Transcript Scandinavian Churches and Religion

Moving Towards the
Reformation
Christianity in The Scandinavian
Countries
Scandinavian Churches & State
 Danish and Norwegian State Church
 Church of Sweden separate from
State
 Approx. 85% of population as
members
Christianity
 1000 AD Iceland – referendum!
 1250 AD End of Viking Age Catholicism
 1537-44 AD Reformation
 1800 AD Records of previous
centuries, stories, history
The Vikings
 The Old Norse Gods (Odin, Thor etc.)
 Ragnarok – the end of the World
(Asgaard, Midgaard, Jotunheim)
 Unreliable religion
 The White Christ around 700 AD
 RIP
Rich and Poor
 Rich people
 Believed in the
Gods
 Poor people
 Believed in spirits
 The Huldre – spirit
from the
mountains – hollow
back!
The Venerable Bede
 673 – 735 AD
 Life is transient
 Liberation
Transitional Period
 Both
religions
were
followed
 Pagan Thor’s
Hammer
 Catholic Cross
Danish Flag
 Dannebrog
 June 15, 1219
 Fell from the sky
during a battle
between Danes
and Estonians
 Missionaries
Conflict
 Vatican Christianity
 People’s
Christianity
The Little Mermaid
The Woman in the Church
The Man and the Huldre
Change around 1250
From AGAPE
To EROS
God
Distant
Angry
Pain,
Punishment




God loves Man
Christ died for our sins
Eternal Life
Enjoy the World
Man loves God
Man is a sinner
Consequence of EROS
 The Flagellants
 “The Seventh Seal”
 “Death in Bergamo”
Reformation 1536-37







Catholic Church powerful
Martin Luther, Wittenberg 1517,
95 Theses
Excommunicated
New Independent Church: Protestant
Change from EROS to AGAPE again
Divided Europe into Catholic South,
Protestant North
Religion in Europe 1560
Lutheran
Catholic
Calvinist
Anglican
Division




Catholics
EROS
Control
Rigid system of
approaching God




Protestant
AGAPE
Education
Individual access
to God
Petter Dass
 1647-1707
 Vicar
 Norway’s greatest
17th cent. Writer
 Everything is seen
as God’s work of
creation
Religion and Churches – then
and now
 Denmark and Norway – State Church
 Sweden – separation of state and
Church in 2000
Denmark
 Jelling Stone –
Harald Bluetooth
(ca.1000 AD)
 2000 churches
built 1050 - 1150
 Paintings - life of
Christ and the
saints
Church Decorations
 Parish churches - pictures
of the Old and New
Testaments
 Reformation (1537):
whitewashing
 Last 100 years: removal
of whitewash
 Here: Estruplund 1542
Denmark 2
 400 churches
with remains
of medieval
wallpaintings
 Major art
treasures
 Here: Fresco
from
Skibby 1175
Denmark 3
Church of Denmark
Denmark 4
 Church of Denmark (State Church) - 88%
of population
 Evangelical Lutheran Church
 Freedom of religion, speech and assembly
 State support: moral, political, financial and
administrative (church taxes, about 0.15%)
 Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and
diocesan administration
Denmark 5,
Other Congregations
 Muslims
 Jews
 Roman Catholic
Church
 Danish Baptist
Church
 Pentecostal
Churches
 Seventh Day
Adventists
 Catholic Apostolic
Church
Reformed Churches
Salvation Army
Methodist Church
Anglican Church
Russian Orthodox
Church
 Jehovah’s
Witnesses
 Mormons
 9 independent
congregations of
Grundvigian origin





Functions of the Church
 Primary civil
registration of all
citizens
 Baptism and naming
(within a year)
 Confirmations (13½
yrs old)
 Weddings
 Funerals
Denmark 6
 Church Books =
genealogical
documents
 Since 1969 - clerics
of all other
recognized
communities
perform legally
valid weddings
Organization of the church
Denmark 7
12 dioceses
 Otherwise,
democratic
2000 clergy
 Parish councils:
2116 parishes
clergy + members
The Folketing
of the national
(Parliament) =
church in the
legislative body
parish
 The Ministry of
Ecclesiastical Affairs =  Decide the choice
of clergy
administrative body




