Background
He was born in Jølster as a son of Gunnar Bondevik and Maine Cröger Tschudi.
He was born in Jølster as a son of Gunnar Bondevik and Maine Cröger Tschudi.
The family moved to Lom in 1936 and Oslo in 1946. On the maternal side he is a nephew of nephew of theologian Stephan Tschudi and a second cousin of Stephan Tschudi-Madsen. He minored in English at the University of Oslo in 1953 and took the candidate.theol. degree at the MF Norwegian School of Theology in 1957.
After a period as leader of Norsk Kristelig Studieråd from to 1957 to 1960 he began a long career in the Norwegian Church Abroad.
He was stationed as a seamen"s priest in Rotterdam from 1960 to 1962, Curacao from 1962 to 1966 and Antwerp from 1966 to 1971. He then served as a curate in Nedre Stjørdal in Norway from 1971 to 1976.
Bondevik then served as a secretary in the Norwegian Seamen"s Mission from 1976. In 1982 he was promoted to secretary-general.
From 1989 to 2001 he served as the dean of Bergen Cathedral.
He then served a final term as priest of the Norwegian Seamen"s Church, San Francisco until 2004.