Diocese of Agder og Telemark

Diocese of Agder og Telemark Agder og Telemark bispedomme
View of the Kristiansand Cathedral
Location
Country	Norway
Territory	Vest-Agder, Aust-Agder, and Telemark
Deaneries	Kristiansand domprosti, Arendal, Aust-Nedenes, Bamble, Lister, Mandal, Otredal, Skien, Vest-Nedenes, Øvre Telemark
Coordinates	58°10′00″N 8°00′00″E / 58.1667°N 8°E / 58.1667; 8Coordinates: 58°10′00″N 8°00′00″E / 58.1667°N 8°E / 58.1667; 8
Statistics
Parishes	135
Members	341,768
Information
Denomination	Church of Norway
Established	1536
Cathedral	Kristiansand Cathedral
Current leadership
Bishop	Per Oskar Kjølaas
Map
Location of the Diocese of Agder og Telemark
Website
https://kirken.no/agder
Reference

The Diocese of Agder og Telemark (Norwegian: Agder og Telemark bispedømme) is a diocese of the Church of Norway, covering the counties of Telemark, Aust-Agder, and Vest-Agder in Norway. The cathedral city is Kristiansand, Norway's fifth largest city. Kristiansand Cathedral serves as the seat of the presiding Bishop. The bishop since 2013 has been Stein Reinertsen. As of 1 January 2003, there were 347,324 members of the Church of Norway in the diocese.

In 1125, the southern part of the Ancient Diocese of Bergen was split off as the Ancient Diocese of Stavanger. This new diocese stretched from the coast of Haugesund in the west to Gjernestangen between Risør and Kragerø, later the border stretched to Eidanger in the east. Stavanger was the cathedral city. During the Protestant Reformation, Norway became a Lutheran nation, establishing the Church of Norway. The diocesan boundaries remained the same.

Over time, however, the diocese was reduced in size. The parish of Eidfjord was transferred to the neighboring Diocese of Bjørgvin in 1630. The regions of Valdres and Hallingdal were transferred to the Diocese of Oslo in 1631, but in exchange, the Diocese of Oslo had to give the upper part of Telemark and transfer that to the Diocese of Stavanger.

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Wikipedia