Selja is a small island in Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was the original Catholic bishopric in Norway ( la, Selia; now a titular see) which later became the pre-Reformation

Ancient Diocese of Bergen The Catholic Diocese of Bergen or Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway existed from the eleventh century to the Protestant Reformation (1537),

(Bjørgvin). It has been formerly known as ''Sellø'' or ''Selø''. The island is located in the Sildagapet bay, just west of the harbor in the village of Selje. The sparsely populated island has about 5 permanent residents who commute by boat to the mainland since the island is not accessible by road. The painter

Bernt Tunold Bernt Tunold (February 25, 1877 – January 23, 1946) was a Norwegian painter. Influenced by his early years in a rural environment on the small island of Selja on the west coast of Norway, his paintings, initially inspired by the style of his c ...

grew up on the island, where his parents had established a farm on the church grounds.

Ecclesiastical history

The island is mainly known for its connection to Saint Sunniva, who, according to legend, landed and died there in the late 10th century and remains patron saint of the Diocese of Bergen. The discovery at Selo in 996 of the supposed remains of Sunniva and her companions led Norwegian King Olaf Tryggvason (995-1000) to build a church there. Today, the ruins of a monastery named ''"Sankta Sunniva kloster"'' ( Selje Abbey) is the only notable feature on the island. The cave of Saint Sunniva and the ruins of an early (and very small) cathedral are also located on the island. The cathedral was the episcopal see of a Catholic Bishopric, the Diocese of Selja (Latin: Selia), the predecessor of the

Ancient Diocese of Bergen The Catholic Diocese of Bergen or Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway existed from the eleventh century to the Protestant Reformation (1537),

, 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 jurisdictiona ...

of the German (Upper Saxon)

Archbishopric of 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 ...

, established with the monastery circa 1060 by King Olaf Kyrre. Its physical see was soon moved to Bjørgvin (Bergen), but it would take a few more bishops until that name supplanted Selja's.

Residential Suffragan bishops of Selja

* Bjarnvard (Bernard the Saxon) since 106O?7, Bishop of Selja till his death (1066?67) * Svein, Bishop of Selja, first also known as Bishop of Bjørgvin (Bergen) * (1115), (1128) : Magnus, Bishop of Selja * (1135) : Ottar Islänning, Bishop of Selja * 1156/57-1160 : Paal, Bishop of Selja * 1160 - 1170 (1194) : Nikolas Petersson of Sogn, 'last' Bishop of Selja, 'first' only known as Bishop of Bergen (Bjørgvin) after 1170

Titular see

The diocese, whose successor Bergen was suppressed in 1537 due to Denmark-Norway's Lutheran Reformation, was nominally restored in 1033 as Latin Catholic Titular bishopric of Selja (in Latin and Curiate Italian; Latin adjective Selien(sis)) and renamed Selia in Latin in 1971 (still Selja in Italian).http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1565.htm GCatholic It has had the following incumbents, so far all of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank : * Olaf Offerdahl (1930.03.13 – death 1930.10.07) as Apostolic Vicar of Norway ( Norway, Selja's home country) (1930.03.13 – 1930.10.07), previously Apostolic Administrator of the same vicariate (1928.10.11 – 1930.03.13) * Jacques Mangers, Marists S.M. (1932.07.12 – 1953.06.29) as first Apostolic Vicar of Oslo (previously called 'of Norway', see above) (1932.07.12 – 1953.06.29), promoted first Exempt Bishop of Oslo (Norway) (1953.06.29 – 1964.11.25), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Afufenia (1964.11.25 – death 1972.01.07) * Claude Dupuy (1955.03.07 – 1961.12.04) as Auxiliary Bishop of Lyon (primatial see in France) (1955.03.07 – 1961.12.04); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Albi (France) (1961.12.04 – retired 1974.06.15); died 1989 * Eduard Macheiner (1963.03.01 – 1969.10.09) as Auxiliary Bishop of Salzburg (primatial see of Austria) (1963.03.01 – 1969.10.09), later succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Salzburg (Austria) ( 969.10.091969.10.18 – death 1972.07.17) * Salvador Lazo Lazo (1969.12.01 – 1981.01.20) first as Auxiliary Bishop of Tuguegarao ( Philippines) (1969.12.01 – 1977.08.03), then as Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia (Philippines) (1977.08.03 – 1981.01.20); later Bishop of San Fernando de La Union (Philippines) (1981.01.20 – retired 1993.05.28), died 2000 * Ângelo Domingos Salvador, Capuchin Franciscans (O.F.M. Cap.) (1981.03.16 – 1986.05.16) as Auxiliary Bishop of São Salvador da Bahia (Brazil) (1981.03.16 – 1986.05.16); later Bishop-Prelate of Coxim ( Brazil) (1986.05.16 – 1991.07.17), Bishop of Cachoeira do Sul (Brazil) (1991.07.17 – 1999.05.26), Bishop of Uruguaiana (Brazil) (1999.05.26 – retired 2007.06.27) * Eurico dos Santos Veloso (1987.03.12 – 1991.05.22) as Auxiliary Bishop of Juiz de Fora (Brazil) (1987.03.12 – 1991.05.22); later

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of Luz (Brazil) (1991.05.22 – 1994.05.18), Bishop of above Luz (1994.05.18 – 2001.11.28), Metropolitan Archbishop of above Juiz de For) (2001.11.28 – retired 2009.01.28) * Pero Sudar (1993.05.28 – ...), Auxiliary Bishop of Vrhbosna (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Media gallery

File:Selje klosterruiner.jpg, View of the Church ruins on the island File:Selje_kloster_alter_Albanuskirken.jpg, Altar in the Albanus Church in the Abbey File:Selje_kloster_smia.jpg, The forge at the abbey File: Selje_kloster_terrassemur_foran_Sunnivakirken.jpg, A wall in front of the Sunniva Church File:Selje_kloster_alter_Mikaelskirken.jpg, Altar in the Mikaels Church in the Abbey File:Selje_kloster_helleren_foran_Mikaelskirken.jpg, Cliff at the entrance to the Mikaels Church File:Selje_kloster_ Sunnivakilden.jpg, Well at Sunniva Church File:Selje_kloster_runestein_i_tårnet.jpg, Runestone in the abbey tower File:Selje_kloster_kirkegården.jpg, Church yard

References

External links