Defiance in Norway

On Easter Sunday nearly 11,000 Norwegian clergymen resigned in protest against the Quisling regime--leaving only about 40 retaining their posts.

So said a dispatch this week from Oslo. The mass resignation followed another coat turning by Vidkun Quisling, who decided to call himself a theologian. Claiming ex-officio standing as "First Bishop" of the established Lutheran Church of Norway, Quisling announced a "new Norwegian Christianity based on race and Lebensraum."

All Quisling's claims, threats and promises have simply made the stubborn Norse churchmen still more stubborn. Norse religious resistance has been growing ever since the very first decree Quisling issued, directing every Norse child to join the Nazi youth organization. The seven Bishops of the State Church denounced this action as intolerable and resigned (TIME, March 9). Their stand was backed by Norwegians of every creed and class.

When Norwegians were forbidden to attend a service at Trondheim Cathedral in February, thousands gathered outside the church in the bitter cold. "It was not an unruly mob," said one participant, "but thousands of Christians. We stood outside the cathedral, prevented by police from entering God's house. We were freezing but we could not leave the place. We had to find expression for what we felt. We were silent. Then I heard a voice start Luther's old hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. We all sang and as we stood facing the police, the old song sounded mightier than. I had ever heard it."

Leader of the resistance is the ex-Primate of Norway, forthright Bishop Eivind Berggrav of Oslo. Quisling haled him in soon after his resignation, accused him of treason, finally shouted: "You triple traitor! You deserve to have your head chopped off." "Here I am," answered Berggrav, but his offer was not taken up.

To show its elaborate neutrality, the Vatican last week arranged to exchange diplomatic representatives with Chungking. This arrangement would balance its similar agreement, the week before, with Tokyo (TIME, April 6).

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