Bo Giertz

This article is about the Swedish theologian. For the American Army officer, see Bo Gritz.
The Right Reverend

Bo Giertz
Bishop of Gothenburg
"Bo Giertz, a middle-aged man with dark-framed glasses, is seen in his office in front of a wall of books on shelves; he is wearing a plain white clerical collar, maroon shirt, large cross and black suit. His left arm is in the foreground; he is animated as if trying to make a point."
Bishop Giertz in early 1950s
ChurchChurch of Sweden
DioceseDiocese of Gothenburg
In office1949–1970
PredecessorCarl Block
SuccessorBertil Gärtner
Orders
Ordination28 December 1934
Consecration22 May 1949
by Erling Eidem
Personal details
Born
Bo Harald Giertz

(1905-08-31)August 31, 1905
Räpplinge, Öland, Sweden
DiedJuly 12, 1998(1998-07-12) (aged 92)
Djursholm, Uppland, Sweden
BuriedTorpa, Östergötland, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
DenominationLutheran
ParentsKnut Harald Giertz and Anna Ericsson
Spouse(1) Ingrid Andrén
(2) Elisabeth Heurlin
(3) Karin Lindén
ChildrenLars, Birgitta, Ingrid, Martin
Occupationtheologian, writer
Professionclergy
EducationBa.Th.
Alma materUppsala University
MottoVerbum crucis Dei virtus
Coat of arms"Bo Giertz's coat of arms shows a checked background with two red and two blue squares on a shield in front of a shepherd's crook; the blue squares feature a yellow triangle inscribed within a stylized sun, whilst the red squares depict an open book over a diagonal sword; the shield is topped with a bishop's mitre and lappets. The motto is in Latin: "Verbum crucis Dei virtus.""

Bo Harald Giertz (Swedish: [ˈbuː ˈjæʈːʂ]; 31 August 1905 – 12 July 1998) was a Swedish Lutheran theologian, novelist and bishop of the Gothenburg Lutheran Diocese from 1949 to 1970. By the time he became bishop, he was already quite well known in Sweden and elsewhere both as an author and as a priest. He worked hard to promote western Swedish Pietism, an outlook that strongly resembled Neo-Lutheranism. Mostly it was a piety that took Scripture seriously, though not in a fundamentalist, literalist sense, and that centered Christian life on sacraments and prayer. Giertz's combination of pietist pastoral care with High Church Lutheran theology, which can also be noticed in his novels, gained for him a wide readership and made his novels as well as non-fiction books about Christian faith popular in Scandinavia. Giertz wrote more than 600 works but is known in the English-speaking world mostly for his book The Hammer of God.