Pétur Sigurgeirsson

Pétur Sigurgeirsson (born June 2, 1919 in Ísafjörður , Iceland ; † June 4, 2010 in Reykjavík ) was an Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran theologian and writer . From 1981 to 1989 he was Bishop of Iceland.

Life

Pétur Sigurgeirsson grew up as the oldest of four siblings in the far northwest of Iceland. His father was the pastor and provost of Ísafjörður, Sigurgeir Sigurðsson , who was appointed Bishop of Iceland in 1939. Pétur graduated from the Menntaskólinn in Reykjavík in 1940 and shortly thereafter began studying theology at the University of Iceland , which he completed in 1944. In the same year he also obtained a master's degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia . He then studied journalism, English and biblical theology at Stanford University .

After his return to Iceland he worked as pastor of Akureyri from 1948 . In 1969 Pétur became Evangelical Lutheran titular bishop in Hólar in northern Iceland . On October 1, 1981, he succeeded Sigurbjörn Einarsson as Bishop of Iceland. He was the head of the Icelandic State Church until 1989.

Besides theological works written Pétur hymns , the children's book Litli Hárlokkur og fleiri sögur (1952) and a book on the island of Grimsey (1971). His memoirs under the title Líf og trú (Life and Faith) appeared in 1997.

Pétur was married to the administrative officer Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir (1926–2013). The couple had four children.

Web links

• Obituary for Pétur Sigurgeirsson (Icelandic)

predecessor	Office	successor
Sigurbjörn Einarsson	Bishop of Iceland 1981–1989	Ólafur Skúlason

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 .