Ragnvald Gjerløw (17 June 1853 – 1936) was a Norwegian priest and writer. He was born in

Aurland Aurland () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The administrativ ...

as a son of Jens Larsen Gjerløw and Anne Marie Nitter Ohnstad. He was a brother of Mons Klingenberg Gjerløw. He spent some time at sea and took secondary education before enrolling in higher education. He graduated with the

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 ...

degree in 1881, and worked as a teacher and school manager until 1887, when he became

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in siz ...

. He was then

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Lunde, Telemark Lunde is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1867 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Nome Municipality. It was part of the traditional district of Midt-Telemark. The administrati ...

from 1895 to 1906, in St. John's Church,

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

from 1906 to 1909 and in

Stavanger Cathedral Stavanger Cathedral () is Norway's oldest cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Stavanger who leads the Diocese of Stavanger in the Church of Norway. It is located in the centre of the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger which lies in the southw ...

from 1909 to 1918. He then became

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 * Dean Sw ...

in the Diocese of Christianssand, and in 1925 he was acting bishop of the newly created

Diocese of Stavanger The Diocese of Stavanger () 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 Ådnøy, who has held the p ...

. On 1 July 1925 he resigned and moved to Oslo. He has been credited for playing a main role in re-establishing the Diocese of Stavanger, having agitated for it since 1919, and presented the case for

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. In 1923 he was a part of a delegation (together with County Governor Thorvald Andreas Larsen and school inspector Tveteraas) to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

. They met with the President of the Parliament and politician Tjalve Gjøstein, and also won the support of politician Lars Oftedal. Gjerløw was a member of the board of the trade union Norwegian Association of Clergy, and also of the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society (, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, to spread Christianity to oth ...

. He wrote some books, including ''Bibelske skisser'' and ''Korte søndagsbetragtninger'', and contributed to the works ''Bibelen med forklaringer'' and ''Stavangerboken 1814–1914''. He also translated Alfred Edersheim's seven-volume ''Bible History'' to Norwegian. He wrote several articles in newspapers and magazines, and favored ''

Morgenbladet is Norway's oldest daily newspaper, covering politics, culture and science, now a weekly news magazine primarily directed at well-educated readers. The magazine is notable for its opinion section featuring contributions exclusively from Norweg ...

'', where his nephew Olaf Gjerløw was editor-in-chief from 1920. He was also an uncle of Lilli Gjerløw. In September 1885 in

Heddal Heddal is a former municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964. The area is now part of Notodden Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Heddal where the Heddal ...

he married Laura Flood, a sister of Immanuel Flood and Jørgen W. Flood. He died in 1936.

References

1853 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Norwegian writers People from Aurland 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy {{Norway-reli-bio-stub