Temples and monasteries. Denmark Russian Orthodox Church
The first seeds of Christianity were brought to Denmark in the 9th century by its first enlightener, Bishop Ansgar. Until recently, the oldest image of the figure of Christ in the territory of the Danish kingdom was considered to be a drawing on the rune stone in Jelling, installed by Harald Bluetooth in the second half of the 10th century, however, the archaeological discovery of a golden cross made on March 11, 2016 in the town of Aunslev on the island of Funen, can claim more early status .
Thanks to trade relations with Veliky Novgorod, Orthodoxy was well known in medieval Denmark.
Russian Orthodox Church
The first Russian Orthodox church in Copenhagen was consecrated in the second quarter of the 18th century in the house of the Russian ambassador, but due to its diplomatic status it was largely inaccessible to the Russian Orthodox diaspora.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been officially represented in Denmark since the second half of the 19th century thanks to a dynastic marriage concluded between the heir to the Russian throne, Tsarevich Alexander and the Danish princess Dagmara, who converted to Orthodoxy. At the request of Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1881 the Russian government acquired a plot on Bredgade Street and allocated 300,000 rubles, which included 70,000 from the personal treasury of Emperor Alexander III. In the same year, construction of the temple began. The church was built according to the design of Professor D. N. Grimm. The director of the Danish Academy of Arts, Professor F. Meldals, and local architect A. H. Jensen participated in the construction.
Russian clergy - Archpriest Nikolai Volobuev and priest Alexander Shchelkunov carried out the first translations of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great, laying the foundation for the translation of Orthodox liturgical and doctrinal books into Danish.
Services for the Greek Orthodox community in Copenhagen are performed by Greek clergy, who come 1-2 times a year from Stockholm.
The Metropolis publishes a monthly leaflet in Greek.
Serbian Patriarchate
In the 1990s, due to mass labor emigration, about a thousand people from Serbia ended up in Denmark.
In Copenhagen in 1997, a Serbian Orthodox parish in honor of St. George the Victorious was established, renting churches of the Lutheran Church of Denmark for worship.
Romanian Patriarchate
Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Macedonian Orthodox Church is represented in Denmark by parishes in Copenhagen and Aarhus.
Kyiv Patriarchate
On December 15, 2015, the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate established a deanery of its parishes (Swedish. Kievpatriarkatets skandinaviska dekanat ). Archbishop of Rivne has been entrusted with archpastoral care of the newly formed structure Hilarion (Protsik) Chairman of the Department for External Relations of the UOC KP.
Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
In 2016 in the city Bronderslev, in the north of Jutland, in the house of long-term parishioner of the ROAC Marina Nielsen, a home church was built in the name of St. Tsar-Martyr Nicholas. The first liturgy on May 29 was celebrated by Hegumen Arkady (Ilyushin), a cleric of the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Golovinskoye Cemetery in Moscow.
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Excerpt characterizing Orthodoxy in Denmark
– It was so funny when I just started “creating”!!! Oh, you would know how funny and amusing it was!.. At the beginning, when everyone “left” me, I was very sad, and I cried a lot... I didn’t know where they were, my mother and my brother. .. I didn’t know anything yet. That’s when, apparently, my grandmother felt sorry for me and she began to teach me a little. And... oh, what happened!.. At first I constantly fell through somewhere, created everything “topsy-turvy” and my grandmother had to watch me almost all the time. And then I learned... It’s even a pity, because now she comes less often... and I’m afraid that maybe someday she won’t come at all...For the first time I saw how sad this little lonely girl was sometimes, despite all these amazing worlds she created!.. And no matter how happy and kind she was “from birth,” she was still just a very small, all family of an unexpectedly abandoned child, who was terrified that her only loved one - her grandmother - would also one day leave her...
- Oh, please don’t think so! – I exclaimed. - She loves you so much! And she will never leave you.
- No... she said that we all have our own lives, and we must live it the way each of us is destined... It's sad, isn't it?
But Stella, apparently, simply could not remain in a sad state for a long time, since her face lit up joyfully again, and she asked in a completely different voice:
- Well, shall we continue watching or have you already forgotten everything?
- Well, of course we will! – as if I had just woken up from a dream, I answered more readily now.
I couldn’t yet say with confidence that I even truly understood anything. But it was incredibly interesting, and some of Stella’s actions were already becoming more understandable than they were at the very beginning. The little girl concentrated for a second, and we found ourselves in France again, as if starting from exactly the same moment where we had recently stopped... Again there was the same rich crew and the same beautiful couple who couldn’t think of anything come to an agreement... Finally, completely desperate to prove something to his young and capricious lady, the young man leaned back in the rhythmically swaying seat and said sadly:
- Well, if it’s your way, Margarita, I don’t ask for your help anymore... Although, only God knows who else could help me see Her?.. The only thing I don’t understand is when did you manage to do so? change?.. And does this mean that we are not friends now?
The girl just smiled sparingly and turned back to the window... She was very beautiful, but it was a cruel, cold beauty. The impatient and, at the same time, bored expression frozen in her radiant blue eyes perfectly showed how much she wanted to end this protracted conversation as quickly as possible.
The carriage stopped near a beautiful large house, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
- Goodbye, Axel! – she easily fluttered out and said coldly in a secular way. - And let me finally give you some good advice - stop being a romantic, you are no longer a child!..
The crew set off. A young man named Axel looked steadily at the road and sadly whispered to himself:
– My cheerful “daisy”, what happened to you?.. Is this really all that remains of us, having grown up?!..
The vision disappeared and another one appeared... It was still the same young man named Axel, but around him lived a completely different “reality”, stunning in its beauty, which was more like some kind of unreal, implausible dream...
Thousands of candles sparkled dizzyingly in the huge mirrors of some fairy-tale hall. Apparently, it was someone’s very rich palace, perhaps even a royal one... An incredible number of “to the nines” dressed guests stood, sat and walked in this wonderful hall, smiling dazzlingly at each other and, from time to time, as one , looking back at the heavy, gilded door, expecting something. Somewhere music was playing quietly, lovely ladies, one more beautiful than the other, fluttered like multi-colored butterflies under the admiring glances of equally stunningly dressed men. Everything around sparkled, sparkled, shone with reflections of a variety of precious stones, silks rustled softly, huge intricate wigs strewn with fabulous flowers swayed coquettishly...
