Biography.guide
Home › People › Preacher › Per Gravdal
Portrait of Per Gravdal

Per Gravdal

1842 – 1909

Norwegian Christian leader

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Per Gravdal

Lived 1842 – 1909 (aged 66–67). Per Gravdal was a Norwegian preacher.

Per Gravdal, later Peder Olsen Nodland (1842–1909) was a Norwegian pastor and founder of the Christian denomination ('The Catholic Community', catholic here in the sense of 'universal'), one of the churches that came from the Strong Believer movement in opposition to the Haugeans. Gravdal served as its pastor for eight years from 1901 to 1909.

Gravdal was born in Bjerkreim Municipality and was a farmer. What he lacked in education, he made up for through his charismatic preaching. He became the pastor of The Community (Samfundet), where he took over the role after the death of founder Bernt Lomeland in 1900. When the churches split regarding the issue of to what extent Gravdal had the "same spirit", he and his followers, known as , were forced out of the church. He and 233 others then founded Det Almindelige Samfund, while the s continued in The Community.

Gravdal moved to the city after having been chosen as pastor. His wife remained in Nodland. His maid, Kristina Skipstad, worked at the parsonage to look after him. She held a unique role in the church "as the only woman to have held anything resembling a leadership position in a Strong Believer church community." Until she died, it was common in the parish for newborns to be given names starting with the letters P or K, or a combination of the two.

In 1905, he published ('An Exposition of the Order of God's Grace through Sermons Containing an Explanation of Sin and Grace, Fall and Redemption').

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1842
Birth century
Died
1909
Occupation
Nationality

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Per Gravdal's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Per Gravdal?

Norwegian Christian leader

When was Per Gravdal born?

Per Gravdal was born in 1842.

When did Per Gravdal die?

Per Gravdal died in 1909.

What was Per Gravdal's occupation?

Per Gravdal was a preacher.

What nationality was Per Gravdal?

Per Gravdal was Norwegian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Per Gravdal

· Wikidata: Q11995205

· DBpedia: Per Gravdal

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Per Gravdal. https://biography.guide/per-gravdal/

MLA: "Per Gravdal." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/per-gravdal/.

Chicago: "Per Gravdal." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/per-gravdal/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:06 UTC