Superintendent (ecclesiastical) - Superintendents in Sweden

Superintendents in Sweden

Superintendents were created in Sweden after the Protestant Reformation. The office was similar to that of bishop, but instead of being ordained by the archbishop, the superintendent was appointed by the Crown. This new model of ecclesiastical polity was partly political, as the Roman Catholic bishops before the Reformation held considerable political power and often used it against the king. Superintendents' loyalty was supposed to lie with the head of the new Church of Sweden, the monarch. Some Lutheran theologians also considered the term less Catholic and therefore preferable to 'bishop'.

In Sweden proper, the following dioceses have been governed by a superintendent:

• Diocese of Kalmar (1603–1678, thereafter presided by a bishop till 1915, when merged with the diocese of Växjö.
• Diocese of Göteborg (1620–1665, thereafter presided by a bishop)
• Diocese of Visby (1645–1772, thereafter presided by a bishop)
• Diocese of Mariestad (1583–1646, superintendent moved to Karlstad and Mariestad absorbed into the diocese of Skara)
• Diocese of Karlstad (1647–1772, superintendent moved from Mariestad; presided by a bishop since 1772)
• Diocese of Härnösand (1647–1772, thereafter presided by a bishop)

The diocese of Lund was equally administered by superintendents from 1537 to 1637, but was at that time part of Denmark.

List of Norwegian superintendents in the 16th and 17th Centurys

Superintendents in the diocese of Oslo:

• Hans Rev 1541-45
• Anders Madssøn 1545-48
• Frants Berg 1548-80
• Jens Nilssøn 1580-1600
• Anders Bentssøn Dallin 1601-1608
• Niels Clausen Senning 1608-17
• Niels Simonsen Glostrup 1617-39
• Oluf Boesen 1639-46
• Henning Stockfleth 1646-64

Superintendents in the diocese of Stavanger:

• Jon Guttormsen 1541-57
• Jens Gregoriussen Riber 1558-71
• Jørgen Erikson 1571-1604
• Laurits Clausen Scabo 1605-26
• Thomas Cortzen Wegener 1627-54
• Marcus Christensen Humble 1655-61

Superintendents in the diocese of Bjørgvin:

• Gjeble Pederssøn 1537-57
• Jens Skjelderup 1557-82
• Anders Foss 1583-1607
• Anders Michelsen Kolding 1607-15
• Niels Paaske 1616-36
• Ludvig Munthe 1636-49
• Jens Pedersen Skjeldrup 1649-65

Superintendents in the diocese of Nidaros:

• Thorbjørn Olavsson Bratt 1546-48
• Hans Gaas 1549-78
• Hans Mogenssøn 1578-95
• Isak Grønbek 1596-1617
• Anders Christensen Arreboe 1617-22
• Peder Jenssøn Schjelderup 1622-42
• Erik Bredal 1643-72