prestegjeld

A prestegjeld was a geographic and administrative area within the Church of Norway (Den Norske Kirke) roughly equivalent to a parish. This traditional designation was in use for centuries to divide the kingdom into ecclesiastical areas that were led by a parish priest. Prestegjelds began in the 1400s and were officially discontinued in 2012.

==History== Prior to the discontinuation of the prestegjeld, Norway was geographically divided into 11 dioceses (bispedømme). Each diocese was further divided into deaneries (prosti). Each of those deaneries were divided into several parishes (prestegjeld). Each parish was made up of one or more sub-parishes or congregations (sogn or sokn). Within a prestegjeld, there were usually one or more clerical positions (chaplains) serving under the administration of a head minister (sogneprest or sokneprest). In 1838, the formannskapsdistrikt law was passed in Norway and it created civil municipalities that corresponded to the same borders as the ecclesiastical prestegjelds. Prior to that time there was no local government in Norway apart from the church's parishes. Today's municipalities have changed some, but their roots are all based on the prestegjeld.