Bernt Julius Muus
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Background
Muus was born in the parish Snaasen in Throndhjems Stift in Snåsa, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Having graduated from the Latin school of Trondheim in 1849, he entered the University of Christiania where he studied theology and completed his theological training in 1854. He immigrated to the United States in 1859. [2]
Career
Muus was the first resident pastor of Holden Lutheran Church in Kenyon, Minnesota. During a forty-year ministry, Muus traveled indefatigably to establish and minister to congregations in southern Minnesota. Muus also founded St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota, Fox Lake Lutheran Church in Rice County, Minnesota and many other churches in southern Minnesota.[3]
Muus filled the office of bishop of the Minnesota District of the Norwegian Synod, took an active part in theological disputes, and ceaselessly urged the church to do more in the field of education. In 1874, Muus led a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers to found St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. St. Olaf College is a residential, four-year private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[4]
Although his achievements were considerable, the career of Bernt Julius Muus was that of a fascinating, capable, but flawed leader. He was expelled from his church for failure to conform to doctrine in 1898. Pastor Muus was stricken with partial paralysis in 1899. He returned to Norway and was buried in Trondheim, Norway at the Nidaros Cathedral cemetery. [5]
See Also
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Promise of America
- ↑ The Beginnings of St. Olaf College Ingebrikt Grose. Norwegian-American Historical Association, Volume V: Page 110
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Related Reading
- Nelson, E. Clifford; Fevold, Eugene L. (1960) The Lutheran Church among Norwegian-Americans: a history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Augsburg Publishing House)
- Shaw, Joseph M. (1999) Bernt Julius Muus: Founder of St. Olaf College (Norwegian-American Historical Association) ISBN 0-87732-088-8
- Holand, Hjalmar (2006) History of the Norwegian Settlements (Astri My Astri Publishing) ISBN 978-0-9760541-1-5
