More churches in Greenland

I love churches in liminal places, so when I was fixing corrupted links in past blog posts, I found that the Greenland diocese of the (Lutheran) Church of Denmark has its own site: http://groenlandsstift.dk

There are few (in theory) resources in English, but the site reads in Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) or Danish. I thought “who do I know that knows Danish?” — I know nobody who reads Greenlandic — and realized the only one I know is (or was) Tim Jensen. This made me sad. So I muddled through using Germanic cognates.

The pictures of the Greenlandic kirker help. Exterior elevations and interior shots of little churches — some traditional and no bigger than sheds, but others 60s-modern and large — suggesting a familiar part of a public life otherwise wholly unknown to me.

I love that most have baptismal fonts front and center, topped not with a lid but a ewer. I love that many have seven-branched candelabra on their altars. I love how there could be a Celtic cross, Latin cross, Latin crucifix or even a picture of Christ behind the altar, suggesting different kinds of churchmanship.

Oh, and that would make Juaanna Platou the most northerly parish pastor in the world.