Background
Grønningsæter was born in the municipality of Stranda in Sunnmøre, Norway on 26 May 1923. He was the son of Fredrik and Katharina (née Ottesen) Grønningsæterritory
Grønningsæter was born in the municipality of Stranda in Sunnmøre, Norway on 26 May 1923. He was the son of Fredrik and Katharina (née Ottesen) Grønningsæterritory
MF Norwegian School of Theology.
He received his Candidate.theol. degree from the MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo in 1951. He was ordained on 21 October 1951 by the Bishop Johannes Smemo. He worked as an assistant pastor at the Nidaros Cathedral from 1957 until 1962.
He was then the priest of Gimsøy in Lofoten from 1962 until 1968.
He worked as a priest in Oslo from 1968 until 1972 when he became the resident chaplain at the Oslo Cathedral. He served at the Oslo Cathedral from 1972 until 1982.
In 1982, he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland, a post he held until he resigned in 1992.