Erik Varden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Right Reverend Professor

Erik Varden

O.C.S.O.
Bishop-Prelate of
Territorial Prelature of Trondheim
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
Appointed1 October 2019
PredecessorBernt Ivar Eidsvig
(Ap. Administrator)
SuccessorIncumbent
Other post(s)Abbot of Mount St Bernard Abbey (2013–2019)
Orders
Ordination16 July 2011 (Priest)
by Malcolm McMahon
Consecration3 October 2020 in Nidaros Cathedral
by Bernt Ivar Eidsvig
Personal details
Birth nameErik Varden
Born (1974-05-13) 13 May 1974 (age 47)
Sarpsborg, Norway
MottoLatin: Coram Fratribus Intellexi
Understanding with my brothers
Styles of
Erik Varden
Coat of arms of Erik Varden.svg
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Erik Varden, O.C.S.O. (born 13 May 1974) is a Norwegian Roman Catholic spiritual writer and Bishop-Prelate of the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim since 1 October 2019.

Early life and education[]

Fr. Varden was born in a non-practising Lutheran family in South Norway and grew up in the village of Degernes.[1] His Christian life was inspired by Fr. Tadeusz Hoppe, S.D.B. After school education in his native country, he continued to study at the Atlantic College, Wales (until 1992) and after at Magdalene College, Cambridge (1992–1995) with Master of Arts degree.[2] He obtained a doctorate from St John's College, Cambridge and Licentiate of Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.

He officially joined the Catholic Church in June 1993.[1] He joined Mount St Bernard Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Coalville in Leicestershire, England in 2002;[2] he made a profession on 1 October 2004 and a solemn profession on 6 October 2007, and was ordained as priest on 16 July 2011,[3] for this community by Bishop Malcolm McMahon.

From 2011 to 2013 he was a professor of Syriac language, monastic history, and Christian anthropology at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm in Rome.[2]

Monastic Leadership[]

Father Varden left teaching at St. Anselm in Rome and returned to his Abbey in 2013 upon his appointment as Superior Administrator of the Abbey.[2] On 16 April 2015, Father Erik Varden became the eleventh Abbot of Mount St Bernard Abbey, following a further election,[4] also becoming the first abbot to have been born outside Britain or Ireland to lead this abbey. He also is an author of books and articles in the field of Christian spirituality and monasticism.[1] He is also a musician and studied Gregorian Chant under Dr. Mary Berry, later co-founding the Chant Forum with Dame Margaret Truran of Stanbrook Abbey.

In 2015, Abbot Varden was interviewed as part of a BBC Four documentary, Saints and Sinners: Britain's Millennium of Monasteries, by Dr. Janina Ramirez.[5]

Episcopal Ministry Trondheim[]

On 1 October 2019, he was appointed by Pope Francis as the Prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Trondheim in his native Norway, which had been vacant for the previous ten years.[3] The consecration of Fr. Varden was scheduled for 4 January 2020 but was postponed because of health issues.[6]

He received episcopal consecration on 3 October 2020 in Nidaros Cathedral.[7] He is the first native Norwegian bishop of Trondheim in modern times: his five predecessors were all German.[8][9]

See also[]

  • Varden, Erik, Fr (2018). The Shattering of Loneliness : On Christian Remembrance. London. ISBN 9781472953261.
  • Varden, Erik (2011). Redeeming freedom : the principle of servitude in Bérulle. Roma: Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo. ISBN 9783830674788.
  • Varden, Erik (2021). Homesick for Glory: A Trappist About the Abundance of Life. Verlag Herder. ISBN 9783451820205.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Guzzetti, Silvia (7 November 2019). "FATHER ERIK VARDEN: "GOD TOUCHED MY HEART WITH MUSIC". Famiglia Cristiana Website (in Italian). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Ny biskop-prelat i Trondheim". www.katolsk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Father Erik Varden, O.C.S.O." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Mount Saint Bernard List of Abbots" (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. ^ Ramirez, Janina. "Saints and Sinners: Britain's Millennium of Monasteries". Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Planned episcopal ordination of the Trappist Dom Erik Varden Suspended" (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. ^ Stocke-Nicolaisen, Petter T. "Bishop-elect to the believers: There is an inherent joy in everything that exists!" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Norway's Newest Bishop is Cistercian Monk". Retrieved 6 Oct 2020.
  9. ^ Varden, Bishop Erik. "Bishop of Trondheim". Retrieved 4 October 2020.

External links[]

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Joseph Delargy 		Abbot of Mount St Bernard Abbey
2013–2019 		Succeeded by
Joseph Delargy
Preceded by
Bernt Ivar Eidsvig
(as Apostolic Administrator) 		Prelate of Territorial Prelature of Trondheim
2019–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Retrieved from ""