Denmark 8
Romanesque Churches
 Romanesque dates from late 10th till 12th
/ 13 th Cent. Sædding Church (ca.1100).
Denmark 9
Romanesque 2
 Heavy Walls
 Small Windows
 Clear Organization
Romanesque 3
 The
architecture
had only
one fuction:
a church
service
Denmark 10
Romanesque 4
 Use of open
timber roofs
(as Storage
places)
Denmark 11
 Barrel /Tunnel,
vault
Romanesque 5
 Barrel Vault or Tunnel
Vault
 The simplest form of a
vault, consisting of a
continuous surface of
semicircular or pointed
sections. It resembles a
barrel or tunnel which has
been cut in half
lengthwise
Denmark 12
Romanesque 6
 Groin
Vault:
produced
by the
intersection
at right
angles of
two barrel /
tunnel
vaults
Denmark 13
Romanesque 7
 Rib Vault:
 a masonry
vault with a
relatively thin
web and set
within a
framework of
ribs
Denmark 14
Gothic Churches
 Originating in France
 Spreading over
western Europe 12th
- 16th cent.
 Design emphasizing
skeleton
construction
 Taller, lighter
Denmark 14
 Keldby Church,
1275
Gothic 2
Denmark 15
 Elimination of Wall Planes
 Comparatively great height of
building
 Pointed Arch
 Rib Vaulting
 Rich outline of Exterior: towers,
gables
Mørkøv Kirke, ca. 1450
Denmark 16
Gothic 4
 Flying Buttress:
 A free-standing
buttress attached to
the main vessel
(nave, choir, or
transept wall) by an
arch or half-arch
which transmits the
thrust of the vault to
the buttress
Denmark 17
Gothic 5
 15th and 16th
centuries
 Weaponhouse
added.
 Weapons were left
before going into
the church.
Denmark 18
Gothic 6
 The Gable:
 steps called
Battlements.
 Especially
prominent in
Gothic
architecture.
Denmark 19
Gothic 7
 Another prominent
feature
 Recesses used as
ornamentation on
the wall.
 Might be
whitewashed as
here
Round Churches
 A special type of
church in
Denmark were
the Round
Churches
 5 round
churches in all,
 4 on Bornholm,
 1 on Funen
Denmark 20
Denmark 21
Round Churches 2
 Østerlars Round
Church - the
largest of the 4 on
Bornholm.
 Built around 1150
 Fortified church
 Dedicated to
St.Lawrence.
 Built of split
granite boulders
 55 ft in diameter
Denmark 22
Round Churches 3
 The church is
constructed around
a hollow central
pillar
 6 arches leading
into a small room
 used for
christenings.
Denmark 23
The Cathedral of Aarhus
 Construction began ca.
1200
 First church completed
in Romanesque style
ca.1300
 One of the oldest brick
buildings in Denmark.
 Burned down in 1330
 Reconstructed in Gothic
Style ca. 1500
Denmark 24
The Cathedral of Aarhus 2
 Longest church in
Denmark: 305 ft long
 305 ft. Tall
 Seats 1200 people
 Dedicated to the patron
saint of seafarers,
St.Clemens
Denmark 25
The Cathedral of Odense
 Originally a wooden
church where King
Knud 2 (The Holy)
(1040-86) was
killed by rebellious
peasants.
 He was consecrated
in 1101 and later
buried in the new
Gothic church
Denmark 26
The Cathedral of Odense
Denmark 27
The Cathedral of Roskilde
 Construction of
Romanesque Church
began in 1170 under
Bishop Absalon
 13th cent.: new
construction in Gothic
Style
 The twin towers were
added in the 14th
cent.
Denmark 28
The Cathedral
of Roskilde
 The famous last
resting place for
38 kings and
queens.
 Modern day
monarchy is also
buried there.
Grundtvigskirke
 Constructed from 19211940
 Danish Gothic and
functionalism
 Inspired by old Danish
Gothic style, combined
with an eye to
functionalism
 Drawn by famous
Danish architects
Denmark 29
Denmark 30
Grundtvigskirke
 Quite a visual epiphany of old and new. A hope
for the future of the Danish state church?
Norway
Church of Norway
 Evangelical Lutheran State Church since
1536
 86% of the population is a member
through baptism
 The king is the Head of the Church
 Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs
determines administrative issues
 Synodal system
 Episcopal system
Norway 2
Church of Norway
 Right now: a discussion to deestablish the state church is meeting
with approval from a majority of the
population
 Olav Tryggvason imported Christianity
around 1000 AD
 Reformation in 1536
 Free exercise of religion
Norway 3
Trondheim Cathedral
= Nidaros Cathedral
 King Olav Haraldsson,
killed in the battle of
Stiklestad in 1030
 Became Norway's
patron saint several
days later
 Buried on the exact
spot where Trondheim
Cathedral now stands.
Trondheim Cathedral
 Construction began in
1070 - pilgrims flocking
to St Olav's grave
 Completed in 1300
 Most beautiful church in
Norway.
 Nrway's monarchs are
crowned and buried
here
 The Crown Jewels are
on display
Norway 4
Norway 5
Stave Churches
 Boat construction / home building - Viking
times  the technique and tradition of
combining art with wood working: stave
churches
 Common element: corner posts (staves)
and a skeleton or framework of timber with
wall planks standing on sills (to keep them
from rotting).
 These walls are known as stave walls
 Most stave churches were built on old
Norse heathen holy places or temples
Norway 6
Stave Churches 2
Around 800-1000 stave churches originally
Only 25 stave churches remain
Primarily in Western Norway
5 stave churches have been moved, reerected and preserved at new locations
 The oldest type was built in the 1000’s but
the timber of their walls was set directly
into the ground, and rotted.
 The sills became common in the 1100’s




