T. B. Barratt

Thomas Ball Barratt (1862-1949) was a British born Norwegian pastor and one of the founding figures of the Pentecostal movement in Europe.

Thomas was born in Cornwall but his parents emigrated to Norway when he was only 4 - he was bilingual.

He began to preach at the age of 17. He pastored several churches in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) in Norway.

In 1905 he travelled to the USA with the aim of raising funds to build a new premises in Kristiania.

The Azasa Street Revival had happened in Los Angles on 9th April that year which resulted in the forming of the Pentecostal movement.
Several ministers who were baptized in the Spirit at the Azusa Street Mission and who were passionate about helping others encounter God in this way, intersected with Barratt in New York when he was on his way home. He asked for prayer to receive the same blessing they had received. He was baptised in the Spirit on 15th November 1906 ( or 7th October if dif. source used) and thereafter spoke and even sang in tongues
( Read ‘T.B. Barratt and Revival in Norway’ which includes his personal, powerful, inspiring testimony, by Jan Miskov - her testimony - which follows, can be found on Wikipedia, is also worth reading!)

He returned to Norway in December without funds or support. Instead in 1907 he held revival meetings in Oslo at his newly formed Filadelfia assembly. This attracted international attention and he became one of the prime movers of the Pentecostal movement in Europe.

Thomas went to Kristiania in December 1906. On 23rd he told of his spiritual baptism, he stood and wept. Although he did not utter a word, it was of great importance, the spirit was present. On the 2nd Christmas Day more people experienced similar things. By New Year 1907 ten people had been baptised spiritually.
This is considered the beginning of the Pentecostal movement in Norway.

Alexander Boddy went to Norway and invited Thomas to visit his All Saints Church in Monkwearmouth in Sunderland. On 13th September 1907 Thomas wrote the eyes of the religious millions in Great Britain are now fixed on Sunderland. Alexander went onto become one of the founders of Pentecostalism in Britain.

Thomas continued to travel abroad visiting Sweden, Finland, Poland Estonia, Iceland and Denmark.

1909 the M E C terminated his membership.

He travelled to the UK to preach in Sion College, London and then to Sunderland for what became an annual Pentecostal celebration known as Whitsuntide Convention. He then went to Bournemouth to stay with Stanley Frodsham - another Pentecostal pioneer.

Thomas emigrated to the USA . He continued to travel overseas to Palestine and India.

1939 he was elected, unanimously, to be President of the Great European Pentecostal Conference in Stockholm.

On 29th January 1940 , aged 77, he died and was buried in Oslo. Up to 20,000 people lined the streets for his funeral.

Oslo
Christina 1624
Kristiania 1877
Oslo 1925