Rabergh, Herman

RABERGH, ra´bārH, HERMAN: Finnish bishop; b. in Abo (150 m. n.e. of Stockholm), Finland, Sept. 4, 1838. He received his education at Helsingfors (B.A., 1858; Candidate in Theology, 1867; Lic. and Th.D., 1872); in 1872 he was appointed privat-docent, and in 1873 professor, of church history there. Because of prolonged vacancies in the faculty of theology he was obliged to act as professor of practical theology (1876–82) and of dogmatics (1885–92), besides discharging the duties connected with his own chair. His earlier researches were in general ecclesiastical history, his later historical contributions were to Finnish church history. His personal influence with the students was very marked, while his activities were extensive as preacher and as member of various church societies; he was pastor (1870–75) and rector (1875–84) of the Deaconess' Home in Helsingfors; president of the Finnish Missionary Society (1886–90), and director of the Helsingfors City Mission (1883–93). In 1892 he was made bishop of Borga. As bishop he has 380been the leader of that faction of the Finnish clergy which defended confessional-conservative views in matters concerning the polity and government of the Finnish national church. He was a member of the general church assembly of 1886, which adopted a new hymnal in Swedish and Finnish, three new series of pericopes, and recommended the preparation of a new ritual and of a new manual for Christian instruction. He was a delegate also to the assemblies of 1893, 1898, 1903, as well as member of several commissions on ecclesiastical legislation, and president of the commission which prepared the new ritual (1903).

Among his writings are: Nikolaus of Basel i förhallande till kyrkan og mystikerna i det 14. Aarh. (1870); De reformator. ideernes utveckling intill 1548 (1880); Den evang. predikoverksamhetens grundläggning och utveckling intill 1640 (1883); Theologiens studium vid Åbo universitet I.–II. (Helsingfors, 1893–1902). His ecclesiastical program was set forth in Folkekyrkan och den separatistiska rörelsen (1892); while his Minnen och erfarenheter (1907) is autobiographic.

John O. Evjen.