Ole Nordhaug (3 February 1925 – 19 September 2021) was a Norwegian

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

bishop. He was the first Bishop of the

Diocese of Møre The Diocese of Møre ( no, Møre bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway which geographically consists of Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Its bishop is seated at the Molde Cathedral which is located in the county administrative center ...

from its creation in 1983 until his retirement in 1991.

Career

Nordhaug graduated in 1951 with his

Cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

degree from the

MF Norwegian School of Theology MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society ( no, MF vitenskapelig høyskole for teologi, religion og samfunn), formerly the Free Faculty of Theology ( no, Det teologiske menighetsfakultet) and MF Norwegian School of Theology, is an accr ...

. Then he worked for 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 ...

as secretary of the Priest's Association and the Oslo Diocesan Council from 1965 to 1969. He then served as a pastor in

Onsøy Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre was Gressvik. History The parish of ''Onsø'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A part of Onsøy w ...

from 1969 to 1977. He became the Dean of the Fredrikstad Cathedral from 1977 until 1983. On 18 September 1983, Nordhaug was

consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

d as the first Bishop of the newly created

. He was seated at

Molde Cathedral Molde Cathedral ( no, Molde domkirke) is a cathedral of the Church of Norway in Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the town of Molde. It is the church for the ''Molde domkirke'' parish as well as the seat o ...

from then until his retirement on 17 November 1991.

Personal life

Nordhaug was born on 3 February 1925 in

Bolsøy Bolsøy is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality of Bolsøy encompassed the area around the Fannefjorden including most of the present-day Molde Municipality, excluding the town of Molde. The municipalit ...

, Norway. He was married to psalmist Liv Nordhaug and he is the father of Bishop

Halvor Nordhaug Halvor Nordhaug (born 26 February 1953) is a Norwegian Bishop in the Lutheran Church of Norway. He was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin in 2008 and has served in that capacity since that time. Nordhaug is the son of bishop Ole Nordha ...

. He died on 19 September 2021 at the age of 96.

References

1925 births 2021 deaths Bishops of Møre 20th-century Lutheran bishops MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society alumni {{bishop-stub