Name Olav Skjevesland | ||
 | ||
Olav Skjevesland (born 31 May 1942 in Drøbak, Norway) is Norwegian theologian and priest. He was the Bishop of the Diocese of Agder og Telemark from 1998 until his retirement in 2012, and since that time he has been a Bishop Emeritus. He was also the Preses (Primus inter pares, "first among equals") and thus presided over the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway from 2006 until 2010. During his time as a bishop, he was considered to be theologically conservative and he was opposed to letting gay priests serve in the church.
Contents
Personal life
Olav Skjevesland was born on 31 May 1942 in Drøbak in Frogn municipality in Akershus county, Norway. His wife, Anne Katrine Skjevesland, died in 2009.
Education and career
Skjevesland attended the Menighetsfakultet school, graduating in 1967 with a Cand.theol. degree, followed by taking the Practical Theology exam in 1969. His first job was as an assistant priest in the Nordstrand parish in Oslo from 1968-1972. Next, he was a lecturer with the Norwegian Diakonhjem organization from 1972-1974. He also worked as a secretary for the Norwegian priest's trade union from 1973-1975. From 1975 to 1976, Olav Skjevesland was a parish priest at the Kampen Church in Oslo. From 1976 until 1979, he became the resident chaplain at the Nøtterøy Church in Vestfold county.
In 1981, he was hired as the rector of the Menighetsfakultet's practical theological seminary, a position he held until 1994. He then took a job as professor at the same school from 1994-1998. In 1998, he was appointed to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Agder. In 2005, the diocese was renamed "Agder og Telemark" to fully represent the area that it covered. In 2006, he was elected for a four-year term as the Preses of the Bishops' Conference in the Church of Norway. In 2012, he retired from his job as bishop.