Christian Cyclopedia

(1783–1872). B. Udby, Zealand, Den.; Luth. bp.; poet; educator; 1810 trial sermon attacked rationalism and espoused Luth. orthodoxy; asst. to his father; pastor Praestö 1821, Vartov Hosp. Ch., Copenhagen, 1839; bp. 1861 but without see. Held that the Word heard in the ch. through the ages, esp. the Apostles' Creed, rather than written Scripture, was the “Living Word” given to the ch. by Christ Himself. By this Word and in the sacraments God meets the individual in the ch. Grundtvig's system of govt. stressed autonomy of the local cong.; est. Folk High School. Hymns tr. into Eng. include “Built on the Rock the Church Doth Stand” and “God's Word Is Our Great Heritage”; other works include Decline of the Heroic Life in the North; Rhyme of Roskilde; Songs for the Danish Church. His son Svend Hersleb (1824–83) was noted philologist and folklorist. See also Adult Education; Denmark, Lutheranism in, 8.

H. Koch, Grundtvig [Danish], (Copenhagen, 1943); P. G. Lindhardt, Grundtvig: An Introduction (London, 1951); E. D. Nielsen, N. F. S. Grundtvig: An American Study (Rock Island, Illinois, 1955); J. Knudsen, Danish Rebel: A Study of N. F. S. Grundtvig (Philadelphia, 1955).