Ole Irgens was a bishop 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...

.

He was born in Surendal

Surnadal

is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Skei. Other villages include Todalsøra, Surnadalsøra, Sylte, Glærem, Stangvik, and Åsskard....

 to 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...

 Johannes Irgens. He enrolled as a student in 1741, but was examined two years later and was hired as chaplain under his father. He left in 1756 to become a ship's priest in Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, but citing health problems, he returned to Norway in 1760 to become vicar in Faaberg

Fåberg

Fåberg is a village and former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.The parish of Faaberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . On January 1, 1964 Fåberg was incorporated into the neighboring municipality Lillehammer. Prior to the merger Fåberg had 13,381 inhabitants.The district...

. In 1773 he was promoted to vicar in the Nidaros Cathedral

Nidaros Cathedral

Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the...

, and at the same time diocesal dean (stiftsprovst) in the Diocese of Nidaros

Diocese of Nidaros

Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag counties and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. The diocese is divided into 12 deaneries . Finn Wagle was the bishop from 1991 to 2008...

. He served as vice praeses of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters

The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway.-History:DKNVS was founded in 1760 by bishop of Nidaros Johan Ernst Gunnerus, headmaster at the Trondheim Cathedral School Gerhard Schøning and Councillor of State Peter Frederik Suhm under the name...

 from 1773 to 1780.

In 1779 he took the dr.theol. degree with the thesis De spiritu oris Jehovae creante, ps. 33. v. 6. The same year he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Bjørgvin

Diocese of Bjørgvin

Bjørgvin Diocese is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers churches located in the counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. The cathedral city is Bergen. Bergen Cathedral, formerly the Church of Saint Olaf, serves as the seat of the presiding Bishop...

. He held this post until his death in 1803, having been blind for the last five years of his life. Many of his publications and speeches have been conserved.