Helgøy Church () is a historic

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

Karlsøy Municipality Karlsøy () is an island List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hansnes. Other villages include Dåfjord, Hessfjord, Karlsøya ( ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located on the small unpopulated island of Helgøya. It is a little-used annex church for the Karlsøy

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

which is part of the Tromsø domprosti (arch-

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...

) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland. The 350-seat church is no longer in regular use since the island of Helgøya is no longer populated. The last confirmation class at the church was confirmed in 1966. The population of the island decreased steadily until it no longer had permanent residents. Today, the island is used for summer vacation homes and the church is now only used on occasion for special services, including one summer service each year.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1580, but the church was likely built in the late 1400s and was subject to the priest in Tromsø. The old church was located about northwest of the present church site. A new church was built on the site around the year 1660. This was a

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity in Norway, 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 inst ...

with a west tower,

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, 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 us ...

, and an entry porch. Around 1889, the old church was torn down and replaced with a church from another location. The new church was built about to the southeast on the island of Helgøya. This new church was not actually new—it had a long history before arriving at Helgøy. The building was originally constructed in 1741 as

Hemnes Church Hemnes Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Hemnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hemnesberget. It is the church for the Hemnes parish which is part of the Indre Helgeland prosti (dean ...

in what is now

Hemnes Municipality Hemnes is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Korgen ...

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...

. Then, in 1872, the building was taken down and moved to Hamn in

Berg Municipality Berg Municipality (, ) is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Svenstavik. The present municipality was formed in 1971 when "old" Berg Municipality was amalgamated with four other entities. As often in ...

on the island of Senja. It was rebuilt there as a church by the nickel plant. When the plant closed in 1888, the church was once again dismantled and moved to Helgøya to replace the earlier church building. This newly rebuilt church was

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d on 7 March 1889 by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Johannes Skaar. This "new" white, wooden church was built in a

style with a steeple. The church seats about 350 people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helgoy Church Churches in Troms Wooden churches in Norway Karlsøy Churches completed in 1741 Churches completed in 1889 18th-century Church of Norway church buildings 15th-century establishments in Norway

History

See also

References