Letter from Joseph Ferencz and Haugerud's ordination

The letter from bishop Joseph Ferencz

History is exciting and at the moment I am doing research on the early Unitarian movement here in Norway. The movement begun in our capital, Oslo (then named Christiania or Kristiania), about 1893 for more or less to vanish into nowhere in 1937. One of the new discoveries is that in 1909 the Unitarian pastor Herman Haugerud travelled to the USA and England in order to collect money for a church building the Norwegian Unitarians were planning to erect. Looking at Haugerud's old correspondence suddenly a letter from the Hungarian bishop Joseph Ferencz (see photo) turns up. Here he writes that the Unitarian churches in Hungary have collected 1,000 Crowns for the Norwegian Unitarians. Here you may read the letter (pdf).

(The photo of the bishop is linked from Panteon where you may find more photos.)


Haugerud's ordination

We have also been so lucky to find the liturgy of the Ordination Service to the Norwegian Unitarian paster Herman Haugerud (d. 1937). He was ordained Wednesday Evening on December 3 1890 in the Unitarian Church in Puyallup in Washington.



In the Christian Register, December 18 1890 (page 825) we find the following:

(Thanks to John Hurley that provided this information. Thanks also to Clifford Wunderlich and Wes Hromatko that confirmed the place of Haugerud's ordination, and C. D. M. Hogan that provided further information.)

For first time it has been possible to find a photo of the Norwegian Unitarian pastor Herman Haugerud. He was educated as Unitarian pastor in the USA, served there for many years and was called to serve as pastor to the Norwegian Unitarian Church in Oslo. Here he worked from 1904 to 1937 when he died.