Axel stood leaning against a marble column and watched with an absent look all this brilliant, bright crowd, remaining completely indifferent to all its charms, and it was felt that, just like everyone else, he was waiting for something.
Finally, everything around began to move, and this entire magnificently dressed crowd, as if by magic, divided into two parts, forming a very wide, “ballroom” passage exactly in the middle. And an absolutely stunning woman was slowly moving along this aisle... Or rather, a couple was moving, but the man next to her was so simple-minded and inconspicuous that, despite his magnificent clothes, his whole appearance simply faded away next to his stunning partner.
The beautiful lady looked like spring - her blue dress was entirely embroidered with fancy birds of paradise and amazing silver-pink flowers, and whole garlands of real fresh flowers rested in a fragile pink cloud on her silky, intricately styled, ashen hair. Many threads of delicate pearls wrapped around her long neck, and literally glowed, set off by the extraordinary whiteness of her amazing skin. Huge sparkling blue eyes looked welcomingly at the people around her. She smiled happily and was stunningly beautiful....
French Queen Marie Antoinette
Right there, standing apart from everyone, Axel was literally transformed!.. The bored young man disappeared somewhere, in the blink of an eye, and in his place... stood the living embodiment of the most beautiful feelings on earth, who literally “devoured” him with a flaming gaze. a beautiful lady approaching him...
“Oh-oh... how beautiful she is!..” Stella breathed out enthusiastically. – She is always so beautiful!..
- What, have you seen her many times? – I asked interestedly.
- Oh yeah! I go look at her very often. She's like spring, isn't she?
- And you know her?.. Do you know who she is?
“Of course!.. She is a very unhappy queen,” the little girl became a little sad.
- Why unhappy? Looks like she’s very happy to me,” I was surprised.
“This is just now... And then she will die... She will die very scary - they will cut off her head... But I don’t like to watch that,” Stella whispered sadly.
Meanwhile, the beautiful lady caught up with our young Axel and, seeing him, froze for a moment in surprise, and then, blushing charmingly, smiled at him very sweetly. For some reason, I had the impression that the world froze for a moment around these two people... As if for a very short moment there was nothing and no one around for them except the two of them... But the lady moved on , and the magical moment fell apart into thousands of short moments that wove between these two people into a strong sparkling thread, never to let them go...
Axel stood completely stunned and, again not noticing anyone around, looked after his beautiful lady, and his conquered heart slowly left with her... He did not notice the looks of the passing young beauties looking at him, and did not respond to their shining, inviting smiles.
Count Axel Fersen Marie Antoinette
As a person, Axel was, as they say, “both inside and out” very attractive. He was tall and graceful, with huge serious gray eyes, always amiable, reserved and modest, which attracted both women and men equally. His correct, serious face rarely lit up with a smile, but if this happened, then at such a moment Axel became simply irresistible... Therefore, it was completely natural for the charming female half to intensify the attention towards him, but, to their common regret, Axel was only interested in there is only one creature in the whole wide world - its irresistible, beautiful queen...
– Will they be together? – I couldn’t stand it. - They are both so beautiful!..
Stella just smiled sadly and immediately plunged us into the next “episode” of this unusual and somehow very touching story...
We found ourselves in a very cozy, flower-scented, small summer garden. All around, as far as the eye could see, there was a magnificent green park, decorated with many statues, and in the distance a stunningly huge stone palace, looking like a small city, could be seen. And among all this “grandiose”, slightly oppressive, surrounding grandeur, only this garden, completely protected from prying eyes, created a feeling of real comfort and some kind of warm, “homely” beauty...
Orthodox Europe. Article 1
Orthodox Denmark: people and destinies
The Pravoslavie.Ru website offers a series of publications by Sergei Mudrov dedicated to the fate of Orthodoxy and the Orthodox in Western Europe. Materials for the articles were collected during trips to the countries of the European Union. At the same time, the author pays special attention to specific living problems that arise today among Orthodox people in the West.
So I flew to Copenhagen with a calm soul, admiring the clouds colorfully illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. At the airport I exchanged euros for crowns: Denmark remains one of the few countries of the “old” EU that is not part of the eurozone.
Reference. The Kingdom of Denmark is a country located on the Jutland Peninsula and more than 400 islands in the North and Baltic Seas. A constitutional monarchy. The area is a little more than 43 thousand km 2. Population: about 5.5 million people. The official language is Danish. The capital is the city of Copenhagen. Most of the believers are Lutherans.
Copenhagen
From Copenhagen airport I took the train to Østepoort station, and from there, guided by the map, I walked towards Bradgade Street, where the cathedral is located.
The Russian church turned out to be quite tightly woven into the houses surrounding it. This is typical of the West, where every piece of land is worth almost its weight in gold.
Father Sergius received me warmly and cordially. It was already late, so without hesitation we postponed all the “talks” until tomorrow, and I went to bed.
Reference.
Priest Sergius Plekhov was born in Russia, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Krasnoyarsk Pedagogical Institute. In 1989 he was ordained a priest in the Pskov diocese. He served in the parishes of the diocese for ten years. Then he transferred to the jurisdiction of the ROCOR. He was received into communion by Archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain. He served in Berlin for two and a half months. In March 1999, he was transferred to Copenhagen as rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
Sunday morning. Copenhagen Church of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky. By the beginning of the reading hours there are few people, but then parishioners fill the temple more and more. Father Sergius serves in Church Slavonic and pronounces certain litanies in Greek.
Father Sergius, who served only in Russia before leaving for Europe, encountered a new and practically unknown Orthodox life in the West.
“Yes, I saw huge differences,” he emphasizes. – At first it was continuous discoveries. Here I noticed a certain familial quality, spontaneity and closeness in the relationship between the priest and the parishioners, and even between the parishioners themselves. As, indeed, between the laity and the bishop.
“I had to break many stereotypes,” my interlocutor notes. – After all, ten years before that I served within another system. There were difficulties at first, but the parishioners, thank God, helped me overcome them. After all, here in Europe, elective-democratic (although I don’t really like this word) principles of parish life have been adopted. Church authority is largely delegated to the parish council. The general parish meeting, which meets annually, plays a major role. Parish council meetings are held every month. Moreover, in the church council, everyone is responsible for their own specific area: publishing, economic issues, technical needs, etc. How was it in Russia? You start renovating a temple, and you immediately have to knock on the doors of the offices of directors, bankers, and businessmen to find money. The construction itself takes up the lion's share of time. Here, everything is handled by specialists. Moreover, the council is not some kind of body elected for life. Every year elections are held, some remain in their previous positions, others are re-elected. This prevents the parish from being divided into different "parties".
