Siuntio St. Peter's Church (

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

. ''Siuntion Pyhän Pietarin kirkko'', swe. ''Sjundeå S:t Petri kyrka'') is a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

stone church in

Siuntio, Uusimaa Siuntio (; sv, Sjundeå) is a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland located in the Uusimaa (region), Uusimaa Regions of Finland, region in the Provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland. Its neighboring municipalities are Ing� ...

, Finland, located in the old church village of Siuntio. The church is built out of grey stone between the years 1460 and 1480 next to a small stone

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

which was owned by a nearby Suitia Manor. St. Peter's Church is divided into three

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 ...

s by three pairs of pilars that hold the brick vaults. The church is owned by the Parish Union of Siuntio and shared by the Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking

Evangelical-Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

parishes of Siuntio. The church is part of both the

Diocese of Espoo The Diocese of Espoo (Finnish ''Espoon hiippakunta'') is the newest of the nine dioceses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The diocese came into existence in 2004 after the Diocese of Helsinki was split in two. The seat of the dioc ...

and the

Diocese of Borgå The Diocese of Borgå ( sv, Borgå stift, fi, Porvoon hiippakunta) is a diocese for the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Porvoo (''Borgå'' in Swedish) is also the old seat of the ...

since the Finnish-speaking parish is part of the Espoo Diocese and the Swedish-speaking parish is part of the Borgå Diocese. Siuntion kirkko, kirkkosali, church hall 4

Siuntion kirkko, kirkkosali, church hall 4

The church has been ravaged by fire four times.

History

Catholic period

St. Peter's Church was built next to Suitia Manor's stone chapel between 1460s and 1480s. The old chapel from the 14th century was transformed into

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

. Originally the church was

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. In the beginning of the 16th century the wooden ceiling inside the church was replaced with large brick vaults. Archeologist have found traces of a medieval altar and two side altars. During catholic period paintings describing biblical legends were painted on the walls and vaults of the church. In 1526 St. Peter's Church was hit by a lightning which caused a large fire in the church.

Reformation

During

Reformation 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 ...

the medieval paintings on the walls and vaults were not overpainted. Not many objects were either confiscated to the Swedish Crown and no sculptures picturing saints were destroyed. The church caught fire again in 1617.

The Great Northern War

Siuntio St. Peter's Church was badly damaged during

the Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedis ...

. The church was robbed and the bell tower was destroyed. Even the church bells were taken. The vicar and the chaplain fled to Sweden and only the chaplain's assistant stayed in Siuntio. It was only during the 1730s when the reparation of the church was able to be carried out.

Age of Enlightenment

The church was burning once again in 1823. After the fire St. Peter's church was heavily modified following the eras architectural ideals in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

; the windows were enlarged and the pilars holding the medieval vaults were rounded. The oldest part of the church, the former Suitia Manor's chapel, was torn down together with the

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

. Also the medieval paintings were painted over with white oil paint. Siuntio church

Church paintings

The paintings on the vaults and walls of the St. Peter's Church were painted in two phases during the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The paintings told the biblical stories for the illiterate part of the population. The oldest paintings are the

consecration crosses Consecration crosses are crosses on the interior walls and exterior architecture of a Christian church or cathedral showing where the bishop has anointed the church with chrism or holy water in order to consecrate it. There is often a place for a ...

from the end of the 15th century. There are altogether six consecration crosses remaining in the church. The later paintings are paintings of the biblical legends and saints and these paintings were painted during the beginning of the 16th century. The paintings were never over painted during the

but later during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. In 1938 the parish decided to restore the old paintings but sadly they were badly damaged especially on the walls.

Rare paintings in the church

There are two rare topics among the paintings of St. Peter's Church. One is the crowning of

St. Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

in Heaven and the other is a man with all

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

coming out if his mouth in forms of snakes.

Interior

Pulpits

There are two

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

s from the 17th century in St. Peter's Church. The older one is so called Pulpit of Tott from the year 1625. There are only a few parts remaining of this pulpit and these parts are on display in the church. The Pulpit of Tott was donated to the church by lord of the Sjundby Manor, Åke Tott, and the Queen Consort Catherine of Sweden. The pulpit has coats of arms of Queen Catherine, the House of Tott and the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its memb ...

painted on it. The newer pulpit was donated by president of the Royal Court in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, baron Ernst Johan Creutz in 1683. This pulpit is a replica of a pulpit that once stood in the

Cathedral of Turku Turku Cathedral ( fi, Turun tuomiokirkko, sv, Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat ...

down to the fire of Turku during the 17th century. The pulpit was made by Henrik Mattsson Leino and Matts Reiman. The pulpit is considered to be the greatest pulpit that Reiman ever made.

Baptismal font

The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

, made out of limestone, is from medieval era; it was donated to the church by lady Hebbla Siggesdotter Sparre in memory of his husband Councilor of the State, lord Erik Fleming, who owned the Suitia Manor, in 1550. This baptismal font is the latest item linked to the medieval baptism tradition in Finland.

Coats of arms

There were altogether 34 coats of arms that belonged to different noble houses in the church, but only three remain to this day. The coats of arms were used to commemorate the deceased member of the family who was buried under the church floor to family grave. After the burial the coat of arms was hanged on the wall of the church. The remaining coats of arms are: * Baron Ernst Johan Creutz * Otto Mauritz Krebs * Margareta Anrep af Soor

Burial chapel

In 1774 lady Maria Reuterholm was granted permission to build a burial chapel out of granite in touch to the church. When

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 ...

became under rule of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, the Reuterholm family emptied the chapel and left for Sweden. They didn't want anything to do with Finland anymore. After the fire in 1823, the sacristy was moved to the then-already empty burial chapel. File:Siuntion kirkko, door to the cellar 01.jpg, Doors inside the church leading to the former burial chapel

Altar painting

The altar painting in Siuntio church represents

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...

. The painting was donated to the church by lady Reuterholm in 1773 for payment of the burial chapel. The painting has been painted in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

but the artist is unknown. The altar painting is decorated with coats of arms of the Reuterholm and the Gyllenestjerna families.

Organ

Siuntio St. Peter's Church was the first rural church in Finland to get its own

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. This happened in 1786. The current organ is the church's third organ, and it is made by organ factory Paul Ott from Germany in 1971. File:Siuntion kirkko, urut, organ 1.jpg, Organ

Church textiles

The newest church textiles have been made by textile artist Helena Vaari in 2009 after the renovation of the church.

References

{{Coord, 60.17713, 24.20421, format=dms, type:landmark_region:FI, display=title Lutheran churches in Finland Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Medieval stone churches in Finland Siuntio