Fridtjov Søiland Birkeli

Fridtjov Søiland Birkeli (26 May 1906 – 17 September 1983) was a Norwegian Lutheran missionary, writer, magazine editor, and bishop. He also served in the administration of the Lutheran World Federation.

Resignation The circumstances around Birkeli's resignation in 1973 were revealed nearly thirty years later. The bishops collegium received a letter with accusations, as part of a blackmail, regarding the fact that Birkeli had secretly resumed a relationship with a girlfriend from his youth days. The bishops concluded that Birkeli ought to resign from his position as front figure of the Church of Norway as soon as possible, before an eventual revelation in the media.