It is never easy to talk about the size of a parish. This topic can be painful for a priest; sometimes you don’t have exact numbers at hand, and it’s probably not the quantity that’s important.
So Father Sergius noted that the so-called “list of parishioners” has not been updated for many years. At the same time, the number of parishioners who regularly attend divine services ranges from one hundred to two hundred people. The number of those who come approximately once a month reaches five hundred people. At Easter services, at the time of the religious procession, two to three thousand gather. True, by the end of the Easter service the number of worshipers decreases to two hundred people.
According to Father Sergius, the parish grew slightly in the early 2000s: Denmark was then more willing to accept immigrants from Orthodox countries. And before that, the parish was even larger: Serbs went to church (until, with the help of the previous rector, priest Alexy Biron, they founded their own parish). Nevertheless, the community of Father Sergius retains its multinational character. Serbs still come here, Greeks, Bulgarians, Georgians, Macedonians come.
“Formally, judging by the parish list or the phone book that I have on my computer, the majority of parishioners are Russian,” notes Father Sergius. – But in fact it happens (I began to especially notice this at services on weekdays) that there are one or two Russians and five or six Greeks, Bulgarians, Georgians, Macedonians standing in the church. Balkan peoples are more consistent in church attendance. Among Russians (I noticed this especially clearly here) the following tendency appears: a person drops out of church life for several months, then appears again, begins to walk, and participates in parish life. The picture, of course, is not very happy.
However, isn’t the whole life of a significant part of the Russian emigration so undulating? Anxiety, material deprivation, fear of deportation for illegal immigrants, fear of losing benefits or wages for those who somehow found a job. Maybe the parish should also rely on the Danes who converted to Orthodoxy? True, at the service I noticed very few people with a Danish appearance. What is this - an accident or a pattern?
“There was a period when we accepted three to five Danes into Orthodoxy,” Father Sergius shares his memories. – But the usual “norm” is one or two people. It happens that people come, then see that this is not their path, and leave. When Danes are interested in Orthodoxy, we warn them: Orthodoxy is not only miracles, not only the Jesus Prayer, but also everyday life with fasting and prayer rules. So the most persistent ones remain with us.
– Well, what brings the Danes to Orthodoxy? – I’m interested.
– Probably, the main thing is that the Lord calls. The believing heart feels this. In Denmark, a certain spiritual quest is now noticeable among Protestant youth. On the other hand, many Lutheran churches are empty, and there is a shortage of staff at the university’s theological faculty. Young people do not want to go, although the profession of a priest in Denmark is not very burdensome and is quite highly paid.
But still, the number of Danes out of the total number of parishioners is extremely small. The development of Danish Orthodoxy itself is extremely slow, although there are various books published in Danish at the beginning of the 20th century. Meanwhile, I have not seen a single Orthodox Dane in the second generation. Except that there is one Danish-Swedish family living in Sweden, and their adult son is also Orthodox. But this is the exception rather than the rule.
The words of Father Sergius shock me a little. How so? Young people accept Orthodoxy, make a conscious, well-thought-out choice, and their children still become Protestants...
“Yes, it turns out that way,” Father Sergius disappoints me. – Because if appropriate education is not given in childhood, then the environment takes its toll. And in general, it’s not easy for us and the Danes. Either the Scandinavian mentality is taking its toll, or there are some other reasons. But Bishop Mark, for example, is very careful if Danes who want to become Orthodox priests turn to him.
Reference. In the Alexander Nevsky Church of Copenhagen, liturgy and vespers are served periodically (usually once a month) in Danish. Church parishioners Andreas Rosen Rasmussen and Olga Zorina did a great job of translating and editing the texts of the services. Several years ago, a Danish-speaking group led by Paul Sebbelow separated from the parish. Paul Sebbelov became a priest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. His community exists in Copenhagen to this day.
“Oh, Paul Sebbelov was a fairly active parishioner with us, although he had a certain tendency to “protest” the Church,” says Father Sergius. “He also believed that our parish should be within the jurisdiction of the Paris Metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Then Paul published an article saying that ROCOR is not canonical. I wrote a response and at the same time said: if you do not consider us a canonical jurisdiction, then why do you come to us and receive communion? Paul interpreted my words as excommunication and gave a long interview to one newspaper, declaring that persecution had been organized against him. And he left without even deigning to have a personal conversation.
In addition to the parish of Paul Sebbelov and two Russian parishes, the already mentioned Serbian and also Greek parishes operate in Copenhagen. The Serbian priest actively travels around the country: there is more Serbian population in Denmark than Russian. The Greek priest comes to Copenhagen only a few times a year. In other cities, with the exception of Aarhus, there are no permanent Russian Orthodox communities.
Father Sergius noted that his relations with Orthodox Christians in other jurisdictions, as well as with Protestants and Catholics, are quite friendly, “although we do not participate in so-called ecumenism.”
“The Danes, of course, have an interest in Orthodoxy,” Father Sergius emphasized, “but, if we talk about the future, we can only hope that the younger generation will free itself from the clutches of Protestant psychology, which greatly influences their ideological choice.
In the evening, over a kindly offered dinner, Father Sergius and I talked for a long time, and not only about Denmark. I listened with interest to stories about his trips to Africa and Latin America. As a travel lover, I wanted to know more about those distant continents visited by the Russian priest from Copenhagen.
The path to Orthodoxy
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Andreas, a young man of 30 years old, converted to Orthodoxy in June 2001. The son of a Lutheran minister, a graduate of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Copenhagen. It seemed that his career was determined for many years to come. Maybe even for the rest of my life. But the ways of the Lord are mysterious. The supposed collapses and remains in the past. In return comes something new – pure and perfect.
Somehow Andreas came across an Orthodox magazine in Danish. The attention of the aspiring theologian was attracted by the articles published in it. The magazine became that tiny spark from which the flame of interest in Orthodoxy flared up. Andreas reached out to books by Orthodox authors: he read Bishop Callistus (Ware) and Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom). The next step was to attend services in the Alexander Nevsky Church. The young man came, looked, tried to understand.
