65° - 01.07.1968, Side 13

Christianity in Iceland
by
Rev. GUNNAR ARNASON
Christianity came to Iceland in quite a singular
way.
The settlement of Iceland began about 874 B.C.
Most of the settlers at that time were pagans,
whose chief gods were Odin and Thor, and there
were a handful of Christians. This situation con-
tinued for a century until the first missionary,
a farmer’s son named, Torvaldur the Widely-
Travelled, arrived, and with him a German
visitant bishop. Both were men of considerable
influence who became successful, in the few years
they spent in this peaceful country, in Christian-
izing important people. A few years later other
missionaries arrived on behalf of King Olafur
Tryggvason of Norway who was determined to
Christianize Scandinavia by any means. The sum
of his great influence was felt at the Aiding law
meeting in the year 1000.
It must be remembered that the Aiding, which
met on the plains of Pingvellir, assembled yearly
both to handle legal matters and to celebrate, for
it provided the opportunity for people to gather
from all parts of Iceland and renew acquaintance.
It so happened that the pagan beliefs were in a
period of great decline, and increasing numbers
of people had become acquainted with Christian-
ity or were more or less inclined toward it. In
addition, there existed a hard core of Christians,
small but determined. There arose a hot religious
dispute verging on actual battle. Some inter-
mediaries got the combatants to agree to present
the matter to the lawspeaker, the president of the
Aiding. The lawspeaker, having undoubtedly dis-
cussed the matter first with others, then covered
his head with his fur cloak, as was his custom
when concentrating, so the story goes, and finally
emerged with the decision that all Iceland must
become Christian. He foresaw that since Chris-
tianity was gaining adherents, peace could only
be maintained if all people were bound by the
same laws and the same religion. Nevertheless,
he gave the pagans some exceptions for a while.
Many people were christened immediately at the
Ping, and the rest of the population soon after.
Many of the original Christians in Iceland
were accomplished men, including the first
bishops of Holar and Skalholt. It was said that
in his day, Gissur Isleifsson was both king and
bishop of the country, and the same might be
said of many others. Roman Catholicism lasted
550 years in Iceland, though no signs remain of
their buildings which were of turf and stone or
wood. Few artifacts exist from those days; most
were destroyed or sold abroad. The choir cloak
of the last Catholic bishop, Jon Arnason, remains,
however, from 1550, and the staff of Bishop Pall
Jonsson which was found in his coffin after its
unearthment some years ago. There are many
priceless Catholic relics of other kinds, however.
The golden age literature known throughout the
world was mostly written during these times and
included the Settlement Book, The Book of Ice-
landers by Ari the Wise, the Sagas, and the
Histories of the Older Bishops. These are per-
manent treasures.
It is certain that there was much religious spirit
in the land from its beginning. The nation was
inclined toward mysticism, and the surroundings
had something to do with that. Here, where the
sun never set in summer and the winters were
dark, the population was of scattered farmers and
fisherfolk living in the loneliness of mountains
and on the shores. Evenings prayers and family
readings were of more import than morning
prayers, and belief in supernatural phenomena
was great as it is today.
Since completing theology studies at the Univer-
sity of Iceland and abroad, Rev. Gunnar Arnason
has translated and written extensively while hold-
ing parishes in several parts of the country. At
present he is priest of the parish of Kopavogur,
and since 1956 has been editor of KirkjuritiS.
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