Fram! Fram! Kristmenn, Krossmenn, Kongsmenn!

It was on this day, nine hundred eighty two years ago, that King Olaf II Haraldsson led his army into battle at Stiklestad, and there he met his death, after receiving an axe to the leg, a sword to the neck, and a spear through his middle. When the blood from the dying Norwegian king fell on the hand of Thorir Hund, who held the spear that took Olaf's life, his (Thorir Hund's) wound was healed. Thereupon Thorir Hund gave up being a pagan and took a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Olaf's body was buried in a sandy bank near Trondheim, then dug up a year later, at which point he was found to have not decayed in the slightest, and so he was declared a saint. For five hundred years after his canonization, all the way until the Reformation, St. Olaf's body lay in a reliquary in the cathedral at Nidaros, but the king of Dano-Norway ordered the papist reliquary (made of silver) melted into coinage and Olaf buried under the church. And there St. Olaf lies today, except for one of his arm bones, which is in a reliquary in St. Olav's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman see of Norway, in Oslo (I have seen it! But since Mass was about to start, I did not take a picture. Perhaps I will go back and get one).

The Oslo Cathedral

Much has happened since that day in 1030 when St. Olaf (or as he's known in Norway now Olav den Hellige) died, including, among other things, the founding of a college in far off Northfield, Minnesota named after him. But his feast day is still celebrated in Norway on the 29th of July. Knowing this, and finally having a free Sunday, I attended the High Mass at the Lutheran Cathedral in Oslo. It was really quite a nice service, and while it was quite similar to Lutheran services in the United States, there were some very interesting differences (aside from the obvious difference that the service was in Norwegian), that I'd like to highlight. First of all, the Prelude and the Postlude are (instead of a time to talk overly loudly with your neighbor) a part of the service. Everyone stands during both of them, and the processional and recessional take place while the organist plays. Next noticeable is that almost the entirety of the Liturgy, aside from the readings was sung. I really liked this aspect; it's an experience with a different kind of weight to it, to sing the Lord's Prayer and the Nicene Creed, instead of reciting, and I think I may prefer it. 

The High Altar

Some things are in different places than our liturgy, for instance the Lord's Prayer comes before the Words of Institution, and there are less hymns. No hymn of the day, and no closing hymn. Perhaps what some people may find most shocking is that the pastor recites many of the prayers, including the Words of Institution, with his/her back to the congregation. Whereas every Lutheran altar (or at least all of the ones I've seen) in the United States is built so that the pastor can stand behind it and face the congregation, in Norway there is no space between the altar and the highly decorated back piece. And so, the pastor, when preparing communion stands facing the altar and away from the rest of the church. Talking about communion, there are no ushers here. When it's time for communion, everyone stands up at once and heads towards the front. It's kind of a mess.

Now, that is an organ.

The cathedral commemorated Olaf's feast day at several points in the service. The sermon was about him and the choir sang the Gregorian chant "Rex Olavus gloriousus", which in English is "Glorified King Olaf". Last but not least, the organist played a postlude based off an old folk tune, the title of which may win a prize for Norwegianness, "Hellig Olav sto ved fjorden med sin hær" (Holy Olaf stood at the fjord with his army).