Ole Christian Mælen Kvarme (born November 11, 1948 in Molde

Molde

is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Romsdal region. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord...

) is the Bishop of Oslo

Diocese of Oslo

Oslo bishopric is The Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070.-History:...

 in the Lutheran 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...

 since 2005. As Bishop of Oslo, Kvarme is the personal prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

 of the Norwegian Royal Family

Norwegian Royal Family

The Royal Family of Norway is the family of King Harald V of Norway. In Norway there is a distinction between the Royal House and the Royal Family. The Royal House includes only the King and his spouse, the Queen, the King's eldest son with spouse, being the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and the...

.

He graduated from 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 1974, and studied further in Göttingen

Göttingen

Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

 and Jerusalem. He was ordained to priest for mission service abroad in Bodø

Bodø

is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...

 in 1975.

Kvarme worked as a research assistant at the MF Norwegian School of Theology 1972 to 1974, as a Bible translator for the Norwegian Bible Society

Norwegian Bible Society

The Norwegian Bible Society is the official Bible society of Norway, founded May 26, 1816. See also Bible translations into Norwegian-External links:**...

 from 1973, as a military chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 in 1975, as a missionary priest for Den Norske Israelsmisjon in Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

 1976 to 1981. He was the executive secretary of the Norwegian Bible Society in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and of the Norwegian Bible Society on the West Bank from 1976 to 1981. From 1982 to 1986 he led the Caspari Center for Biblical and Jewish Studies, and from 1986 to 1996 he was secretary general of the Norwegian Bible Society.

He was Dean

Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 in Oslo Cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 from 1996 to 1998 and was appointed Bishop of Borg

Diocese of Borg

Borg is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The diocese includes parishes in the counties of Østfold and Akershus, excluding Asker and Bærum . It was created in 1969 by separation from the Diocese of Oslo. The cathedral city is Fredrikstad....

 in 1998. In 2005, he was appointed Bishop of Oslo. His appointment as Bishop of Oslo by the second cabinet Bondevik

Second cabinet Bondevik

Bondevik's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 19 October 2001 and 17 October 2005. It was led by Kjell Magne Bondevik and consisted of the Conservative Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. It had the following composition:...

 was criticized by non-Christians and liberal Christians because he is loyal to the decision of the highest body of the Church of Norway not to allow practicing homosexuals as priests.

He is considered a centrist moderate conservative.

Publications

• Kirkens jødiske røtter, Oslo 1985.
• Apostlenes Gjerninger - studiebok på hebraisk, Jerusalem 1986.
• Bibelen i Norge, Oslo 1991.
• Evighet i tiden. En bok om jødisk sabbatsglede og kristen søndagsfeiring, Oslo 1992.
• Evangeliet i vår kultur, Oslo 1995 (together with Olav Fykse Tveit
  Olav Fykse Tveit
  Olav Fykse Tveit is a Norwegian Lutheran theologian. He was elected to the post of general secretary of the World Council of Churches on 27 August 2009. He entered office on 1 January 2010, for a proposed term of five years....
  
  ).
• Åtte dager i Jerusalem. En bok om Jesu påske, om jødisk og kristen påskefeiring, Oslo 1996.
• Gjennom det gode landet, Oslo 1997.

External links

• Personal webpage (in Norwegian)