Johannes Smemo was a Norwegian theologian, psalmist, and a long-time bishop in the Church of Norway.
15 Facts About Johannes Smemo
1.
2.
Johannes Smemo was born to a railroad foreman John Smemo and teacher Mali Grytbak.
3.
Johannes Smemo died in Oslo, Norway on 7 March 1973 and he is buried at the Var Frelsers gravlund in Oslo.
4.
Johannes Smemo was a Commander with star of the Norwegian Order of St Olav and a Commander 1st class of the Swedish Order of the Polar Star.
5.
Johannes Smemo received a gold King Haakon VII Commemorative Medal for his work at the funeral of the Norwegian King.
6.
Johannes Smemo received an honorary Doctor of Theology degree from Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota in the United States.
7.
Johannes Smemo immediately went on to the Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo where he received a Cand.
8.
Johannes Smemo began his career as an assistant priest at Bragernes Church in Drammen Municipality from 1925 until 1933.
9.
Johannes Smemo played an active role in the leadership of the Church's resistance movement during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany.
10.
Johannes Smemo held that position at the Kristiansand Cathedral until 1951 when he was appointed to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Oslo.
11.
Johannes Smemo chaired the psalm commission of the Church of Norway from 1954 to 1968.
12.
Johannes Smemo gave the sermon at the consecration ceremony for the new King Olav V in 1958 at the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.
13.
Johannes Smemo remained Bishop of Oslo from 1951 until his retirement in 1968.
14.
Bishop Johannes Smemo wrote several theological books during his time as priest, seminary rector, and bishop.
15.
Johannes Smemo wrote and translated several books of psalms and hymns, and he was part of the commission that edited the Church of Norway hymnbook that was presented in the 1960s.