Georg Sverdrup (President of Augsburg Seminary)
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- For the founder of the Norwegian university library, see Georg Sverdrup.
Georg Sverdrup (December 16, 1848-May 3, 1907)[1] was a Norwegian theologian and an educator.
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[edit] Life
Born in Balestrand, Norway to Karoline Metella Suur and Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, a member of the Storthing, whose brother, Johan Sverdrup, was prime minister of Norway between 1884 and 1889. He attended the Nissen Cathedral School in Christiania and later graduated from the Christiana University (now University of Oslo) in theology in the year of 1871. Moving to France, he was educated in the subject of Semitics at the University of Paris and befriended with Sven Oftedal before travelling to Germany to perfect his knowledge in several more universities.[1]
In 1874 he moved to the United States to be a professor at Augsburg Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he lived until his death. Two years later, he was appointed as the president of the Seminary. Emphasizing the freedom of the local congregation, with friend Sven Oftedal, he founded the Lutheran Free Church in 1897. He also served as the President of Augsburg until his death in 1907. Apart from his teachings, Sverdrup became joint editor to the Theologisk Kvartalskrift (1875-77; sole editor until 1881), of the weekly church magazine Lutheraneren (1885-90), later renamed as Luthersk Kirkeblad (1890-94) and editor of the monthly magazine Gasseren (1900-07). Many of his writings are published in a six-volume set edited by Andreas Helland.[1]
Sverdrup married Katherine Elisabet Heiberg in 1874, with whom he had five children. Three years after her death, Sverdrup married Katherine's sister, with whom he had two children. His son George Sverdrup later also served as President of Augsburg.[1]
[edit] Views
In addition to the liberal views he was raised and educated in the Old Testament and dogmatics fields. Raised as a Lutheran, even though he was educated in theology, he refused to become a minister as he emphasized the spiritual life. Sverdrup was Professor of Augsburg Seminary. He was member of theNorwegian Lutheran Conference which existed between 1869 and 1890. Sverdrup believed that the congregation was "the right form of the kingdom of God on earth. That is the reason behind his participation in the formation of the Lutheran Free Church in 1897.[1]
