The Diocese of Funen () is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. St. Canute's Cathedral in Odense serves as the seat of its bishop. Tine Lindhardt has been the bishop of the diocese since 2012.
History
The Roman Catholic bishopric of Odense was established some time before 988. During the Reformation in 1536, the Catholic diocese dissolved and was replaced by the current Lutheran Diocese of Funen. The newly established diocese's first bishop was Jørgen Sadolin, a Protestant reformer who had preached in Odense before the Reformation.
In 1803, the region of Lolland-Falster split off from the diocese to form the Diocese of Lolland-Falster. The islands of Als and Ærø similarly split off in 1819 to form their own diocese, though this diocese was eventually dissolved. Æro came back under Funen's jurisdiction in 1864, while Als is now part of the Diocese of Haderslev. Today, the Diocese of Funen consists of the islands of Funen, Langeland, and Ærø.
As of 2020, the diocese consists of 11 subordinate deaneries (): Assens, Bogense, Fåborg, Hjallese, Kerteminde, Langeland-Ærø, Middlefart, Nyborg, Odense Sankt Knuds, Midtfyn, and Svendborg. These deaneries are further divided into 234 parishes with a total of 251 individual churches.
List of bishops
Jørgen Sadolin, 1537–1559 Jacob Madsen Vejle, 1587–1606 Hans Knudsen Vejle, 1606–1616 Laurids Jacobsen Hindsholm, 1651–1663 Niels Hansen Bang, 1663–1676 Thomas Kingo, 1677–1703 Christian Rudolf Müller, 1704–1712 Christian Muus, 1712–1717 Vacant (1717–1732) Jacob Ramus, 1763–1785 Tønne Bloch, 1786–1803 Peder Hansen, 1804–1810 Fredrik Plum, 1811–1834 Nicolai Faber, 1834–1848 Vacant (1848–1851) Christian Thorning Engelsoft, 1851–1889 Vacant (1889–1900) Hans Valdemar Sthyr, 1900–1903 Laurits Nicolai Balslev, 1903–1922 Vacant (1922–1958) Hans Øllgard, 1958 Knud Christian Holm, 1958–1984 Vincent Lind, 1984–1995 Kresten Drejergaard, 1995–2012 Tine Lindhardt, 2012–2023 Mads Davidsen, 2023-present
References