“I remember my first Orthodox service well,” says Andreas. - It was in the evening, on a weekday. The church is almost empty, twilight, burning candles; people are serious and focused on prayer. The intimate atmosphere of prayer made a very deep impression on me... Internally, I understood that I needed to become Orthodox, that I could not go back, I could not stop halfway.
According to Andreas, the news of his conversion to Orthodoxy shocked his family. Friction arose; discussions sometimes became too emotional. Andreas's parents calmed down a bit only when their son got married.
“They were probably afraid that I would become a monk or go to Russia.” Don't know. But now everything is much simpler. I think that my conversion to Orthodoxy brought a lot of valuable things into our lives. For example, previously our family did not pray before meals, but now they do. We can also talk more about faith and Christianity.
Answering my question about the future of Orthodoxy in Denmark, Andreas noted that “the spiritual life of Lutheranism is very dry, many people are disappointed with it. Therefore, there is hope to found new Orthodox parishes. But to achieve this, the Danish language needs to be used more widely.”
By the way, Andreas’s son is growing up. His parents intend to raise him in Orthodoxy. Maybe Andreas' son will become a joyful exception to the sad rule that Father Sergius spoke about - the almost complete absence of Orthodox Danes in the second generation. I would like to hope so. And it seems that you can believe in it.
Unlike Andreas, 37-year-old Karin Christensen was raised in an unbelieving family. Her parents were atheists. However, Karin believed in God.
– In kindergarten, the teacher was very religious, she told us a lot about God. That’s how it became part of my worldview,” says Karin.
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“I read The Brothers Karamazov, and I wanted to go to Russia,” says my interlocutor. – I was going back in 1990, but my father was very against it, he believed that it was dangerous in Russia then. But still, my desire did not go away, I even began to learn Russian. I lived in Paris for a year and a half, where I met Russians.
Karin came to Russia for the first time in 1994, going to St. Petersburg. It was February, winter was fierce, and, as Karin says, already at the airport she was struck by a bus:
– It was very cold, there was ice on the windows inside the bus... I remember it well. It was difficult for me in St. Petersburg, I spoke Russian poorly then, didn’t know anyone and felt very lonely. But I still wanted to stay.
By the way, Karin went to an Orthodox service for the first time in Paris - at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, on Daru Street. But the Easter service in St. Petersburg made an indelible impression on her:
– I remember a lot of candles - there seemed to be so much life in them! Both the singing and the aroma of incense - everything was so different from Protestant services, where the main emphasis is on preaching. I was also struck by the fact that you don’t necessarily have to sit, but are more and more free.
Amazing thought! We sometimes talk with a bit of envy about services in the West, where parishioners sit during the service. But Westerners see joy and freedom in the fact that they don’t have to sit at work!
In 1996, Karin went to Moscow and lived here for four years, working for a Swedish company. Her friend Lyudmila sometimes took Karin to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. This is how the native Dane touched the great shrines of the Russian Church. In July 2000, she was baptized, becoming Orthodox. Returning from Denmark, Karin joined the parishioners of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Copenhagen.
“I hope, of course, that more Danes will convert to Orthodoxy,” Karin noted. “I myself would like to translate literature from Russian,” she added modestly.
She had in mind theological and liturgical literature, which could serve as a good basis for further mission among the Danes.
Aarhus
I left Copenhagen for Aarhus, a city on the east coast of central Jutland, 300 kilometers from the Danish capital. As Father Sergius told me, it is there that the only “really operating” (outside of Copenhagen) community of the Russian Church is located. It took more than three hours to travel by train, and the ticket cost 45 euros. Not cheap. On the way we passed the island of Funen, on which there is a small Orthodox monastery in the name of the holy royal passion-bearers. There was a stop along the way in Odense, the hometown of Hans Christian Andersen. But I didn’t get off in Aarhus itself, but in a town nearby – Skanderborg. Galina Nielsen, the head of the Aarhus parish, met me there.Galina came to Denmark from Nizhny Novgorod in 2001, marrying a Dane.
“I had such a situation that I needed to at least go somewhere, take my son. I had a friend who lived in Denmark, and she advised me: get married, here all your problems will be solved. Of course, everything turned out not to be as thought. I never took my son away; I live here with my daughter. The husband died in 2006.
Galina went to Denmark, already a believer and a church member. Therefore, the question of whether or not to go to church did not arise for her. From the first days, Galina became involved in the life of the Aarhus community, and in 2006 she was elected headman. The Aarhus parish does not have its own priest; the services are performed by a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate from Copenhagen. Liturgies are served, as a rule, once a month - in the premises of a Protestant church, rented specifically for these purposes.
“Of course, all this affects spiritual life,” says Galina, “it’s hard without communion for so long.” And traveling to Copenhagen is expensive.
Does this mean that life in the parish is barely glimmering and that it itself is in danger of disappearing?
“Oh no, life in the parish has changed enormously over the past few years,” says Galina. – For example, in 2001, 5-6 people came to services. For Easter and Christmas – 20–25. Now 30-35 people constantly go to services, and on holidays there are more than a hundred... We have real parish life. We share troubles and joys together. We pray together, empathize, help each other. Including financially.
Of course, there are many more Orthodox (baptized) Christians living in Aarhus and its surroundings than the number of churchgoers (mostly Russians and Ukrainians). The parish conducts missionary work through the Russian Society and makes itself known through language schools. People sometimes respond and come to services. But for the majority, as in Russia, the path to the Church lies through problems and difficult life circumstances.
– Our atmosphere is very warm. People come to us from other cities, 200 kilometers away. Danish husbands accept Orthodoxy, emphasizes Galina Nielsen.
On the other hand, Denmark is an extremely secular country. For many Danes, religion is a “relic of the past.” Of course, it is difficult for me to judge how sincere are the aspirations of the Danes who married Russian girls to become Orthodox. But there are probably people of a different type, for whom any mention of faith acts like a red rag on a bull.
“Yes, problems arise,” Galina agrees with me. – There is also misunderstanding. One woman, for example, was almost taken by the scruff of the neck by her husband from an Easter service. A friend of mine broke up with her friend because he said that such religious people should not build a family life. Sometimes it comes to divorce.
– In general, we and the Danes are very different people. But we need to learn something good from the Danes, for example, their kindness. Although truly integrating into Danish society is not easy. But here I found spiritual harmony in the life of our parish. And this is rare even for Russia,” Galina emphasized.
