Per Oskar Kjølaas
Encyclopedia
Kirkenes
is a town in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in the county of Finnmark in the far northeast of Norway...
) is the current bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland
Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland
Nord-Hålogaland is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers Lutheran churches in the counties of Troms, Finnmark and Svalbard. The cathedral city is Tromsø, and the bishop since 2002 is Per Oskar Kjølaas...
in the Church of Norway
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...
.
Kjølaas studied at the MF Norwegian School of Theology
MF Norwegian School of Theology
The Norwegian School of Theology , is a private, independent, accredited Norwegian specialised university...
in Oslo, having graduated as cand. theol. in 1974, but also holds a certificate in Sami Language and Culture from the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
(1984, Minor in Sami Language and Culture).
He worked as a minister in northern Norway (Sortland
Sortland
is a town and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. In 1997, the municipality decided to declare township for Sortland...
, Kautokeino
Kautokeino
or Guovdageaidnu , is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino...
and Karasjok
Karasjok
Kárášjohka or is a village and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok.-Name:Karasjok is a Norwegianized form of the Sámi name Kárášjohka...
), serving both as a vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, rector/priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
. He has also worked as a secretary to the bishop (Diocesan vicar) and held various positions as an educator and translator of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into Sami languages
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
.
Kjølaas was consecrated as a bishop in 2002.