Hallgrímskirkja marks 40 years since final consecration

Hallgrímskirkja will mark 40 years since its final consecration on Monday, mbl.is reports. The church was consecrated on Sunday, October 26, 1986, in a ceremony attended by a large crowd. Bishop Pétur Sigurgeirsson said: “Here is God’s house, here is heaven’s gate.”

Construction began in 1945 and took more than four decades to complete. The choir basement was consecrated as a church hall in 1948, and another hall opened in the tower’s south wing in 1974. The church was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, who began the project in 1937. By 1968 and 1972, it had become one of the city’s principal landmarks.

An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people attended the 1986 ceremony, which was televised. Eight ministers took part, including former bishop Sigurbjörn Einarsson and his son, Karl Sigurbjörnsson, who later became bishop of Iceland. Among the guests were President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and representatives of donors and the church’s builders.

The ceremony ended with an address by Justice and Church Affairs Minister Jón Helgason, who said the state would continue supporting the church’s completion and beautification. Maintenance has remained an ongoing task. In his autobiography, Karl Sigurbjörnsson described the strain of completing the church, including uncertain year-to-year funding, a weak parish financial base and a declining congregation as people moved to the suburbs.