Arne Fjellbu
| Arne Fjellbu | |
|---|---|
Arne Fjellbu (1960)
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 December 1890 Decorah, Iowa, United States |
| Died | 9 October 1962 (aged 71) Trondheim, Norway |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Denomination | Christian |
| Parents | Karl Anton Fjellbu Ellen Johanne Retvedt |
| Spouse | Karen Christie (1918-1962) |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Education | cand.theol. (1914) |
| Alma mater | Royal Frederick University |
Arne Fjellbu (19 December 1890 – 9 October 1962) was a Norwegian bishop. During World War II, he played a central role in the Church's resistance against the Nazi authorities. He was bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros from 1945 to 1960.
He was born in Decorah, Iowa in the United States as a son of vicar Karl Anton Fjellbu (1865–1933) and his wife Ellen Johanne Retvedt (1865–1941). In 1900, the family moved from the Red River Valley to Norway. He took his examen artium at Kristiansand Cathedral School in 1909. He then graduated from the Royal Frederick University with the cand.theol. degree in 1914, completed the practical-theological seminary and was ordained in 1916. In October 1918 he married Karen Christie (1892–1965). He was a priest in Berlin from 1916 to 1917, acting vicar in Borge from 1919-1921, and auxuliary priest in the Nidaros Cathedral from 1921-1927. He was promoted to curate in 1927 and dean in 1937.
In April 1940 the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started, supported by the Norwegian political party Nasjonal Samling. Fjellbu was anti-Nasjonal Samling already in 1940, but continued in his job. On 1 February 1942, however, the authorities demanded that Nazi priest P. Blessing-Dahle preside over the church ceremony to celebrate the inauguration (Norwegian: statsakten) of the Quisling regime. Fjellbu then held an alternative ceremony later the same day, and for that he was fired on 19 February. As a result, all bishops in the Church of Norway stepped down in protest against the Nazi regime on 24 February 1942. Fjellbu had a son, also named Arne (born 1921), who was imprisoned in Falstad concentration camp from 9 March to 9 June 1942. Fjellbu attributed the cohesion of the Church of Norway in its confrontation against Nazism to the campaign led by Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group in Norway from 1934 onwards.
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