The meeting with Galina Nielsen was the last one during my short trip to Denmark. On the way to the Aarhus airport, I thought a lot about how people who left their homeland work for the good of the Church, sowing the seeds of the Orthodox faith where they are so needed. And the parish ministry of Father Sergius, and the work of Galina Nielsen, and the voluntary missionary work of the native Danes Andreas and Karin - all this, combined together, weaves a wonderful ladder leading people to the knowledge of the truth, to God himself.
12 / 08 / 2008
The Christian Church in Copenhagen was built in 1754-1759 and was originally called the "German Frederick Church" - in honor of the then reigning King Frederick V, and also as a sign of respect for the large and influential German community of Copenhagen. The initiative to build the temple came from representatives of the German part of the population, who for many years had been striving to have their own church in one of the prosperous areas.
Serious changes in the life of the temple began after the turbulent political events of 1772, when a citizenship law was adopted, which was due to growing discontent among the population about German influence in Denmark. In this regard, the role of the German church decreased significantly and was insignificant almost until the middle of the 19th century. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the temple was used as an ordinary parish church, at which time it received its modern name - in honor of King Christian IV.
Architecturally, the Christian Church in Copenhagen was designed as a rectangular block with a slender tower in the center. This temple is considered one of the best examples of a Protestant parish church in Denmark. Particular attention is paid to preaching and working with residents of nearby areas.
Church of the Savior
The main Protestant church in Copenhagen is the Church of Christ the Savior. It was built in 1682 on the initiative of King Christian IV. For almost a hundred years since the completion of construction, no services were held in the temple, because there was no altar and the main tower was not completed. The Church of Our Savior was consecrated in 1752 under King Frederick V, who climbed the original tower for the illumination ceremony.
The Church of Christ the Savior has a traditional Greek cross at its base, and the external and internal decoration is made in the Danish Baroque style. The base of the church is made of massive dark granite, and the walls themselves are made of red and yellow bricks. The church is very recognizable thanks to its unusual tower. It rises above the temple to a height of 90 meters, and you can climb it via a special spiral staircase of 400 steps. At the same time, part of the staircase is arranged outside, as if weaving around the tower counterclockwise. The last steps end at the top of the spire, where there is a huge gilded sphere and a four-meter statue of Christ with a banner.
In addition to the tower itself, in the Church of Christ the Savior, an ancient organ from the 17th century and a carillon consisting of 48 bells of different sizes deserve attention.
Alexander Nevsky Church
In the very center of Copenhagen, next to the famous Marble Church, is the Alexander Nevsky Church. Made in traditional Russian style, it looks very unusual against the backdrop of the luxurious marble Baroque cathedral and the ornate royal residence of Amalienborg. This Orthodox church was built at the end of the 19th century by order of Emperor Alexander III for his wife Dagmara (Maria Fedorovna), who, although she was Danish, converted to Orthodoxy from Catholicism.
The Alexander Nevsky Church was built according to the design of the architect David Grimm, who took traditional Orthodox churches as a basis. This is the first Russian Orthodox church in Copenhagen. The walls are made of red brick and decorated with borders and ornaments in the classical Byzantine style. Above the church there are golden domes and a bell tower with six bells. Inside, the floor is decorated with mosaics, and the walls and ceiling are covered with frescoes and paintings by such authors as Kramskoy, Bronnikov and Bogolyubov.
In the church there are two ancient miraculous icons - the icon of Alexander Nevsky and the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Copenhagen-Jerusalem.
Frederick's Church
Frederick's Church in Copenhagen is also known as the Marble Church. It was built by order of Frederick V, who wanted to perpetuate the 300th anniversary of his family in this way. The author of the project was the architect Nikolai Aigtved, who took St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as a basis. Construction lasted more than a hundred years, since the building was originally conceived entirely of marble, which in fact turned out to be too expensive an idea.
The main architectural feature of Frederick's Church is its dome, which has a diameter of 31 meters and is one of the largest in Europe. The temple is made in Baroque style. The outside is decorated with bas-reliefs and sculptures of Danish saints, and the inside is decorated with frescoes and paintings by local artists. The stained glass windows, which were made to order in a famous Italian workshop, deserve special attention. The interior of the temple is no less rich than the outside. The gilded iconostasis and carved mahogany benches are especially striking.
Grundtvig Church
One of the most recognizable religious buildings in Denmark is the Lutheran church in honor of the famous theologian, philosopher and clergyman of Denmark Nicholas Frederik Severin Grundtvig.
The competition for the best design of the future church, held in 1913, was won by the architect Peter Wilhelm Jensen Klint. He was able to create not only a monumental, but also an original temple. The construction of this church was carried out through charitable donations; as a result, construction dragged on for almost 20 years. Another reason for the long construction is that hand-made bricks were used, and the masonry itself was done by hand, as accurately as possible.
Today, pilgrims and tourists can see the church with the predominant features of rural churches in Denmark, incorporating Gothic, Baroque and Modernist elements. Believers are struck by the asceticism of the interior decoration, the minimum of means of expression and the unique polyphony of the two organs. More than a thousand pilgrims and believers from all over the world regularly visit Grundtvig Church.
Holmen Church
Holmen Church is located in the center of Copenhagen on the banks of one of the canals. It was built in 1563 as one of Christian IV's naval churches. The church is famous as the venue for the wedding of Danish Queen Margaret II and Prince Henrik in 1967. In addition, Holmen Church is the burial place of naval heroes Niels Joel and Peter Tordenskiöld, composer Niels Wilhelm Gade and many other prominent Danish people.
The appearance of the church has remained virtually unchanged since the 16th century. The only global changes affected it only in 1872 during a global renovation. Then all copper structures were replaced with more durable iron ones, and simple glass windows were replaced with stained glass ones. Inside Holmen Church there are fragments of artistic paintings by Karel van Mander, which miraculously survived the Great Fire.
An old organ from 1738 is installed inside the church. You can listen to it every week on Wednesdays. The carved pulpit, installed in 1662, is also interesting. It was made by Abel Schroeder in the color of natural oak. It depicts biblical scenes from the time of Moses to Jesus Christ.
Church of the Virgin Mary
The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary is often called Copenhagen Cathedral. It is located behind the main building of the University of Copenhagen, close to the popular pedestrian street Strøget. The church has been here since the beginning of the 12th century, but was destroyed several times by two fires and air bombing during the war.
