Tor Berger Jørgensen

Tor Berger Jørgensen (born 27 December 1945 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian Bishop who until 2015 was Bishop of the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland in the Church of Norway.[1] Appointed in 2019, he now serves as the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain and resides in London.

The Right Reverend Tor Berger Jørgensen
Bishop Emeritus of Sør-Hålogaland Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain
Church	Church of Norway
In office	2007-2015
Predecessor	Øystein Ingar Larsen
Successor	Ann-Helen Fjeldstad Jusnes
Other posts	Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain (2019– )
Personal details
Born	27 December 1945 Oslo, Norway
Nationality	Norwegian
Denomination	Church of Norway
Spouse	Anne Berger Jørgensen
Occupation	priest, provost, bishop
Education	cand.theol.
Alma mater	MF Norwegian School of Theology

Jørgensen was appointed the Bishop of Sør-Hålogaland on 17 November 2006 and took over those duties from Øystein Ingar Larsen on 28 January 2007.[2][3] Jørgensen had previously been the dean of Bodø Cathedral since 2000 and had for various periods been deputy for the bishop.

Jørgensen received the cand.theol. degree (equivalent to a combined Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Divinity) from the Misjonshøgskolen/MF Norwegian School of Theology in 1972. Jørgensen worked for 15 years as a missionary priest in Japan for the Norwegian Missionary Society. He then served as its general secretary from 1991 to 1999. Jørgensen was a candidate for bishop of the Diocese of Oslo in 2005, but Ole Christian Kvarme was elected.[4]

Beliefs

In 2000, Jørgensen supported the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the Church of Norway. He is considered to be one of the liberal bishops in the church's General Synod. A week before he became bishop, he gave an interview to a newspaper stating that he supported a ritual in church for same-sex couples to take part in a Civil union.[5][6][7]

In 2009, Jørgensen ordained a female priest that was unmarried and living with the father of her child. The issue of cohabitation of unmarried priests is a controversial topic in the Church of Norway. Some called for his resignation.[1][8]

References

1. Lindekleiv, Heidi Marie. "Biskop sa ja til prest som lever som samboer - Nå raser preste-Norge" (in Norwegian). VG Nett.
2. "Tor B. Jørgensen vigsles til biskop 28. januar" (in Norwegian). Kirken.no. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
3. "Biskoper i Sør-Hålogaland bispedømme 1952-2009" (in Norwegian). Kirken.no. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
4. Store norske leksikon. "Tor Berger Jørgensen" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 October 2011.
5. "Den homofile agenda" (in Norwegian). Norge Idag. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
6. "Nekter fortsatt å vigsle homofile prester" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet.no. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
7. "Ja til to homofilisyn i Kirken" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet.no. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
8. "Prestekritikk mot biskop som ordinerte samboer". Dagbladet. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2011.

External links

• Lutheran Church in Great Britain
• Lutheran Council of Great Britain
• Den Norske Kirke
• Church of Norway
• Porvoo Communion of Churches