the site of the old church. The new church was consecrated on 23 January 1848 by the Bishop Jacob von der Lippe and it wasn't put into regular use until mid-1849. The old church was used until the summer of 1849 when it was torn down and its material was sold. The cemetery south of the present church is where the old church was located. In 2004, the church was renovated and restored to its original look. Priests There have been many priests who served at this church over the years. This is a partial list. Axel Pedersen (around 1552) Gude Pedersen (around 1561) Laurs (unknown dates) Peder Jensen Holt (1578-1607) Erik Olsen (unknown dates) Lauritz Nilsen (1614-1620) Erik Fredriksen Lindland (1621-1657) Bent Pedersen Amdal (1657-1695) Hans Pedersen Høllen (1695-1708) Hans Lauritzen Scavenius (1709-1716) Peder Olsen Horster (1716-1745) Johan Joakim Markmann (1745-1750) Lars Larsen Eskildsen (1750-1784) Hans Mathias Abel (1784-1803) Søren Georg Abel (1803-1821) John Aas (1821-1867) Lortenz Ditlev Krog (1867-1872) Jørgen Christian Andreas Grøner (1873-1890) Georg Pharo (1890-1899) Knud Christian Jarl Møller (1899-1910) Ragnvald Cornelius Knudsen (1910-1912) Henrik Lehmann (1913-1930) Ivar Glette (1930-1952) Gunnar Bjarne Gundersen (1953-1959) Karl Trygve Lehne (1959-1968) Arne Johan Sørensen (1969-1974) Ravn Madland (1975-1980) Gerhard Falk Woie (1981-1993) Nils Peder Kjetså (1993-??) Olav Hofsli (dates unknown) Media gallery See also List of churches in Agder og Telemark References Gjerstad Churches in Agder Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1848 14th-century establishments in Norway Norwegian election church