Peter Fischer-Møller (born 29 June 1955 in

Charlottenlund Charlottenlund is a suburban area on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the administrative seat of Gentofte Municipality. Bordered to the east by the Øresund, to the South by Hellerup and to the north by Klampenborg, it is one of the ...

) is a Danish prelate who served as the

Bishop of Roskilde The former Diocese of Roskilde () was a diocese within the Roman-Catholic Church which was established in Denmark some time before 1022. The diocese was dissolved with the Reformation of Denmark and replaced by the Protestant Diocese of Zealand ...

from 2008 until 2022.

Education

Fischer-Møller became a high school student in 1973 at Øregaard Gymnasium and specialised in mathematics and physics. He went to Oxford to study English literature. Although Fischer-Møller's father wanted him to become a lawyer, he chose to study theology at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. In the summer of 1983, he completed his studies. Peter Fischer-Møller gained a

cand.theol. Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe. The de ...

specializing in

N. F. S. Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential p ...

Priesthood

In 1984 Peter Fischer-Møller was ordained as priest and became the parish priest of Terslev and Ørslev Sogne north of

Haslev Haslev is a railway town in the southern part of the island of Zealand, Denmark, located about southwest of Copenhagen. It has a population of 12,634 (1 January 2025), and is the largest town and municipal seat of Faxe Municipality in Region Z ...

. In 1999 he also became the parish priest of Ringsted-Sorø. At the same time, Fischer-Møller worked as a lecturer at Haslev Seminary and Preschool.

Bishop

Jan Lindhardt retired as

in 2008 and choose Peter Fischer-Møller as one of five candidates to succeed him. At the first election, Fischer-Møller and Henrik Wigh-Poulsen, editor and head of the Grundtvig Academy, received the majority of votes with 562 each. Poul Joachim Stender received twelve votes less and protested over the election results, as there were more voters than ballot papers. Church Minister Birthe Rønn Hornbech joined the case, and the election board left the election. Peter Fischer-Møller received 693 votes and Poul Joachim Stender received 669 votes. Henrik Wigh-Poulsen received 625 votes, but only two candidates passed on to the decisive ballot. At the 2nd round, Fischer-Møller received 1174 votes while his opponent Poul Joachim Stenders 1055 votes. On 27 April 2008 Peter Fischer-Møller was consecrated bishop in

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is one of the most important churches in D ...

and became the 7th bishop of Roskilde. On 1 May 2008 he was formally installed and took office as a bishop after Jan Lindhardt. On 1 January 2010 he became Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

.Vincents, C
"Peter Fischer-Møller er ny biskop"
''Kristeligt Dagblad'', Copenhagen, 9 January 2008. Retrieved on 05 August 2017.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer-Møller, Peter 20th-century Danish Lutheran clergy 21st-century Danish Lutheran bishops University of Copenhagen alumni People from Gentofte Municipality Living people 1955 births