MF Norwegian School of Theology

Norwegian School of Theology (MF)

Det teologiske Menighetsfakultet
Motto	In Principio Erat Verbum
Type	Private
Established	1907
Rector	Vidar L. Haanes
Administrative staff	100
Students	1100
Location	Oslo, Norway
Affiliations	The Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions; IMHE; the Nordic University Association
Website	mf.no

Norwegian School of Theology (1908), formerly the Free Faculty of Theology (Norwegian: Det teologiske Menighetsfakultet) is an accredited Norwegian Specialized University focused on Theology, Religion, Education, and Social Studies, located in Oslo, Norway. With three departments (the Department of Theology, the Department of Religious Education and Pedagogical Studies, and the Department of Religion and Society), the Norwegian School of Theology educates scholars (PhD), teachers, ministers, and other professionals at the undergraduate and graduate level for leadership and service both nationally and internationally. It is Norway’s largest school of theology, religion and social sciences, and enrolls approximately 1200 students from both Norway and other countries.

The Norwegian School of Theology strives to continually grow as a leading school of Theology, Religious Studies, Social Sciences, and Religious Education through research in line with the highest standards of international excellence, the application and dissemination of knowledge, and the pursuit of quality education in an environment of freedom, credibility, and cooperation, devoted to the personal growth and formation of students. Beginning as a confessional school, today it is an ecumenical inclusive school offering education specific to a number of denominations (Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, Salvation Army and Pentecostal).

MF was founded in 1907 by a body of people (Norwegian academics, politicians, clergy and lay people) wanting to build the education and research on the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.

The main reason for the establishing of the School was an appointment to a professoriate at the Faculty of Theology at University of Oslo. The Chair of Systematic Theology was vacant after the death of Fredrik Petersen in 1903, and in 1906 the liberal theologian Johannes Ording was appointed to the Chair. Ording was appointed after a lengthy debate which almost led to a crisis in the Government of Norway. It was not supported by the other leading professors at the faculty, and Sigurd Odland at the Faculty of Theology and the Minister of Church Affairs Christopher Knudsen in the Government left their positions following the appointment.