Name Bjorn Wegge | ||
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Bjørn Agnar Wegge (born 28 August 1947) is a Norwegian missionary leader.
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In 2002 he became secretary-general of Stefanus Alliance International, formerly named Norwegian Mission to the East, which campaigns for Christian minorities in Russia and Asia.
Career
After studying Christianity and folklore, he worked as a teacher at Tryggheim Folk High School and as cultural director in Hå municipality. From 1980 to 1987 he was information director in Strømme Foundation. He then studied briefly at Fuller Theological Seminary and was then hired as information director in Santalmisjonen. Among others he specialized in the Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise with a special interest in Azerbaijan and the theories linking ancient Scandinavia and Azerbaijan, as propounded by Thor Heyerdahl.
Thor Heyerdahl
Wegge initiated a 1997 musical album involving the Norwegian choir SKRUK and Azeri musicians and singers. The belief in Heyerdahl's theory is explicitly stated in the album's title: The Land We Came From, with the choir's leader stating that Azerbaijan was "a culture that may be our long-forgotten homeland". The album's cover featured a photograph of the ancient Caucasian Albanian church at Kish near Shäki.
The relevance of Kish church comes from J. Bjørnar Storfjell's archaeological excavation (also run by NHE and paid for by Norway) which led Heyerdahl to visit the church. The result was the appointment of Storfjell as chief archaeologist of a YUKOS-sponsored excavation to the Sea of Azov in 2001 to find evidence to back up Heyerdahl's Odin theory. Photographs of artefacts found during the Azov excavation appeared in Heyerdahl's 2001 book Jakten på Odin. På sporet av vår fortid (The Hunt for Odin. Examining our Past).
Personal life
He hails from Tveit and resides in Oslo, is married and has six children. In his early years he played in the jazz band The Real Fake Band with Eyvind Skeie, among others.