Norway 7
Stave Churches 3
 Several kinds of stave churches
 Simplest: a nave with a narrower chancel, the
roof rests on the walls
 Some have a tall, sturdy upright or mast in the
middle which supports the ridge turret and
strengthens the walls
 Biggest: central section with a lofty ceiling
supported by freestanding posts resting on the
floor
 Often richly ornamented with carvings, wall and
ceiling paintings
Norway 8
Borgund Stave Church
 Built around
1150,
dedicated to
St. Andrew.
 One of the
best
preserved
stave
churches
 Runic
inscriptions
on the walls
Norway 9
Hopperstad Stave Chuch
 Built around 1150
 Triple-Nave church
Urnes Stave Church
 Built around 1150
 Oldest stave church in
Norway
 On UNESCO’s World
Heritage List
Norway 10
Norway 11
Høre Stave Church
 1180 rebuilt
1820
 Remnants
of a stave
church
from 1100
found
underneath
 Tombs
found
underneath
the church
Gol Stave
Church
 Built around 1200 with
staves to support the
roof
 Pulled down, moved,
and re-erected in 1885
 Now part of the
Norwegian
Folkmuseum, in Oslo
Norway 12
Norway 13
Hegge Stave Church
 Built around 1230
Norway 14
Reinli Stave Church
 Built
around
1250
 Extended
during the
late
middle
ages
 Seats 64
people
Norway 15
Grip Stave Church
 Built around
1470
 One-nave
stave church
 One of the
simplest and
smallest of
the stave
churches.
 On an island
Sweden
 Slow in becoming christianized
 1164 Uppsala was selected as the seat of the
archbishop: breakthrough for Christianity
 1210: first Swedish monarch crowned, marking
the union of Church and State
 Reformation 1544, Sweden proclaimed an
evangelical Lutheran kingdom
 Most people belong to the Church of Sweden
(85%), Lutheran Protestant,
 The State Church institution was ended in 2000
Sweden 2
Uppsala
 The Holy
Trinity Church
= The Old
Uppsala
church
 12th century,
 Site of temple
of the ancient
gods of the
Vikings
Sweden 3
Uppsala 2
 Church of Old Uppsala
built where there was
once a wooden pagan
temple.
 The most spectacular
pagan rite - the 'blot'
 Animal and human
sacrifice
 Nine days every ninth
year.
 Under the hills three
ancient kings are
buried.
Sweden 4
Uppsala 3
 Seat of the archbishop
of Sweden.
 The Uppsala Cathedral
is the largest church in
Scandinavia.
Sweden 5
Uppsala 4
 Its construction
started in 1260
 Inaugurated in
1435.
 Many famous
Swedes are buried
here, among them
Carl von Linné.
The Future
 Few people go to church except when
they want to celebrate major events
like baptism, confirmations,
weddings, and funerals
 Importance of church?
 Dissolution of church and state?
 Membership based congregations?