Keminmaa va kirkko sisätilat Rungius hauta

Nicolaus Matthiae Rungius (also spelled Ryngius or Ryngen in contemporary sources; born ca. 1560 in

Loimaa Loimaa (; historical sv, Loimijoki) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

- died 1629 in

Keminmaa Keminmaa (until 1979 Kemin maalaiskunta) ( smn, Kiemâeennâm; sms, Ǩeeʹmmjânnam) is a municipality of Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Geography Neighbou ...

) was a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of Keminmaa,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, known for his

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

body in the Keminmaa old church.Vahtola, Jouko
Rungius, Nicolas (ca. 1560 - 1629)
Online publications of Kansallisbiografia (for-pay), 16 September 1997. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. Rungius was born at the Rynkö homestead in Loimaa, and so he was named Ryngius (later changed to Rungius). He worked as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

in the

Nykarleby Nykarleby (; fi, Uusikaarlepyy) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality is bilingual, with the majority speaking Swedish () and the minority Finnish (). The largest employers in the to ...

and Keminmaa churches. He married Helena, the daughter of the Kemi vicar Simon Ruuth, and followed his father-in-law as vicar. As vicar, he managed matters all over the Kemi Lapland area, but was not an unusual preacher during his lifetime. Rungius served as vicar during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

and died in 1629. As was the custom at the time, he was buried underneath the church floor. Rungius's reputation grew when his body, which had been mummified instead of decomposing, was found underneath the church floor during the

Greater Wrath The Great Wrath (, in contemporary sources: , 'Era of Russian domination/supremacy'; ) was a period of Finnish history dominated by the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire, from 1714 u ...

in the early 18th century. Thus started stories about his powerful words and

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s. A legend of

sainthood In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

proportions surrounded him and people went as far as to go on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

s to see his body. Rungius has been claimed to have said during his life: "If my words are not true, my body will decompose, but if they are true, it will never decompose." The special thing about Rungius's body is that it has not been intentionally protected from decomposition, but it has naturally dried up underneath the church floor. At least in 1875, the body still retained two arms, but one of them has later disappeared. It has apparently been taken as a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

. The vicar's body is still in the Keminmaa old St. Michael Church underneath the floor between the altar and the sacristry, protected by glass. Visitors may see the mummy during summertime, when the church is open for

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

s, but the body may not be photographed."Kirkkoneuvoston päätöksellä muumion kuvaaminen on tosin nykyään kielletty."
(Kaleva, 7.12.2010.) (in Finnish)

References

External links

(in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rungius, Nicolaus 1560s births 1629 deaths 16th-century Finnish Lutheran clergy Keminmaa People from Loimaa Mummies 17th-century Finnish Lutheran clergy