Oslo bishopric is 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 ...

's bishopric for the municipalities of

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 ...

, Asker and

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070.

History

Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. It was originally a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of the archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, from 1104 on of that of Lund and starting from 1152 on of

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

. It then covered the (modern) counties of

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 cou ...

, Buskerud (except Hallingdal), Hedmark (except the northern part of Østerdalen), Oppland (except Valdres), Telemark,

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered ...

and

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden ( Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other s ...

, and the province of

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North ...

, and the parishes of Idre and Särna. The

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar ( no, Hamar Bispedømme) is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner in Viken county. Administratively, the diocese is divid ...

was established and separated from Oslo in 1152, but it was again merged with Oslo in 1541 (together with the northern part of Østerdalen from

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 ...

). The regions of Hallingdal and Valdres were transferred from

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger ( no, Stavanger bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers all of Rogaland county in western Norway. The cathedral city is Stavanger, where the Stavanger Cathedral is located. The bishop is Anne Lise � ...

to Oslo in 1631. (But Oslo had to give the upper part of Telemark to Stavanger in return.) The parishes of Idre and Särna were lost to Sweden in 1644, and the province of Bohuslän was lost in 1658. Hamar (with Hedmark and Oppland) was again separated from Oslo in 1864. The rest of Telemark was transferred to ''Diocese of Kristiansand'' (see

Diocese of Agder og Telemark The Diocese of Agder og Telemark ( no, Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering all of Agder county and most of Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest ...

) the same year. The Diocese of Tunsberg (with Vestfold and Buskerud) was established and separated from Oslo in 1948. The

Diocese of Borg Borg is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The diocese includes parishes in the counties of Østfold and Akershus, excluding Asker and Bærum. It was created in 1969 by separation from the Diocese of Oslo. The cathedral city is Fredrikstad. Fr ...

(with Akershus and Østfold) was established and separated from Oslo in 1969. Today the Diocese of Oslo only covers the county of Oslo and the municipalities of Asker and

in Akershus.

Bishops since the Reformation

*1541–1545 Hans Rev *1545–1548 Anders Madssøn *1548–1580

Frants Berg Frants Berg (1504 – 2 November 1591) was a Danish clergyman who served as the Bishop of Oslo. He was born in Odense, Denmark. He was the son Claus Berg (ca. 1470 – ca. 1532) and his wife Margrethe de Groth. His father was a German born ...

*1580–1600 Jens Nilssøn *1601–1607 Anders Bendssøn Dall *1607–1617 Niels Claussøn Senning *1617–1639

Niels Simonsen Glostrup Niels Simonsen Glostrup (died 6 January 1639 in Christiania, Norway) was a Danish priest who became the seventh Lutheran Bishop of Oslo (after 1624: Christiania). Niels Glostrup was born in a small town named Glostrup near Copenhagen, where his fa ...

*1639–1646 Oluf Boesen *1646–1664 Henning Stockfleth *1664–1699 Hans Rosing *1699–1712 Hans Munch *1713–1730 Bartholomæus Deichman *1731–1737

Peder Hersleb Peder Hersleb (25 March 1689 – 4 April 1757) was a Norwegian-Danish clergyman and Bishop. Biography Hersleb was born in Steinkjer in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, the son of Christopher Hersleb and Sophie Borch. He became a student at Trondh ...

*1738–1758

Niels Dorph Niels Dorph (1681–1758) was a Danish/Norwegian clergyman. He served as Bishop of the Diocese of Oslo Oslo bishopric is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditi ...

*1758–1773 Fredrik Nannestad *1773–1804 Christian Schmidt *1805–1822

Fredrik Julius Bech Fredrik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name '' Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in Norway, Finla ...

*1823–1845 Christian Sørenssen *1846–1874 Jens Lauritz Arup *1875–1893

Carl Peter Parelius Essendrop Carl Peter Parelius Essendrop (6 June 1818 – 18 October 1893) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest, educator and Bishop of Oslo. Biography Essendrop was born Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Peter Essendrop (1776-1819) an ...

*1893–1896 Fredrik Wilhelm Klumpp Bugge *1896–1912

Anton Christian Bang Anton Christian Bang (18 September 1840 in Dønna, Helgeland – 29 December 1913) was a Norwegian theologian, historian and politician for the Conservative Party of Norway. Bang was one of the more prominent figures within the Church of ...

*1912–1922

Jens Frølich Tandberg Jens Frølich Tandberg (May 13, 1852 – March 21, 1922) was the bishop of Oslo from 1912 to 1922. Tandberg was born in Hausvik, Norway. He was the son of Jørgen Tandberg, who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Kristiansand from 188 ...

*1922–1937

Johan Lunde Johan Peter Lunde (25 December 1866 – 12 February 1938) was a Norwegian theologian and Bishop of the Diocese of Oslo. Biography Lunde was born at Lillehammer, Norway. He was the son of Knud Truls Wiel Lunde (1827–1915) and Mariane Sophie Br ...

*1937–1951 Eivind Josef Berggrav *1951–1968

Johannes Smemo Johannes Smemo (31 July 1898–7 March 1973) was a Norwegian theologian, psalmist, and a long-time bishop in the Church of Norway. Theologically, he was a conservative, confessional Lutheran priest who lived during the time of great liberal- ...

*1968–1973 Fridtjov Søiland Birkeli *1973–1977 Kaare Støylen *1977–1998

Andreas Aarflot Andreas Aarflot (born 1 July 1928) is a Norwegian theologian and bishop emeritus in the Church of Norway. He was bishop of Oslo from 1977 to 1998. Early life Aarflot was born in Yiyang, China where his mother and father served the Norwegian Mi ...

*1998–2005 Gunnar Stålsett *2005–2017 Ole Christian Kvarme *2017–present Kari Veiteberg

Deaneries

* Oslo arch-deanery * Asker deanery * Bærum deanery * Nordre Aker deanery * Søndre Aker deanery * Vestre Aker deanery * Østre Aker deanery * Nationwide deaneries: ** The deaf chaplain deanery ** The military chaplain corps

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Oslo Religion in Oslo

1068 establishments in Europe 11th-century establishments in Norway

Organisations based in Oslo