Gissur Einarsson

Gissur Einarsson , also Gizur Einarsson, (* around 1512; † March 24, 1548 in Skálholt ) was from 1540 bishop of Skálholt in the south of Iceland and at the same time the first Lutheran bishop in the country.

education

Gissur Einarsson himself was brought up in Skálholt's school by his predecessor Ögmundur Pálsson , who thought very highly of him. He went to Hamburg for further training and there came into contact with the Reformation .

In 1538 he returned to Iceland and was ordained a priest. Like several other young theologians, including Oddur Gottskálksson , the translator of the New Testament into Icelandic, he remained a supporter of the Reformation.

Bishop election and ordination

Ögmundur chose the young theologian as his successor in 1538, it remains uncertain whether he knew of his inclination towards the Reformation. The king confirmed this choice. After Gissur returned home, he took over the bishopric and openly showed that he had become a Lutheran. Thereupon Ögmundur regretted his choice and wanted to have him deposed again.

However, this prevented Christian III. , the King of Denmark, for whom this was not least a question of power by sending troops under Christofer Huitfeld to Iceland and bringing Ögmundur to Denmark, where he died. Christian III had adopted Lutheran Christianity for himself and his subjects in his empire and wanted to achieve this also in remote Iceland, which at the time was part of the Danish kingdom. In Iceland, however, there was strong resistance from Catholic circles around Jón Arason , the Bishop of Hólar .

In the fall of 1542 Gissur Einarsson was ordained bishop in Copenhagen .

Act

As a result, Gissur Einarsson translated Christian III's church laws. from Denmark to Icelandic and supported the Danish king with the ultimate goal of establishing Evangelical Lutheran Christianity as the state religion in Iceland.

However, this took a few more years and first a compromise had to be agreed. In 1542 a pact was made with Jón Arason, preventing military conflicts until 1550. During this period the country was divided into a Lutheran south and a Catholic north.

Gissur tried to fight Catholic customs in his sphere of influence and a. remove a cross in Kaldaðarnes , to which miraculous powers had been attributed.

He died in 1548. He left behind his wife Katrin Eggertsdóttir.

See also

• History of Iceland

Web links

• Website of Skálholt to Gissur (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Ögmundur Pálsson	Bishop of Skálholt 1540–1548	Marteinn Einarsson

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 .