Gjeble Pederssøn (c.1490 – 9 March 1557) was a Norwegian priest who was the first

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

bishop in Norway. Pederssøn was born at Teigstad on the island of Dønna in

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county, Norway. His father was a councilman in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. He went to school in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

and was later a student at

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School ( Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. L ...

. Later he traveled to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and studied in the city of

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

. He also studied at the University of Leuven during the period 1513 and 1514. After a few years of education abroad he took his magister degree. He returned to work at a school in Bergen. In 1518 he became canon and priest at St Mary's Church in Bergen. In 1536, he was elected the bishop at Bergen, but the appointment came as the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

was also arriving in Norway. He thus became the first

bishop in Norway, serving as bishop in Bergen stift from 1536 (ordinated in 1537) until his death in 1557. He devoted much of his time as bishop in his efforts to initiate reform of the church. In this regard, he found an ally in Hans Gaas (1500–1578), bishop of 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 ...

, who was also active in the reform process. Gjeble also helped young, gifted men with education, principally for the priesthood. Among the students whose education he sponsored was

Absalon Pederssøn Beyer Absalon Pederssøn Beyer (c. 1528 – 9 April 1575) was a Norwegian people, Norwegian author, lecturer and Lutheran clergyman. Beyer contributed greatly to the spiritual Reformation in Norway. He is best known today for his diary or annal of ...

(1528–1575) who was appointed lecturer in theology at Bergen Cathedral School.

References

1490 births 1557 deaths People from Dønna People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School Old University of Leuven alumni 16th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Bishops of Bjørgvin {{Norway-reli-bio-stub