[3] His sister's daughter was Kari Berggrav, the pioneer press photographer Bible Translators Theologians Eivind studied theology in Oslo at what was then the University of Kristiania beginning in 1903, and continued family tradition by becoming a priest in the Church of Norway.

Upon graduating from the university in 1908, Jensen Berggrav taught school for a decade (at the Eidsvoll folkehøgskole, Holmestrand offentlige lærerskole and Akershus fylkesskole).

In that year, although younger than many other candidates, Berggrav was selected bishop for the Diocese of Oslo, which although the first among equals, remains the highest position in Norway's national church.

Shocked by the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, with its attempted capture of King Haakon VII, Berggrav initially appealed to Norwegian Christians to "refrain from any interference" and to refuse to "mix themselves up in the war by sabotage or in any other way.

However, it became increasingly clear that the occupying Nazi powers would not honor their promises to allow Norwegians freedom of religion nor preserve their structures of government.

A month later Berggrav led his six fellow bishops of the Church of Norway, with ten leaders of other denominations, to form the Christian Council for Joint Deliberation.

[9] Berggrav was saved from execution by Theodor Steltzer and Helmuth von Moltke, members of the Kreisau Circle and Schwarze Kapelle.

Almost all of the priests of the Church of Norway resigned in protest against the Nazi tyranny, as did teachers a few months later when faced with Quisling's proposal to force Norwegian children to join an organization modeled on the Hitler Youth.

Since all the clergy of the Church of Norway were also civil servants at the time, this shunning of the orders of the Quisling regime sent a powerful message to Norwegians that tyrants would not be obeyed - no matter what the price.

Berggrav founded an association focused on Norway's local history, Romerike Historielag, in 1920, and continued to contribute pieces long after he relinquished the helm upon becoming bishop.