July 29. 2001
St. Olav Day
Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church
Pastor Ole Amund Gillebo

Gospel; Luke 22:24 - 27 "The holy in men's hands-"

The death of King Olav Haraldsson on 29 July 1030 at Stiklestad became a turning point. The day became an important holy day in the Middle Ages and was named "Olsok" or "Olavsvake" which means "be a'wake". During that night the church celebrated the Olav's Mass .
"Pray to Olav that he might grant you power in his hand,
God's man is he, from God Himself he can procure life and peace for all men." These words were chanted by skald Torarin Lovtunge. He does advice people to pray to Olav and to seek help from him, the man of God.
The old Norwegian Calendar (Primstaven) marks St.Olav day with axe and cross and the text " If the St.Olav Day is rainy, the farmer will harvest with tears".
All this is of course an expression of Catholic faith.
Though the Church of Norway as an Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrates St Olav Day, the approach is very different. It is necessary to understand the difference between the historical Olav Haraldsson and the religious St. Olav. They are two different stories. From the Snorre Kongesagaer (Heimskringla) and from many contemporary poems we learn about Olav as a brutal person, a power-hungry and fond of women. But it is certainly true that he wanted to be a Christian person as well and he
really wanted the Norsemen to be baptized and to live according to Christian faith.

At the age of twelve Olav participated in war. Together with grown up Vikings he set out in a boat to go to Denmark, Sweden and some other countries. Olav
was clever in using the sword. Later on he made Viking expeditions to Germany, France, Spain and England. All over he was a tough warrior. He killed many people. He was a great robber. He was a real Viking. On his expeditions Olav happened to get to know Christianity. He was impressed. He considered this to be a good religion and what he learned about Jesus Christ made such an impression on him. He decided himself to become a Christian. He received the holy Baptism in France. The year 1015 he returned to Norway to seize royal power and to do what was in his power to end old customs like sacrificial rites to satisfy the gods.
Great sacrifice ceremonies in honor of the old gods, blot, were held several times a year. To prepare for Christianity King Olav provided new legal regulations,
he tore down the sacred "hov" and destroyed the idols. He built churches in their places and appointed clergymen with himself as leader of the Church. Those who refused to submit; risked being put to death or having their farms burned down. It is not a surprise that Olav had many enemies, the strongest opposition came from the districts around Lake Mjøsa and Trøndelag where the
old religion was most deeply entrenched. At the Ringsaker Farm he captured five of the kings from the area of Romerike, Hedmark, Gudbrandsdalen and Hadeland. King Rørek from Hedmark was blinded
and King Gudrød from Gudbrandsdal had his tongue cut off and so forth and he had the houses burned down and he forced his opponents to flee the country. King Olav wanted the people of Norway to accept the Christianity and to be baptized, but he introduced Christianity by force and required all the people to follow the new faith.
After a while, Olav had to flee the country himself because of the very strong resistance, but he returned to do the main battle. That happened at Stiklestad, north of Trondheim. July 29.1030. King Olav met with his opponents and how he was put to death is described by Snorre:  "Torstein Knarresmed smite King Olav with his axe, that blow falling on the left leg just above the knee….Thus wounded, the King leaned beck against a
rock, cast off his sword and prayed to God for deliverance. Now Tore Hund thrust at him with his spear. This blow went under the mail coat on the stomach. Then Kalv struck him, and that blow was against the left side of the neck. Thus fall the three blows that killed King Olav."

Olav was buried in the sand near the Nid River. Rumours soon circulated telling of the miracles that had taken place near the King's grave. A year after his death, Olav was as handsome as the day he had been buried and his
beard and hair had continued to grow. Many people were healed. The body was laid in a casket and placed in St.Clement's Church and the bishop declared Olav as a saint. Olav had become Rex Perpetuus Norwegiae - "
Eternal King of Norway". Maybe more than his life and fight for Christianity, King Olav's death prepared the way for the new faith.  King Olav's death secured the unification of Norway and the national monarchy
and led to the conversion to Christianity.  In the centuries that followed, hordes of pilgrims wandered to Nidaros. They came from all parts of Norway, from Scandinavia, from England and the Continent. People came to seek for forgiveness of sins and for healing or to
suffer punishment or even to offer thanks for God's help. Nidaros became a religious center in the Middle Ages as Rome in the South, and Jerusalem in the East and Santiago de Compostella in the West.

Every year many people gather at Stiklestad from all parts of Norway and many other countries to commemorate Olav and what he did to establish the Church in Norway. The main attraction is "Spelet om Heilag Olav". (The Play about Olav, the Holy one)
Last year Mindekirken Choir attended there.

We do know for sure that King Olav did many bad things. He was brutal. But he did something good for the country and the Christianity. We often say he introduced the Christianity and founded the Catholic Church in Norway. At the same time Christianity also was introduced to Island, Greenland and North America.

Still there are some 800 and 900 years old staff churches and stone churches in Norway. Ringsaker Church is a cross - formed stone church from the 12th century and is dedicated to St.Olav. The famous Norwegian woman author Sigrid Undset wrote: "The church history
is a history about the holy in men's hands."
This is certainly true in the case of Olav and the Church of Norway. It is true at Mindekirken as well.

About King Olav we might say, He was killed, but his sign remains standing. His sword was for war, but the cross he carried brought true life. His kingdom
will vanish, but the Kingdom of Christ will last forever.
 
Amen.