Hallgrimskirkja: The Church in Reykjavik

Hallgrimskirkja

Hallgrimskirkja's interior glimpse of the observation tower.

Visitors gaze upon the tall striking basalt like pillars of Hallgrimskirkja and the statue of Leif Erikson.

 

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE HYMNS OF 

BISHOP VALDIMAR BRIEM

The Voices of Creation 

The ice-cold waves of winter 

Are thundering on the strand, 

" E en griefs chill stream is guided 

By God s all-gracious hand." 

The starry hosts are singing 

Through all the light-strewn sky, 

Of God s eternal Temple 

And Palace-courts on high. 

When, in these outer chambers, 

Such glory gilds the gloom, 

What the transcendent brightness 

Of God s own Presence Room  

 

There is a huge pipe organ inside the church sanctuary. There are over 5,000 pipes. The organ is almost 50 feet tall. It is the most impressive organ I have ever seen.

244 Feet

 

Small bronze statue by Einar Jónsson (1874 – 1954), The Guardian Angel, dedicated to Hallgrímur Pétursson.

The baptismal font, from 2001, combines a base of Icelandic basalt and a bowl of Czech lead crystal. In the glass is engraved a passage from the Gospel of Mark (16:16): “He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved.” The stone is engraved with a prayer by Hallgrímur: “May God the Father be my father.” The font was the gift of the Ladies’ Guild.

excerpt from: https://en.hallgrimskirkja.is/information/church-decorations/

 

The Altar

 

Light a Candle

Liturgical art

Hallgrimskirkja, is a striking church on top of a hill in Reykjavik, Iceland. Being from San Francisco, and use to experiencing earthquakes, I imagined this church coming up out of the ground after an earthquake. The structure looks like it was naturally formed from the center of the earth and pushed through in a tumultuous earth shake. Similar to the scientific close up time lapse videos of the young seed violently gasping for sunlight and sporting up from the ground. 

Tall, straight, and angled towards the sky. 

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