Anders Nygren (1890-1978) was a leading representative of the so-called Lundensian school of theology. He was professor at the University of Lund, Sweden, then bishop of Lund. An important figure in the ecumenical movement, he served as president of the Lutheran World Federation.

Anders Nygren was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, on November 15, 1890, the third son of Samuel Nygren, then principal of the Elementary Teachers College and inspector of elementary schools in that city, and his wife Anna Maria. The parents were devout church people, yet open to the cultural and intellectual movements of the time. It was in his father's library that Anders found the books that introduced him to philosophy and theology; it was under his father's guidance that he became involved in the church and interested in the theological debates of the time.

At his father's death the family moved to Lund, where young Nygren attended...