Olav Øygard

Olav Øygard (born 29 July 1956) is a Norwegian Lutheran prelate of the Church of Norway who served as the Bishop of Nord-Hålogaland 2014–2025. Nord-Hålogaland covers Troms and Finnmark countries, and also Svalbard. Øygard is a self-described "middle of the Church" theologian.

Early life and education Øygard was born on 29 July 1956.

His earned his Cand.theol. degree in the autumn of 1980 from the MF Norwegian School of Theology. On 25 April 1985, he took office as senior pastor in Sør-Varanger Municipality, working out of the Kirkenes Church.

In addition, he was involved in programs working with disabled people abroad, in the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Romania, Russia, and Tanzania. As a result, Øygard began overseeing the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland's transition to fiscal independence. Speaking to the newspaper Harstad Tidende, Øygard said that although he was happy to see the achievement of separation of church and state, it was likely that the diocese would enter a period of financial difficulty, with the new responsibility of paying the salaries of 90 priests and 15 administrative employees. He said that as a result, the diocese would have to decrease the number of worship services and vacate about ten positions over the course of the year due to lack of funds.

Views When asked about his theology, Øygard has described himself as an "ordinary MF theologian" who is "about in the middle of the Church." He emphasizes that faith in Jesus Christ unites the Church, while still advocating tolerance for other views. On his Church of Norway profile during the bishops' elections in 2014, he described his views as follows:"With my theology, I am keen to emphasize that our religion is linked to the belief in certain historical events, first and foremost the death and resurrection of Jesus. If we do not believe that this has happened, faith becomes meaningless. I certainly believe that the Bible also helps us in ethical questions, but realizes that it is difficult to give concrete ethical advice in a time that is so different from the time when the Bible revelation was given. I have a strong commitment to people with mental retardation. When the churches integrate mentally disabled people in a good way, this helps to strengthen a human view that values man because he is created by God and fellowship with him, and not of what human beings are capable of performing."

Personal life Øygard is married.