Hans Gaas ( c.1500 – 17 September 1578) was a Danish-Norwegian clergyman. He was Bishop of the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

in the aftermath of the introduction 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 Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

into Norway. Gaas was born in

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,300 (1 January 2022), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He studied in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

for a few years from 1521. He took his magister degree in theology at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

during 1548. He was sent to

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 ...

in 1549 with the goal of completing 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 ...

of the church in the Diocese of Nidaros. When he first came to

, he was initially assigned to the Cloister at

Elgeseter Elgeseter is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the western part of the borough of Lerkendal. It is south and east of the river Nidelva, south of the neighborhoods of Midtbyen and Øya, west o ...

where he initiated reform. He also undertook a rescue mission for

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

which was badly damaged by fires in 1327 and again in 1531. In his efforts to initiate reform of the church, he found an ally in

Gjeble Pederssøn Gjeble Pederssøn (c.1490 – 9 March 1557) was a Norwegian priest who was the first Lutheranism, Lutheran bishop in Norway. Pederssøn was born at Teigstad, Dønna in Nordland, Norway. His father was a councilman in Bergen. He went to schoo ...

(ca. 1490-1557) Bishop in Bergen stift, who in 1537 had become the first Lutheran Bishop within Norway. Pederssøn was likewise reforming the church in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. Hans Gaas served as superintendent and Bishop in Trondhjems stift from 1549 until his death in 1578, except for the war period from 1564 to 1570. In 1563, the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck, and Polan ...

was initiated between Sweden and Denmark-Norway. In 1564, Swedish forces occupied

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

, including the city of

. Gaas refused taking the oath to the king of Sweden and was imprisoned. The war ended in 1570 with the withdrawal of Swedish forces under terms of the Treaty of Stettin at which time Gaas was reinstated in his former office.

References

1500 births 1578 deaths People from Svendborg Danish emigrants to Norway Bishops of Nidaros 16th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy {{norway-reli-bio-stub