Ernst Oddvar Baasland

Rt. Rev.

Ernst Oddvar Baasland
Bishop
Ernst Oddvar Baasland
ChurchChurch of Norway
DioceseDiocese of Stavanger
Appointed1998
In office1998–2009
PredecessorBjørn Bue
SuccessorErling Pettersen
Orders
Ordination1998
Consecration1998
Personal details
Born (1945-04-03) 3 April 1945 (age 79)
NationalityNorwegian
DenominationChristian
OccupationProfessor
EducationCand. theol. (1970)
Dr. Theol. (1981)
Alma materMF Norwegian School of Theology

Ernst Oddvar Baasland (born 3 April 1945 in Kristiansand, Norway) was the Bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger in the Church of Norway from 1998 to 2009. He resigned from his position on 15 June 2009, following the Baasland case involving his son Bjarte Baasland.[1]

Biography

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Ernst Oddvar Baasland was born 3 April 1945 in the city of Kristiansand in Vest-Agder county, Norway. He took his Examen artium in Oslo and passed. He went on to study theology in Oslo at the Misjonsskolen, at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and at the University of Tübingen. He returned to Oslo and graduated from the MF Norwegian School of Theology with a cand.theol. degree in 1970. He again graduated with his Doctor of Theology degree in 1981 at the University of Oslo. He graduated from the Practical Theological Seminary at MF in 1984.[2]

He first served in the Norwegian Army as an Army Chaplain from 1971–1972) in Bodø before returning to MF Norwegian School of Theology where he became a research fellow from 1972-1975. He had different positions as a lecturer there before finished his doctorate in the New Testament in 1981. He was named professor of the New Testament in 1984. He stayed in this position until becoming ordained as a priest and consecrated a bishop in the diocese of Stavanger in 1998. It was unusual in the Church of Norway for someone to be ordained as a priest just a few days prior to becoming a bishop, but his extensive background in theology as a professor assured many that he was ready to be a priest.[citation needed]

He held the post until 15 June 2009 when he resigned amid a family scandal involving his son, Bjarte Baasland. Since his resignation he has gone back to teaching as a visiting professor at various schools including at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Humboldt University in Berlin.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Norwegian gambler Bjarte Baasland loses case against Centrebet". ABC.au. 2013-09-19.
  2. ^ Store norske leksikon. "Ernst Baasland" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2016-05-29.
Religious titles
Preceded by Bishop of Stavanger
1998–2009
Succeeded by