Fillan Church ( no, Fillan 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 ...

Hitra Hitra is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality covers the island of Hitra and hundreds smaller islands, islets, and skerries. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...

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

Fillan Saint Fillan, Filan, Phillan, Fáelán (Old Irish) or Faolán (modern Gaeilge & Gàidhlig) is the name of an eighth century monk from Munster, who having studied at Taghmon Abbey, traveled to Scotland and settled at Strath Fillan. Name The na ...

on the east coast of the island of Hitra. It is one of the churches for the ''Hitra og Fillan''

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 red, wooden church was built in a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

design in 1789 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 ...

Fredrich Bertelsen Ødegaard. The church seats about 400 people.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1432, but the church was built before that time. The first church for Fillan was located at

Ulvan Ulvan is a village on the island of Ulvøya in the municipality of Hitra in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located on the western side of the island, along the Frøyfjorden, about west of the village of Knarrlaget. Ulvan is home to a large ...

on the island of Ulvøya and it was likely built during the 1200s, before the

Black Death in Norway The Black Death was present in Norway between 1349 and 1350.Harrison, Dick, ''Stora döden: den värsta katastrof som drabbat Europa'', Ordfront, Stockholm, 2000 The Black Death in Norway is more documented than any other Nordic country, but t ...

. The building was a wooden

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts a ...

that measured approximately . Records show that the wind vane blew down and had to be repaired in the 1640s, and in 1659 lightning struck the tower which also had to be repaired. The population on the island of Hitra greatly increased during the 17th century and towards the end of that century, it was decided to move the Fillan Church site from Ulvan to the village of Fillan on the main island of

about to the southwest. In 1686, the old church was torn down and replaced with a new building on the same site. The church was described by the parish priest, Bang, in 1780 where he wrote that the church was old, low, narrow, and dark, and that the indoor air during the sermons was unbearable because of the many unhealthy fumes from the clothing worn by the local fishermen. In 1789, the old church was torn down and a new

church was built on the same site. The new church was

consecrate 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 ...

d on 16 September 1789, which makes it the oldest existing church on the island of Hitra.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=July 2021 Hitra Churches in Trøndelag Cruciform churches in Norway Wooden churches in Norway 18th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1789 13th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References