Hans Gerhard Stub

Hans Gerhard Stub (February 23, 1849 – August 1, 1931) was an American Lutheran theologian and church leader. He served as Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America.^[1]

Hans Gerhard Stub
Hans Gerhard Stub, 1920s
Church	Norwegian Synod Norwegian Lutheran Church in America
In office	1917–1925
Other post(s)	President, National Lutheran Council (1918–1921)
Previous post(s)	President, Luther College (1898–1900)
Orders
Ordination	1878
Personal details
Born	(1849-02-23)February 23, 1849 Muskego, Wisconsin, US
Died	August 1, 1931(1931-08-01) (aged 82)
Denomination	Lutheran
Alma mater	Luther College (1866) Concordia Seminary (1872)

Background

Hans Gerhard Stub was born in Muskego, Wisconsin. His parents were Lutheran pastor Hans Andreas Stub (1822–1907) and Ingeborg Margrethe Arentz (1815–1892), both immigrants from Norway. Hans Stub was born in an immigrant cabin. He was shaped from childhood by the life within the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Norwegian Synod), which his father had help found in 1853. He studied for a time in Norway at the Bergen Cathedral School.

Stub later attended Luther College and belonged to the first class that graduated from there in 1866. He was a theological candidate at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1872 and became a pastor in Minneapolis during 1878.^[2] He was a professor of theology and from 1879 head of Luther Seminary, first in Madison, Wisconsin, later in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1881 to 1882, he studied at the Leipzig University.

Ministry

He was a pastor in Decorah, Iowa, from 1896 to 1900 and later became a professor at Luther College (1898–1900). In 1900 he became a professor and the head of the Luther Seminary. He was editor of several journals, including the Norwegian language Teologisk tidsskrift from 1899 to 1908. Stub was also the author of numerous books and articles.^[3]

Stub became head of the Norwegian Synod from 1911. On June 9, 1917, the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America, the Hauge Synod, and the Norwegian Synod merged. From 1917 to 1925, Stub served as the first Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America, which resulted from the church unification. He was also a founder and later president (1918–1921) of the National Lutheran Council in the United States.^[4]

Stub was appointed a Knight of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1908, Commander in 1912, and received the Grand Cross in 1926. Stub was the recipient of the first honorary degree (a Doctor of Laws) granted by Luther College on his 75th birthday, February 23, 1924. He also received honorary degrees from Capitol University and St. Olaf College. The papers of Hans Gerhard Stub are contained within the Luther College Archives.^[5]

Personal life

Hans Stub was married three times. In 1876 with Didrikke Aall Ottesen (1855–1879), daughter of Lutheran Church leader, Jacob Aall Ottesen (1825–1904). In 1884 with Valborg Charlotte Amalie Hovind (1860–1901), and in 1906 with Anna Skabo (1867–1960). Through his second wife, he was the brother-in-law of Norwegian publisher, Hagbard Emanuel Berner.

Selected works

• Om Naadevalget (1881)
• Foredrag mod det humanistiske og saakaldte kristelige Frimureri (1882)
• Hr. Kristofer Jansons prædiken (1893)
• Fra fars og mors liv (1907)
• Hvad staar iveien for det kirkelige enighedsarbeide blandt os? (1911)
• Foreningssagens Gang (1916)
• Interchurch World Movement (1920)
• Reminiscenses from Bygone Days (1922)