The
Ancient See of Aarhus (Latin:
Arusia,
Arusiensis) was a pre-
reformation Catholic diocese in
Denmark.
The diocese included the provinces (amter) of
Aarhus and
Randers, the islands of
Samsø and
Tunø, and, after 1396, part of the province of
Viborg.
Norse Foundations
Frode,
King of
Jutland, built the church of the Holy Trinity at Aarhus in about 900. In 948 Archbishop
Adaldag of
Hamburg consecrated
Reginbrand as missionary
Bishop of Aarhus. Jutland was consolidated into a single diocese after Reginbrand's death in 988, with Viborg or Ribe as its centre. The diocese, then a
suffragan of
Hamburg-Bremen, was redivided in 1060, and
Bishop Christian of Aarhus was ordained by
Adalbert I,
Archbishop of Hamburg. In 1104 the diocese became a suffragan of the then newly elevated
Archdiocese of Lund.
Early Bishops
Bishop
Ulfketil (1102-1134) planned the town of Aarhus. The warlike
Svend Udsson (1166-1191) founded the
Cistercian abbey at
Om.
Saint Clement's Cathedral
Bishop Ulfketil built a wooden church in 1102 to contain the relics of
Saint Clement. In about 1150 the
Venerable Niels,
Prince of Denmark was buried in the churchyard. The offerings at his tomb facilitated the commencement of a new stone cathedral.
Peter Vagnsen, Svend Udsson's successor, began the construction of the stone
Cathedral of Saint Clement in 1201, which was finished about 1263. In 1330 the greater part of it was burnt down.
Peter Jensen Lodeliat (1386-1395) and
Bo Magnussen (1395-1423) were the prelates mainly concerned in the erection of the present building.
The Reformation
The last Catholic bishop,
Ove Bilde resisted the
Reformation but was imprisoned in 1536. In this he was aided by
Paulus Heliae, prior of the
Carmelite monastery at
Elsinore.
Religious Life in the Diocese
There were in the diocese: a chapter with 34 prebendaries at Aarhus cathedral;
Benedictines at
Essenbeck,
Voer,
Alling, and
Veirlov;
Augustinian Canons at
Tvilum,
Cistercians at Øm, who survived till 1560; and
Carthusians at Aarhus. There were also
Franciscans at
Horsens and Randers,
Dominicans at Aarhus,
Horsens, and Randers, Carmelites and a hospital of the
Holy Spirit at Aarhus. There were
Hospitallers of St. John till 1568 at Horsens. Lastly there were
Brigittines at
Mariager from 1412 to 1592.
Category:Roman Catholic Church in Denmarkpl:Diecezja Aarhus 
