Ulrik Vilhelm Koren

Background

Ulrik Vilhelm Koren was born on December 22, 1826 in Bergen, Norway. He was the son of Paul Schonvig and Henriette Christiane (Rulffs) Koren.

Education

In the absence of the father who was a sea-captain until his death in 1842, the boy's mother supervised his education through the Lancaster school, the Real school, and the Latin school of his native city. In 1844 he entered the university at Christiania (now Oslo), and in the course of eight difficult years he received the degrees of bachelor of arts, master of arts, and candidate of theology.

Career

After teaching a year at Nissen's Latin school, Christiania, Koren emigrated and reached the frontier settlement at Washington Prairie, near Decorah, Iowa, on December 24, 1853. The next day he preached in a log hut the first of fifty-six annual Christmas sermons to the same congregation. He soon made his influence felt in the Norwegian Synod which had been organized by seven pastors and twenty-eight congregations a few months before his arrival. In 1857 the synod held its convention with his congregation and here steps were taken which led to the founding of Luther College in 1861. Koren not only selected the site for the school, at Decorah, Iowa, but forestalled the efforts that were made to move the school elsewhere after the fire in 1889. He engaged in extensive debates in the press concerning the principles and policies of the synod. These writings, comprising the third volume of his works, collected and edited by his son Paul, cover a wide range of topics, chief among them being the question of predestination, which eventually split the synod. As its president (1894 - 1910) he had occasion to repair some of the damage done by these controversies.

As pastor of the Little Iowa Congregation, as his vicinage was called, Koren ministered to his countrymen scattered over a large stretch of territory. As the land was taken up, this "congregation" was divided until it came to comprise about twenty separate congregations.

Achievements

• Koren was a powerful figure in the pulpit or on the platform, ranking among the best preachers in the Norwegian American Lutheran group. Besides the presidency of the synod, he held other important offices: secretary of the synod, vice-president, president of the Iowa district. He was a member of the church council and trustee of the synod.

Works

More photos

• book

  • LOGIA: Lutheran Education

    (LOGIA: A Journal of Lutheran Theology, Vol. 11, No. 2, Ea...)

  • Truth Unchanged, Unchanging: Selected Sermons, Addresses, and Doctrinal Articles

    (Book by Koren, V)

Personality

Koren was clear, incisive, and polished in utterance.

Connections

In 1853 Koren married Else Elisabeth Hysing. One of his sons was John Koren, clergyman and statistician.

Father:

Paul Schonvig Koren

Mother:

Henriette Christiane (Rulffs) Koren

Spouse:

Else Elisabeth Hysing

Son:

John Koren

clergyman, statistician