The former Diocese of Ribe ( da, Ribe Stift) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

in Southern

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The diocese was established in 948, and dissolved in 1536 during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

. Within the newly established protestant

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

, the

Diocese of Ribe The Diocese of Ribe (Danish: ''Ribe Stift'') is a diocese within the Church of Denmark. Ribe Cathedral serves as the central cathedral within the diocese. Since 2014, the bishop has been Elof Westergaard. The former Roman Catholic Diocese of ...

effectively replaced its Roman Catholic precursor. The diocese contained 29

deaneries 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 ...

and 278 parishes. Its bishop also oversaw a number of

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and friaries, in addition to a hospital.

History

In 948, Leofdag was ordained as the first Bishop of Ribe by Archbishop

Adaldag Adaldag (c. 90028 April 988; also Adelgis, Adelger, and Adalgag) was the seventh archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, from 937 until his death. He was of noble birth, a relation and pupil of Adalward, Bishop of Verden, and became canon of Hildesheim. Ot ...

. Leofdag is said to have been martyred by pagans and is regarded as a local saint, though he was never

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

. Ribe Cathedral, which served as the central cathedral of the diocese, contains a shrine dedicated to him. Until the death of his third known successor, Val, the bishops of Ribe,

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

, and Aarhus primarily worked to convert locals to their faith and traveled around Jutland on missionary tours. In 1060, the region north of the

Kongeå The Kongeå (in German ''Königs Au'') is a watercourse in Southern Jutland in Jutland, Denmark. It rises southeast of Vejen and Vamdrup and after about it flows through a sluice to tidal mudflats and sandbanks north of Ribe, and eventually into ...

was divided into the four dioceses of Ribe, Aarhus, Viborg and

Vestervig Vestervig is a village in Vestervig Parish in Denmark, located in Thisted municipality in North Denmark Region (until December 31, 2006; Sydthy municipality, Viborg County). Vestervig has a population of 591 (1 January 2022).suffragan of the

Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (german: Fürsterzbistum Bremen) — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic ...

until 1104, when the newly formed

Archdiocese of Lund The Diocese of Lund ( sv, Lunds stift) is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the C ...

became its metropolitan. Although Ivar Munk was selected to take the position of bishop in 1499, he was not ordained until 1513. During his term, the church was pressured by the Protestant Reformation. He lost authority over some of his diocese in Northern

following their adoption of

protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, though he maintained authority over the remainder of the diocese. Ivar Munk opposed the selection of Christian III of Denmark as king in 1533, yet was forced to act as a privy councillor to the monarch's party for Jutland. As a result, he resigned from his position as bishop. Ivar Munk was succeeded by his nephew, Olaf Munk in 1534. As a result of the reformation, Olaf Munk was imprisoned on 12 August 1536, like all other catholic bishops in Denmark. He was later released on the conditions that he conform to the Church of Denmark and marry.

Structure

The first church built within the diocese was founded by

Ansgar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North" b ...

ca. 855. It was initially overseen by his successor: Saint Rembert. The church was destroyed following Rembert's death in 888, though it was rebuilt circa 948. Following the completion of Ribe Cathedral in the 12th century, it served as the central cathedral of the diocese. The city of Ribe was also home to St. Nicholas' Priory, a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friary, St. Catherine's Priory, a hospital of the Holy Ghost, and a

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The diocese also oversaw the Cistercian monasteries of

Tvis Abbey Tvis Abbey ( da, Tvis Kloster; la, Tutta vallis) is a former Cistercian monastery in Denmark. It was situated on a small island between the Storå and the Tvis Å rivers, a few kilometres south of Holstebro in Jutland. History The abbey was ...

, Løgum Abbey, and Seem Abbey, which had been Benedictine until 1171. There were Benedictine convents at Gudum Priory and Stubber Priory, in addition to a Dominican priory in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and th ...

and a

friary in

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

. The diocese comprised 29 deaneries and a total of 278 parishes. The bishop's cathedral chapter included four

prelates A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

, 21

prebendaries A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

, eight minor canons, and approximately 50

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Bishops

*948–9?? Leofdag *988–1000 Folkbert/Folcbertus *1000–1043 Odinkar the Younger *1043–1060 Val *1060–1085 Odder *1085–1122 Gerold/Jareld *1122–1134 Thore/Thure *1134–11?? Nothold *11??–1142 Asger *1142–1162 Elias *1162–1170 Radulf *1171–1177 Stephan *1178–1204 Omer *1204–1214 Oluf *1214–1230 Tuve *1230–1246 Gunner *1246–1273 Esger *1273–1288 Tyge *1288–1313 Christian *1313–1327 Jens Hee *1327–1345 Jakob Splitaf *1345–1364 Peder Thuresen *1365–1369 Mogens Jensen *1369–1388 Jens Mikkelsen *1389–1409 Eskil *1409–1418 Peder Lykke *1418–1454 Christiern Hemmingsen *1454–1465 Henrik Stangenberg *1465–1483 Peder Nielsen Lodehat *1483–1498 Hartvig Juel *1499–1534 Ivar Munk *1534–1536 Olaf Munk

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribe, Ancient Diocese Of Former Catholic dioceses in Denmark Catholic Church in Denmark Dioceses established in the 10th century Diocese Of Ribe, Ancient 948 establishments 10th-century establishments in Denmark