The architect of the project was S.F. Hansen, who developed a grandiose project in the neoclassical style with a colonnade and a luxurious pediment. The church turned out to be very spacious: the total length is 80 meters, the width is 33 meters, and the inner hall is a single room more than 25 meters high, capable of accommodating almost 1,200 people at a time.
Next to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary there is a bell tower with four bells. The largest of them weighs about four tons and is the largest bell in the country. The smallest bell, cast in 1490, is also located here.
Sights of Copenhagen
ORTHODOX DENMARK
Orthodox shrines of Denmark
The history of Orthodoxy (0.04% of the population) in Denmark is the history of the adoption of Christianity in the country. For the first centuries after its baptism and before the separation of Catholicism, it was an Orthodox country. Orthodoxy returned to Denmark in the second quarter of the 18th century, when the first church of the Russian Orthodox Church began to exist at the residence of the Russian Ambassador. In 1883, in the presence of the Russian Emperor Alexander III, the Alexander Nevsky Church in the very center of Copenhagen was consecrated. In 2000, a parish was formed in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra the Wonderworker in the city of Aarhus; since 2001, near the city of Odense (the birthplace of the storyteller G. H. Andrensen), a house church of the Russian Orthodox Church began to operate in honor of the royal Russian martyrs. There are initiative groups to create parishes in Nykobing and in the ancient city of Ribe, the historical capital of Denmark. Today the number of Orthodox Christians exceeds 2.5 thousand and is represented by parishes of the Russian, Romanian and Serbian Orthodox churches. There is also a parish of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The spread of Christianity began under Charlemagne (Frankish king, 724-814, from 800 - emperor from the Carolingian dynasty). But the missionary work of the heavenly Orthodox patron of Denmark, Saint Ansgar (801-865), as well as his predecessors and followers (Willibrord, Ludger, Ebon, Gautbert) did not completely solve this problem. Although Christianity was declared the official religion in 960, it began to be irrevocably consolidated only under Enuda the Great (on the throne in 1018-1035). In those days, the Danish Church depended on the ordination of the Archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg.
(Information on the publication "Heavenly Patrons of the States of the World". Author Alexander Evgenievich Turovsky, Tula, 2011, pp. 62-63, ISBN 978-5-8125-1647-5. Gift copy to the untimely death of Archbishop Longin [former Klinsky, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany], Dusseldorf, 2012.) ).
So, what awaits the Russian Orthodox pilgrim in Denmark, what shrines dear to his heart can he meet on his route, and what information about Orthodoxy in Denmark is available to us:
About the Orthodox Church of Denmark website "Pravoslavie.Ru":
* Orthodox Denmark: people and destinies.
* Non-European people, or Russians in Denmark.
Other sources of information:
* Russian Orthodox Church in Denmark.
* Denmark: the pilgrim's alphabet.
* Orthodoxy in Denmark: history and modernity
* Parish of St. Nicholas of Myra (Aarhus).
* Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen.
* Alexander Nevsky Church
*
* Denmark: Princess Dagmar's favorite temple.
* Paths of Orthodoxy in Denmark.
* Prince Dimitri Romanovich, the eldest in the Romanov family, died in Denmark.
* Denmark says goodbye to the princess.
*
07.02.2012
Russians and Belarusians, Bulgarians and Greeks, Georgians and Ukrainians who come to Denmark, as well as other representatives of Orthodox peoples, constantly support the active life of these Orthodox parishes. Probably, nowhere else in the traditional churches will you find such an international and friendly atmosphere as here - when during the liturgy the Lord’s Prayer is heard in the church in the original sacred Greek, in melodious Georgian, in chiseled Danish, and, of course, in Russian, that is, Church Slavonic languages.
The history of Orthodoxy in Denmark is undoubtedly the history of Christianity in this country. After all, Orthodoxy is, in its essence, that same, real, authentic Christianity that has come to us almost unchanged from the depths of the first Christian centuries. We can see this by reading the texts of the holy fathers of the era of the still undivided Church, looking at their iconographic faces on ancient frescoes, at the folds of their long clothes and architectural elements preserved in the images of that time. World-famous church historical texts also talk about this in detail. The style, way of traditions and rituals of the most ancient churches - Greek, Coptic or Georgian, also confirm this.
So there is every reason to believe that for the first centuries after its historical baptism, Denmark, like other Scandinavian countries, was an Orthodox country. Saint Ansgar, “Apostle of the North” (801-865), whose name is associated with the establishment of Christianity in Scandinavia, although he was not the first baptist of Denmark, his role in converting the Danes to the Christian faith is considered to be key. According to historical chronicles, “the mission of Ansgaria has long been considered one of the most striking episodes in the process of Christianization of Northern Europe that lasted about three centuries (approximately from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 12th”).1
Preaching trips of St. Ansgaria to Scandinavia, the first of which - to Denmark - took place around 827-828, were associated with a real risk to the life of this young monk, who received his spiritual education in the Franco-German monasteries of continental Europe. However, these trips had maximum success, although, unfortunately, it turned out to be historically not very lasting: however, the monk’s preaching achieved its main goal - and already in 831, under his leadership, a new (Hamburg) archbishopric was created and he became the full legate of the Bishop of Rome in the Nordic countries
It must be said that, although Rus' and Scandinavia were baptized at approximately the same time, the internal content of the baptism of Scandinavia differed from the baptism of Rus'. And the point is not only that “Rus' came to Christianity,” while it would be more correct to say: “Christianity came to Scandinavia”... As we know from history, Grand Duke Vladimir himself, having invited preachers and studied various religions, committed free choice, deciding in favor of Orthodox Christianity for yourself, your country and your people. From that moment on, neither Rus' nor the Russian princes ever deviated from the Orthodox Christian faith - their choice was confirmed by history and became a reason to talk about the characteristic “Russian loyalty”, and later about the driving force behind the formation of a huge, great civilization in the vastness of Eurasia, which became be called Russia.
