Finnur Jónsson (Bishop)

Finnur Jónsson (born January 16, 1704 in Hítardalur , † July 23, 1789 in Skálholt ) was an Evangelical Lutheran bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland . He was the penultimate bishop who still had his seat there.

Life

Family and education

Finnur Jónsson was born on January 16, 1704 as the son of the pastor and historian Jón Halldórsson and his wife Sigríður Björnsdóttir in Hítardalur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland.

He was tutored first at home, then received his secondary education in Skálholt and finally went to Copenhagen to study theology at the local college .

Professional career and work

From 1732 to 1743 he was pastor in Reykholt . He was then promoted to provost in the diocese of Skálholt and finally he served there from 1754 to 1785 as bishop.

It seems that he was initially reluctant to take on the office of bishop because of the administrative tasks involved.

Scientific work

Like his father and various relatives, Finnur Jónsson was a well-known humanities scholar who became the first Icelander to obtain a doctorate in theology in 1774.

Under the title Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiæ he published a church history of Iceland written in Latin from 1772–1778 in Copenhagen . Numerous other writings came from his pen, especially in the fields of theology and church history.

Family and inheritance

Finnur Jónsson was married to Guðríður Gísladóttir (1707–1766), who in turn was descended from Jón Vigfússon , the bishop of Hólar .

Finnur's successor on the bishopric was one of his sons, Hannes Finnsson . He was actually ordained bishop in 1777 and held the office for his father until he died on July 23, 1789.

Although most of the houses in Skálholt were damaged in a major earthquake in 1784 and most of the cattle had died as a result of the toxic rainfall from the volcanic eruptions of the Laki crater after 1783, Finnur refused to leave the site until his death.

See also

• History of Iceland

Web links

• Skálholt's website (Icelandic)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated December 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Skálholt's website, removed: August 15, 2010 
2. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated December 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Skálholt's website, removed: August 15, 2010 

predecessor	Office	successor
Ólafur Gíslason	Bishop of Skálholt 1754 - 1785	Hannes Finnsson

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .