Agdenes Church ( no, Agdenes kirke) is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

in Orkland municipality in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located in the village of Vernes along the Trondheimsleia in the north part of Agdenes, about southwest of Vassbygda. It is the main church for the Agdenes

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

which is part of the

Orkdal prosti This list of churches in Nidaros is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Nidaros which covers all of Trøndelag county in Norway. The list is divided into several sections, one for each deanery in the diocese. Administrati ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave C ...

style in 1857 using plans drawn up by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Christian Heinrich Grosch. The church seats about 200 people.

History

According to the (the

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

of the sons of Magnus) in the Heimskringla, the first Agdenes Church was built by King Øystein during the early 12th century (probably before the year 1123). The first church was located at Agdenes, on a peninsula near the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

Trondheimsfjorden The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland ...

and the Stjørnfjorden, about northeast of the present site of the church. The King who built the church also constructed a fortress wall surrounding the area and a harbor along the fjord. During the 13th century, King Håkon Håkonsson had repairs carried out on the church. It is not known when this church was closed, but during the mid-19th century, archaeological remains of the church site were found. The church was likely closed before the

reformation in Norway The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

during the 16th century because there were no historical records of it at that time when all churches were surveyed across the country. For many centuries after the old church was closed, the Agdenes area was part of the Ørland Church parish. By the mid-19th century, the people of Agdenes were requesting their own church so that they would not have to cross the

to get to their church. The church was built in 1857 by Christian Heinrich Grosch. The church was supposed to be

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 24 March 1858, but due to a storm and snowy weather, it had to be postponed for three days until 27 March although several of the priests that were supposed to be there were still unable to make it. In 1869, a tower on the west end of the building was constructed and the original small tower that sat on the centre of the roof of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was removed. In 1982, the church was expanded to add more seating.

Media gallery

Agdenes church 01.jpg Agdenes church 04.jpg Agdenes church 03.jpg Agdenes church 05.jpg Agdenes church 06.jpg Agdenes kirke UBT-TO-073281 01 1.jpg

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Orkland Churches in Trøndelag Long churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1857 12th-century establishments in Norway 15th-century disestablishments in Norway 1857 establishments in Norway

History

Media gallery

See also

References