bicameral period, the lower house of the Rik ...

in the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

and served as

Bishop 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. Cathol ...

from 1898 until 1925.

Early life

Billing was born at

Önnestad Önnestad is a locality situated in Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom o ...

Kristianstad Municipality Kristianstad Municipality (''Kristianstads kommun'') is a municipality in Scania County in southernmost Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Kristianstad. The present municipality was created in three steps during the last nationwide local gov ...

, the son of Magnus Billing and Hedvig Charlotta Collin. In the early 1860s Billing enrolled as a theology student at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

. In 1881 he became professor of practical theology at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Bishop of Västerås 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 ...

and was consecrated on 7 September 1884 by Archbishop

Anton Niklas Sundberg Anton Niklas Sundberg (27 May 1818, Uddevalla – 2 February 1900) was a Lutheran clergyman, and the Church of Sweden archbishop of Uppsala 1870–1900. Biography He acquired a doctor of philosophy and theology degree at Uppsala University ...

. In Västerås, he deepened his contacts with the royal family. He also represented Västerås in the parliament's first chamber on the conservative bench. In 1900, after the death of

, Billing was offered the position of

Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...

, however he declined. He accepted to take over Sundberg's place in the

, a post he kept until his death in 1925. In 1898 he was appointed Bishop of Lund. Billing was elected as a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

in 1908 and the Royal Society of the Humanities at Lund in 1919. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Lund on 28 September 1918 and received the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

on 6 June 1921.

Personal life

In 1868 he married Frida Bring, daughter of Bishop

Ebbe Gustaf Bring Ebbe Gustaf Bring (4 July 1814 – 13 August 1884) was a Swedish bishop in the Church of Sweden and theologian. Biography Bring was born in Askersund, Örebro County in 1814, to city physician and assessor Sven Håkan Bring and Ulrika (Ulla) Sof ...

of Linköping, and Ulla Ehrenborg, sister of the writer

Betty Ehrenborg Betty Ehrenborg, married name Posse af Säby (22 July 1818 – 22 July 1880), was a Swedish writer, psalm writer and pedagogue. She is regarded as the founder of the Swedish Sunday school. Life Katarina Elisabeth (nicknamed Betty) Ehrenborg was ...

. He was the father of Einar Billing.

Bishop of Västerås 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 ...

and the father-in-law of Bishop

Edvard Magnus Rodhe Edvard Magnus Rodhe (17 December 1878 – 12 April 1954) was a Swedish theologian and Bishop of Lund from 1925 to 1948. Biography Edvard Rodhe was born in Lund, son of the clergyman Edvard Herman Rodhe (1845–1932), Bishop of the Diocese ...

. Billing died in 1925 and was buried at Norra kyrkogården in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billing, Gottfrid 1841 births 1925 deaths People from Kristianstad Municipality Lund University alumni Academic staff of Lund University Lutheran bishops of Lund 19th-century Lutheran bishops Swedish theologians Members of the Riksdag Members of the Swedish Academy