Things were somewhat different in Scandinavia. History tells us: “Little is known about the earliest attempts by Christian missionaries to baptize Sweden and Denmark. These attempts took place in the VIII-IX centuries. The conquests of the preachers turned out to be short-lived...”2 The first missionary trip to Scandinavia was made around 700 by Willebrord from Friesland (modern Netherlands). He visited the Danish king. The latter, apparently, did not create any obstacles for the preacher, but the people were skeptical about the call to change their faith, and the mission was not successful. Another figure who tried to organize a preaching expedition to Scandinavia was Liudger (d. 809). However, he did not receive support from Emperor Charlemagne. With the accession of Louis the Pious (814-840) to the throne of the Frankish Empire, a new stage began in the history of the baptism of Northern Europe. At this stage, scattered attempts to convert the Scandinavians to Christianity were replaced by a thoughtful state policy, the implementation of which is associated with the names of two major political figures of that time - the Archbishop of Reims Ebon and Hamburg (from 831 to 858), and then Hamburg-Bremen (from 858 to 865 d.) Archbishop Ansgarius. It is known that in the fall of 823 Ebon had already returned with the emperor’s embassy from Denmark, where he baptized some Danes. Ebon's major success was the baptism of Harald, which took place in the summer of 826 in Mainz. This event paved the way for the further spread of Christianity in Denmark. Despite the fact that Harald was repeatedly expelled from his native country by political rivals, during the periods of his reign he patronized Christianity, and in 827-828. At his court lived the monk of the New Corvey monastery Ansgarius.
Slowly, with hesitations and retreats, the pragmatic Scandinavians accepted the Christian faith from visiting preachers who came to them without an invitation from the “overseas” European south... “Incited by the devil, the Sweons (i.e., the Swedes) flared up with wild rage and began to persecute... Bishop Gautbert ( this happened in 845 in Birka). Having conspired, some of the Sveons broke into the house where the bishop was in order to rob him, and there they hacked to death Gautbert's nephew Nithard with a sword... The Sveons tied up the bishop himself and his companions who were with him and, having plundered everything they could find, with reproach and dishonor they expelled him from its limits. This happened, however, not at the behest of the king, but only as a result of a popular conspiracy... After these events, there were no priests in those parts for almost seven years,” the historical chronicle reminds us.
That is why the preaching ministry of Ansgar was in fact a mortally dangerous business. The essence of Ansgarius’s Christian feat therefore came down not only to the noble service of a preacher who was favorably received by the rulers, but also to such difficult, truly “apostolic” obedience, which could easily be fraught with beating, reproach, expulsion, or even death for the young monk. And this feat of Orthodox service bore fruit: Denmark, like Sweden, eventually became a Christian country. The actions and life of Ansgarius were described in detail by his student Rimbert, who, by the way, was Danish by birth.
Historical battles over the separation of Catholicism from Orthodoxy, and then the separation from the latter Protestantism, took place outside Danish borders. The Danes were primarily concerned about the safety and well-being of their small country, protected by seas and straits, but still lying at the geographical crossroads of the destinies of Europe and Scandinavia... Morals softened, church traditions became established, the Danes became Christians. In the Middle Ages, the church was perhaps the only “network” structure that united the islands of the country and allowed kings to control their fragmented territory. However, Danish Christianity, as is known, in its evolutions and mutations over time, moved far away from the initial traditions and ceased to be Orthodox.
And then one day Orthodoxy returned to the land of this small, now Lutheran, country. This happened paradoxically thanks to the irrepressible “Germanization” of Russia that followed the era of Peter I, according to the popular saying in such cases: “every cloud has a silver lining”... The first temple of the Russian Orthodox Church in Copenhagen began its existence in the second quarter of the 18th century, at the residence of the Russian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. However, from 1780 to 1809. in the provincial town of Horsens there was another temple, at the residence of Princess Catherine Antonovna of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
The encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron is replete with facts and names from the turbulent, full of intrigue Russian “German” history of the 13th century: “Ekaterina Antonovna of Brunswick, princess, daughter of Anna Leopoldovna, was born in 1741 a few days before the overthrow of her brother John Antonovich from the Russian Throne. During the palace coup, she partially lost her hearing. From 1742 to 1780 lived with her relatives in the city of Kholmogory. In 1780, together with her two brothers, she was released by the Russian government to live in Horsens (Denmark). 8 thousand rubles a year were allocated from the Russian treasury for its maintenance. She died in 1807, the last of the whole family..."3
However, a large Orthodox church, erected at the end of the 19th century in the very center of Copenhagen on Bredgade Street, bordering the royal palace, exists and operates to this day. The tall brick building is quite Scandinavian style, but at the same time decorated with three gilded Orthodox domes sparkling in the sun, can be seen from afar, looking along Bredgade (which means Broad Street in Danish) from the central historical places of the city: Kongens Nytorv square (on which the Royal theater) or from the side of Kastellet - the historical ruins of an ancient fortress from the time of the wars with Sweden... The proximity of this temple to the royal palace reflects the real historical proximity of Russian “Danish” Orthodoxy to the Danish royal house itself. It is no coincidence that a few years ago the Queen of Denmark Margrethe (Margarita) II herself (by the way, the official head of the state Danish People's Church) was more than once an honored guest in this Orthodox church...
The construction of the Russian Alexander Nevsky Church in the center of the capital of Denmark was carried out with funds from the Russian Imperial family. The temple was consecrated on August 29, 1883 in the presence of the Russian Emperor Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna, born Danish Princess Dagmara, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise. The King of Denmark, Christian IX, himself, as well as the Greek Queen Olga Konstantinovna, were present at the opening of this temple. Thus, thanks to the happy marriage of the future Russian sovereign with the Danish princess (who became the mother of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II), the fate of Russian Orthodoxy turned out to be connected with the fate of the royal house of Denmark.
Due to the historical vicissitudes of the twentieth century, the parish of St. Alexander Nevsky after 1917 changed its jurisdiction several times: until 1983 it was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and then it was annexed to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), governed from the USA. In April 2000, and in fact even earlier, part of the parish left the jurisdiction of the ROCOR and returned to the fold of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. 4 This act was approved by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on April 19, 2000.
This is how the parish of the Moscow Patriarchate began its existence in honor of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen.
