U. V. Koren - Biography

Biography

Koren was born in Bergen, Norway. Although the family home was at Bergen, but they also spent much time at Selja, at the home of Koren's paternal uncle, Laurentius Koren. Selja, which was formerly known as Selø, is a small island in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Koren lived there after the death of his father, Paul S. S. Koren, a sea captain, in an earthquake on Haiti in 1842. Koren was a 1852 theology graduate from the Royal Frederick University. In 1853 he married Else Elisabeth Hysing. Else's father, Ahlert Hysing, had been rector of the Latin School at Larvik which Koren had attended.

Koren was called to the United States to serve the Little Iowa Congregation (later called Washington Prairie) in Winneshiek County, Iowa. He was the first Lutheran minister from Norway to settle west of the Mississippi. Koren's pastorate included large parts of Northeastern Iowa and Southern Minnesota. Many of the Lutheran congregations within that area look to Pastor Koren as their founder. Koren played an active part in the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, holding various positions from secretary in 1855 to president of the synod from 1894 until his death in 1910.

During his ministry, Koren wrote numerous publications addressing various issues of concern to the Lutheran religious community. Koren was also instrumental in purchasing the land and locating Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. In 1903, he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary. He was made a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav by the King of Norway. Rev. Koren died on December 19, 1910 and was buried in the cemetery of Washington Prairie Lutheran Church, Decorah, Iowa.