Rasmus Paludan (26 February 1702 – 8 January 1759) 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 Christianssand from 1751 until 1759.

Personal life

Rasmus Paludan was born on 26 February 1702 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 Frederik Rasmussen and Anne Jacobsdatter. Paludan was married three times. He first married Margrethe Garmann in 1732, but she died in 1742. Then he married Johanne Fischer in 1743, and she died in 1754. He finally married Anna Margrethe Pohlmann in 1755 and they were married for about four years until his death on 8 January 1759. Over his lifetime, he fathered many children.

Education and career

He attended Christiania Cathedral School until 1720. Then he completed his postgraduate studies at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

from April 1720 until December 1721. After this, he was a teacher for several years until he was ordained by the Bishop Bartholomæus Deichman in 1730 and began working as a priest in Christiania. From 1740 to 1743 he worked as a priest in the town of

Stege, Denmark Stege is the largest town on the island of Møn in south-eastern Denmark. In January 2022 its population was 3,792. Stege is now part of Vordingborg Municipality and belongs to Region Zealand. Once a prosperous herring fishing port, tourism is no ...

, as well as the dean for the whole island of

Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingbo ...

. In 1743, he became the dean of Christiania. In 1751, 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 Diocese of Christianssand. When Paludan took over the bishop's seat in Christianssand, he was surprised at how many beggars and poor people there were in the diocese. The conditions were much worse than in

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

, where he came from. Together with the county administrator Fredrik Georg Adeler, he began to work for a more effective poverty relief, but this was not easy. There was great poverty, both in rural areas and towns, both at the sea and up in the mountainous areas. On his first visit, Paludan spoke to the most powerful and richest men in every parish about helping the poor. He wanted to bring the poor people onto the farms so they could get work. Paludan's work, however, did not lead to any positive improvements during his time as bishop. He served in this position until his death in 1759.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paludan, Rasmus 1702 births 1759 deaths Bishops of Agder og Telemark 18th-century Lutheran bishops