Helge Ljungberg


Helge Ljungberg was a Swedish religious historian and Bishop of Stockholm from 1954 till 1971.

Biography

Ljungberg was born on November 25, 1904 in Enköping in Uppsala County, Sweden, the son of David Ljungberg and Hilda Jansson and brother of politician Blenda Ljungberg. he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1926, and with a doctorate in theology from Uppsala University in 1938 with his dissertation concerning the change of religion from Norse religion and Christianity in the Nordic countries. He was considered as a specialist in the pre-Christian religions in Sweden and in 1980 published the popular book Röde Orm och Vite Krist. He was an associate professor of religious history with religious psychology at Uppsala University between 1938 and 1950.
In 1947 he became vicar of Oscar's Church while in 1950 he became pastor of Engelbrekt Church in Stockholm. In 1954 he was appointed Bishop of Stockholm. In 1960, as Bishop of Stockholm, Ljungberg ordained the first woman priest in the Church of Sweden. He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Uppsala in 1958 and was involved in the Society Pro Fide et Christianismo between 1974 and 1983. He was the editor of the magazine Vår lösen between 1941 and 1951. He died on November 24, 1983 and was buried in the cemetery of Danderyd church.

Publications