However, not everything was so simple: after all, the opening of a parish of a “new” Church in another state, which has its own national church, is always associated with enormous efforts, and this is not surprising. And here it is impossible not to mention a person who made colossal personal efforts to ensure that the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was again represented on Danish soil - in the creation, strengthening and recognition of this Orthodox parish. We are talking about Princess Tatyana Sergeevna Ladyzhenskaya. Without her purposeful, boundless enthusiasm, amazing despite her advanced age, this parish would hardly have existed at all. The firm Orthodox faith of the Russian princess born in Denmark, her diplomatic gift and natural, respectable aristocracy, her most active negotiations with the leadership of our Church in Russia, and, finally, her old connections with the best representatives of the Danish royal house, the state Lutheran and non-state Catholic churches, led, in the end, to the result we all desired: the parish was registered, a church building for worship was received, and an Orthodox priest was sent from Moscow.
How important is the role of the priest to the life of the parish? A priest who acquired invaluable spiritual experience in theological schools of Russia, visited monasteries where Russian saints lived for centuries, prayed at the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the ancient Trinity-Sergius Lavra and experienced all the difficulties and turmoil of modern Russian life - this is a person whom no one can replace those parishioners who were familiar first-hand with Orthodoxy even before leaving Russia. The key point of contact between an Orthodox Christian and the Church is confession (the art of confession on the part of a priest) and St. Communion is those events, the full implementation of which largely depends on the priest. And experience - in any case, the experience of a Russian person - shows that nowhere except Russia, and nowhere except the Russian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, can this art (or science) of being a real Orthodox priest be learned, apparently.
Parish of St. Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen under the leadership of talented priests - Fr. Clement, Fr. Alexandra, Fr. Nikita, Fr. Feofan and others - and, of course, the permanent honorary head Tatyana Sergeevna Ladyzhenskaya - gave birth to other Orthodox endeavors in Denmark: in the same 2000, a parish in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra was formed in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, and Initiative groups also began to operate to create parishes in the city of Nykobing on the island of Funen and in the small but ancient city of Ribe - the historical capital of Denmark, comparable in importance to Veliky Novgorod or Vladimir for Russia.
The growth of Orthodox parishes in Denmark continues today, both due to new immigrants and Russian professionals working under contracts in Denmark, and due to the Danes themselves. Since July 2001, in the vicinity of the city of Odense, the birthplace of the storyteller H.H. Andersen and the “capital” of the island of Funen, a home church of the Russian Orthodox Church began to operate in honor of the royal Russian Passion-Bearers. All these parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate were registered with the Danish Ministry of Church Affairs on February 5, 2001. Currently, even the initiative for the possible organization of an Orthodox monastery, the first in the Danish kingdom, is being discussed.
Russians and Belarusians, Bulgarians and Greeks, Georgians and Ukrainians who come to Denmark, as well as other representatives of Orthodox peoples, constantly support the active life of these Orthodox parishes. Probably, nowhere else in the traditional churches will you find such an international and friendly atmosphere as here - when during the liturgy the Lord’s Prayer is heard in the church in the original sacred Greek, in melodious Georgian, in chiseled Danish, and, of course, in Russian, that is, Church Slavonic languages. During cozy tea parties after the service, there are also no language problems between parishioners - after all, almost everyone, including Serbian guests, understands Russian, but the Greeks can freely discuss their problems with the priest in their native language over a cup of tea: Father Feofan speaks Greek well... But it's not only that.
Despite political and other events in Russia and in the world, the historical authority of Orthodoxy still remains very high among educated people in Denmark, as well as among the traditional Danish elite. And although today interest in Russian culture has long passed the peak of its popularity, Orthodoxy is invariably perceived as belonging to some sacred truth, to authentic, genuine Christianity, which has passed its way to the modern Danish postmodern society from the dizzying depths of centuries. For Russian immigrants, belonging to an Orthodox parish is secretly considered a kind of moral “sign of quality” in the eyes of the surrounding Danes.
Postmodern culture, in which there is no longer room for targeted attacks by the “enlightened” on the “sacred,” opens people’s eyes to the direct opportunity to simply turn to the original, the present, the authentic. Today, deep faith, even within the framework of the motley “mosaic of freedoms” of postmodernity, is regaining its right to life in modern society. Scandinavia, with its religious hunger of a desacralized but not absolutely free society and its state religious structures, again turns out to be a spiritual space quite suitable for successful Christian preaching. There is no doubt that the Russian Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy in Denmark have their own potential for development and growth, and this potential will undoubtedly be in demand in our time.
1 “Life of St. Ansgaria" Rimbert.
2 Ibid.
3 Brockhaus and Efron. Encyclopedia. - T. XI a. - St. Petersburg, 1894. - P. 576.
4 According to the Decree of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow and All Rus', the Synod abroad must return to the fold of the Moscow Patriarchate after the end of the persecution of the Church in Russia.
Yuri Tyurin
(political scientist, public advisor to the Minister of Integration of the Kingdom of Denmark)
12 km from Odense, where the world-famous storyteller Hans Christian Andersen was born, is the picturesque town of Hesberg. The estate located there (a castle, several outbuildings, gardens, ponds, a plot of forest and land) belonged to Mr. Jorgen Laursen Vig (08/31/1918 - 12/28/2005). A very versatile educated linguist, theologian, and former Lutheran pastor, at the age of 83 he converted to Orthodoxy and decided to establish an Orthodox monastery on his estate. In this good undertaking, he was actively assisted by the chairman of the Russian Orthodox community (Moscow Patriarchate) in Denmark, Princess Tatyana Sergeevna Ladyzhenskaya (01.10.1919 - 14.02.2006) (her parents emigrated from Russia in 1918 as part of the retinue of the mother of the last Russian holy Tsar-Passion-Bearer Nicholas II, Empress Maria Feodorovna, nee Danish princess Dagmar) and the nuns of the Kazan Amvrosievskaya Hermitage in Shamordino, who first came here at the invitation of Mr. Vig in 2001.
Through the efforts of a small group of Orthodox Christians at first (now the community of Hesbjerg has multiplied, it includes more than 100 people), the estate was transformed: a house church was built in honor of the holy Royal Passion-Bearers of Russia, in which a full range of services are performed daily according to the skete Rules; a dome with a cross was erected over it, sanctifying and blessing everything around, attracting those who seek the Lord.
It seems providential that it was in 2003, when the final decision was made to transfer the remains of Empress Maria Feodorovna from Denmark to Russia, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy gave the official blessing for the establishment of an Orthodox church in Hesbjerg and full-fledged liturgical life began here. What is written is literally coming true: “Give the flesh - receive the Spirit”: Denmark gave away the remains that were precious to every Russian, and in return received the temple and the Eucharist.