The Christianization of Norway and possible influences from the Eastern Churches
The Christianization of Norway and possible influences from the Eastern Churches

Summary/Abstract: The year 1995 was celebrated by the Church of Norway as the official millennium for the christianization of the land. The historical rationale for the festivity in 1995 was sought in medieval historiographie literature about king Olаfr Tryggvasonr who, according to this literary tradition, travelled from the British Isles to Norway in 994 or 995 as claimant to the throne. He first encountered Norwegian territory at the island of Moster in Hordaland, on which occasion he let mass be sung in a tent – according to one of these sources. Later he erected the first church in Norway on these premises: postea ecclesiam aedificavit, quœ prima in Norwagis constructa est according to one other source. This is, then, the core of the literary myth which in present day Norway has been made to symbolize the ultimate step taken there towards a Christian outlook on life and the human condition.

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