Marcus Olaus Bockman (January 9, 1849 – July 21, 1942) was a Norwegian-American Lutheran theologian.

Background

Marcus Olaus Bockman was born Marcus Olaus Bøckmann at

Langesund is the administrative centre of the municipalities of Norway, municipality of Bamble, Norway. The town of Langesund was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Bamble 1 January 1964. In the ...

Bamble Bamble is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Langesund. General information Name The Old Norse form of the name ...

municipality,

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 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was educated at Egersund High School, Aars and Voss Latin School, and the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

(Oslo). After graduating as a Candidatus theologiæ, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a priest of 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 b ...

Career

Bockman immigrated to the United States in 1875. He served as a Lutheran pastor near

Kenyon, Minnesota Kenyon is a city in southwestern Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, located along the North Fork of the Zumbro River. It was founded in 1856 and named in honor of Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gam ...

at Gol Lutheran Church from 1875 to 1880 and at Moland Lutheran Church from 1880 to 1888. Having first worked as a Lutheran pastor for several years, he was appointed as a Professor of Theology at the

Luther Theological Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

operated by the

Norwegian Synod The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. History In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers in ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

in 1886–90. He taught at

Augsburg Seminary Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

from 1890 to 1893. He was President of the United Church Seminary operated by the

United Norwegian Lutheran Church The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (UNLC) was the result of the union in 1890 of the Norwegian Augustana Synod (est. 1870), the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (1870), and the Anti-Missourian B ...

from 1893–1917. He was made a Knight 1st class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

by King

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

in 1912. His official portrait in the reading room of the library of Luther Theological Seminary depicts him wearing the Knight's Cross of the Order on his Norwegian clerical cassock. From 1917 to 1930 he served as the president of the Luther Theological Seminary. From 1930 until his retirement in 1937, he continued to serve as a professor at the Seminary. He died in 1942 after suffering a broken hip. The personal records and files of Marcus O. Bockman are contained within the archives of Luther Seminary.''M. O. Bockman, (Marcus Olaus), 1849-1942''
(Luther Seminary Archives, 1869 - 1982)

References

External links

1849 births 1942 deaths People from Bamble Norwegian theologians Norwegian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American Lutheran clergy University of Oslo alumni 19th-century Protestant theologians 20th-century Protestant theologians Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 19th-century American Lutheran clergy {{theologian-stub