Tor Singsaas (born 1 February 1948) is 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 the ...

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 ...

minister and the former

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 ...

in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

Background

Singsaas was born and baptized in

Hølonda Hølonda is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1865 until its dissolution in 1964. Hølonda encompassed the southwestern part of what is now the municipality of Melhus in Trøndelag co ...

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 ...

and grew up in

Buvika Buvika is a village in the municipality of Skaun in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located at the end of the Gaulosen, an arm of the Trondheimsfjord, about southwest of the mouth of the Gaula River. Buvika lies along the European route E39, ...

and

Melhus Melhus is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus. Other villages include Gåsbakken, Hovin, Korsvegen, Kvål, Ler, Lundamo, St ...

. His father was a general store manager, and Singsaas grew up in and around these stores, which were typically where people in the local community gathered on a daily basis. He briefly considered becoming an actor, but settled on a career within

theology 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 ...

Education

Singsaas earned his degree in theology at

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 ...

Oslo 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 ...

in 1976 (theology) and 1977 (

practical theology Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...

). He was ordained as a minister in

Melhus Church Melhus Church ( no, Melhus kirke), also known as "the Gauldal Cathedral", is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Melhus municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Storsand, about south of the village of Me ...

on 8 January 1978, with Bishop

Tord Godal Tord Godal (27 June 1909 – 27 February 2002) was a Norwegian theologian and bishop for the Diocese of Nidaros. He was decorated Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1969. Godal was also a Freemason. Godal was born on 27 ...

officiating. He has also completed coursework in pastoral duties, family counseling, church history, and other topics.

Appointments

Singsaas started his career in 1978 as a substitute minister in

Høybråten Høybråten is a residential area in the north-eastern part (Stovner bydel) of Norway's capital Oslo. Høybråten has its own church, schools and railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that t ...

in Oslo, but the same year he was assigned to the permanent position of

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 ...

for the

, a job he held until 1991. From 1991 until 2004, he was the resident chaplain at 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 ...

. From 2004 until 2008, he was 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

Byåsen prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros which covers all of Trøndelag county in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each deanery in the diocese. Administrati ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. In 2008, the bishop of Nidaros,

Finn Wagle Finn Wagle (born 19 June 1941) is a theologian and a former bishop of Nidaros in the Church of Norway. He was also the Preses (''Primus inter pares'', “first among equals”) and thus presided over the Bishop's Conference in the Church of Nor ...

retired and Singsaas was one of several nominees for that seat, and was consistently favored to win the appointment. He was appointed Bishop of the

by the

Norwegian Council of State The Council of State (Norwegian: ''Statsrådet''), is a formal body composed of the most senior government ministers chosen by the Prime Minister, and functions as the collective decision-making organ constituting the executive branch of the K ...

on 27 June 2008. He 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 Bishop on 14 December 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singsaas, Tor 1948 births Living people People from Melhus Bishops of Nidaros MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society alumni 21st-century Lutheran bishops