Ole Tidemand (31 October 1710–9 January 1778) was a Norwegian

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. He served as a

bishop 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 ...

of the

Diocese of Bjørgvin The Diocese of Bjørgvin ( no, Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second ...

from 1757 until 1762 and then Bishop of the Diocese of Christianssand from 1762 until 1778. Bishop Tidemand always had powerful friends in

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 ...

, the capital of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway. Most notably, the Dowager Queen Juliana Maria was a supporter of his. Tidemand was a student and colleague of Bishop

Erik Pontoppidan Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan (24 August 1698 – 20 December 1764) was a Danish author, a Lutheran bishop of the Church of Norway, an historian, and an antiquarian. His Catechism of the Church of Denmark heavily influenced Danish and Norwegian r ...

and a leader in the pietist movement in Norway.

Personal life

Ole Tidemand was born on 31 October 1710 in Christiania,

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 the son of a merchant Iver Tidemand and his wife Elisabeth Olufsdatter. In 1732, he hastily married the young 13-year-old daughter of the priest with which he worked and soon after she gave birth to his first child. Her name was Charlotta Eleonora Calundan and together they had 10 children.

Education and career

Tidemand graduated from the Fødebys School in 1728. In 1731, he graduated with theology diploma. During his studies, he worked with the parish priest Christian Callundan in Sandeherred teaching his children (and he married this priest's daughter). In 1732, he became a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

under the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Frederik Grüner. In 1741, he was called to be the parish priest in

Hedrum Hedrum is a parish and the site of a historic church in Vestfold county, Norway. Hedrum was annexed by Larvik on January 1, 1988. History The parish of Hedrum was established as a municipality on January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Small ...

. Two years later in 1743, he moved to

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 ...

to be the

of the

Nykirken Nykirken (literally: "The new church") is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Nordnes area of the city of Bergen. It is one of the churches for the Bergen Cathedral paris ...

. In 1747, he was hired as the

of the

Bergen Cathedral Bergen Cathedral ( no, Bergen domkirke) is a cathedral in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin as well as the seat of the "Bergen domkirke" parish and the seat of the Bergen domprosti ...

. In 1755, the Bishop of Bjørgvin,

was recalled to

and Tidemand was promoted to vice-bishop to lead the diocese while the bishop was absent. In 1757, he was appointed to be the

Bishop 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 ...

of the

. In 1760, Bishop Tidemand received his

doctor of theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

degree. After five years as the Bishop there, he took a new job as the Bishop of the Diocese of Christianssand. He held that post for sixteen years until his death in 1778.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tidemand, Ole 1710 births 1778 deaths Bishops of Bjørgvin Bishops of Agder og Telemark 18th-century Lutheran bishops