Geir Vídalín

The Right Reverend Geir Vídalín
Bishop of Iceland
Church	Church of Iceland
Diocese	Iceland
Appointed	November 1801
In office	1801–1823
Successor	Steingrímur Jónsson
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Skálholt (1797-1801)
Orders
Ordination	8 January 1791
Consecration	30 July 1797 by Sigurður Stefánsson
Personal details
Born	(1761-10-27)27 October 1761 Laufás, Eyjafjörður, Iceland
Died	20 September 1823(1823-09-20) (aged 61) Reykjavík, Iceland
Nationality	Icelandic
Denomination	Lutheran
Parents	Jón Jónsson & Sigríður Magnúsdóttir
Spouse	Sigríður Halldórsdóttir
Children	4

Geir Vídalín Jónsson (27 October 1761 – 20 September 1823) was an Icelandic prelate who was the last diocesan Bishop of Skálholt from 1797 till 1801 when he became the first Bishop of Iceland.

Biography

Geir was the son of Jón Jónsson a priest in Laufás, and Sigríður Magnúsdóttir. He graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1789 and became a cathedral priest in Reykjavík and lived in Lambastaðir at Seltjarnarnes. He was elected Bishop of Skálholt after the death of Hannes Finnsson in 1796. He was consecrated by the Bishop of Hólar Sigurður Stefánsson on 30 July 1797. He did, however, remain at Lambastaðir, planning to relocate the diocese to Reykjavík. After the death of Stefánsson, no new successor was appointed to Hólar and the two Icelandic dioceses were amalgamated into the united Diocese of Reykjavík in November 1801, with Geir Vídalín as the first bishop. Geir's wife was Sigríður Halldórsdóttir who died in 1846.