The Seminary Stavkirke

There is nothing so Norwegian as a stave church (stavkirke). It reminds one of the great Viking ships that filled southern Europe with fear during the Viking invasions. These churches were built between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. Such timbered churches, which were built around huge poles planted in the earth, made their appearance about the same time as Christianity entered Norway. They are called “stave” churches because of the heavy corner posts and wall planks of their construction. Some of these wooden churches are still standing after 800 years. These churches are a symbol of Christianity among Norwegian Lutheran people. They show how Christianity took root in northern Europe.
The replica of a stave church placed in the seminary atrium was given to the seminary by Viola and Robert Knott of Tracy, Minnesota. Viola’s family has deep roots in the old Norwegian Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Her forefathers were among the people who helped reorganize our Zion parish in Tracy after the Norwegian merger in 1917. They strove to maintain the Word in its truth and purity and Sacraments rightly administered on the plains of western Minnesota. Viola, who is a double cousin of the late Melvina Aaberg, enjoys rosemaling and everything Norwegian. She graciously provided the decorative rosemaling in the entrance of the Ottesen Museum.
The stave church was recently refurbished by Pat Hull of Bethany Lutheran College. Pat put many painstaking hours into restoring it to its authentic appearance.
The seminary is very grateful for this gift. As we enter the seminary, the stave church reminds us of our Christian origins. We stand on the shoulders of many generations of faithful Christians who trusted in Christ as their only Savior from sin. It indicates that we are Lutherans. The Lutheran Reformation spread from Germany into all of Scandinavia, making Norway a Lutheran country that confessed that we are justified or declared righteous by faith alone in the Savior. Finally, this stave church emphasizes that our synod has a strong Norwegian tradition. Our forefathers wanted to remain faithful to the doctrine and practice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway.