Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland (14 January 1807–5 January 1896) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

. He served as

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 1864–1880.

Early life and family

Peter Birkeland was born in the village of Borgund in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

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 the son of Lars Birkeland and Johanne Hellem Baade. He came from a family of ministers. His father was the

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 ...

Borgund Church Borgund Church ( no, Borgund kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Borgund, just east of the city of Ålesund. It is the church for the ...

at the time of his birth and his maternal grandfather had also been a priest. In 1821 he went to Bergen Cathedral School and he graduated with a

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 in 1832. In 1836 he married Severine Elise Angell Gram in the

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 ...

. The couple had nine children, although some died in their youth. Their son Lauritz married Elen Lovise Augusta Kildal, a daughter of

Peter Wessel Wind Kildal Peter Wessel Wind Kildal (24 November 1814 – 22 March 1882) was a Norwegian merchant and industrialist. Kildal was born at Borgund in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of Ole Severin Kildal and Karen Friis Wind. He was the brother ...

, niece of Peter Daniel Baade Wind Kildal, and sister of

Birger Kildal Birger Kildal (15 April 1849 – 13 December 1913) was a Norwegian attorney and businessman. He served as politician with the Liberal Party and was appointed District Governor in Romsdal. Background Kildal was born at Christiania (now Oslo), Nor ...

Career

Peter Birkeland started his professional career as a priest in the

in 1833. His first job was in 1833 when he was named the parish priest for Fosnes Church in

Fosnes Fosnes is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the muni ...

. In 1837, he was called to be 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 * ...

of the Namdalen deanery in

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

county, a post he served until 1841. His next job was 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 ...

where he served as the priest for the ''Tugthuset og Slaveriet'' (prison) parish in Bergen from 1841–1848. In 1848, Birkeland was named as the first pastor to the

Hetland Church Frue Church or Hetland Church ( no, Frue kirke/Hetlandskirken) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Storhaug in the centre of the city of Stavanger. It ...

parish. It was in this post where he became acquainted with

Haugean The Haugean movement or Haugeanism ( no, haugianere) was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement emp ...

movement. In 1842 he was one of the co-founders of the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society ( no, Det Norske Misjonsselskap, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, ...

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. He served in Hetland from 1848 until 1864 when he was appointed

of the

, based in

. During his time as bishop, he

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 81 new churches in the diocese. He retired from the ministry in 1880, having served 16 years as Bishop. He died on 5 January 1896 in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

References

1807 births 1896 deaths Bishops of Bjørgvin {{bishop-stub