Stave churches (personally, I want to call them viking churches) reflect an interesting spiritual transition for Scandinavians roughly 1,000 years ago. There used to be a couple thousand in Scandinavia (largely concentrated in Norway), now less than 100 remain. This past weekend, got on a ferry to attend the last Stavkirke service of the year on a small island off the Wisconsin coast.
1) Stave churches are unique for a number of reasons, all stemming from Scandanivian heritage shortly after the Viking Age. Vikings were notorious for being their wood craftsmanship (think of viking ships), so when Christianity swept through, the churches were built entirely from wood. Not even a nail would be used. Many of the churches would look black, since they were covered in tar to combat moisture.
2) "Stave" comes the building's horizontal/vertical construction. The ore-pine posts dug into the ground were called stavs.
3) When you think of Norse mythology, you think of Odin, Thor, and Loki (Marvel has played a big part in recent resurgence). When Christianity changed the spiritual landscape, stave churches borrowed from Catholic churches when it came to gargoyle and grotesque statues that would "guard" Catholic churches from demons and dark spirits. Stave churches incorporated that, but instead would use dragons.
4) Stavkirke in Washington Island was created by the local Lutheran church, largely spearheaded by the pastor and two local carpenters. As the pastor told me, one of the locals specifically learned how to carve dragons out of wood to add to the church.
5) Service was interesting in here, mainly due to how SMALL it is sitting around 20 or so congregants. I liked it though. It created an intimate spiritual vibe. The pastor used candles for a church-wide illustrative sermon, explaining how one can ignite a dynamic faith within another. Also, he pointed out all the candles had been previously used, so like faith, it can be rekindled at any time.
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▶️ Timestamps:
0:00 Washington Island
1:08 'Viking Church?!'
3:41 Stavkirke Sights and Sounds
5:02 Another Cardinal Coincidence
8:12 Transition of Norse Mythology into Christianity
13:41 Service Thoughts
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Song: Secret Garden | Royalty Free Fantasy Music
Composer: Ivan Duch
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