Linked by a Pilgrimage

One of the sites we looked at in the Kolbu area On July 3rd was the local church. When we were walking into the church yard I noticed a familiar looking sign post - it was a pilgrimage marker, just like the one we saw at the Bønsnes Kirke in Hole! A quick look at a descriptive sign confirmed that this church was another stop on the Ancient Pilgrimage Route to Trondheim. This was another of those amazing coincidence moments from our trip - to discover that both our families were connected by this ancient pilgrimage route.

Pilgrims would have stopped at the churchyard where my grandfather played as a child, and then further north a few stops later on the pilgrimage route they would have stopped at the church that Beth’s great-grandparents could see a short distance across the valley from their home. This whole trip of ours we have been considering a pilgrimage (as evidenced by the title of our blog), and then to discover that our families had a connection of sorts through an ancient pilgrimage path - that was another thread in this interesting tapestry our life together.

The Kolbu Kirke is interesting because it is built in the shape of an equal armed cross (like the Red Cross symbol). Many churches are built in the shape of a cross, but with the traditional cross shape, with shorter horizontal arms than vertical. For the Kolbu Kirke the centre of the building is where the aisles meet, and in the centre of that space is the baptismal font. This arrangement I thought appropriate considering the Lutheran understanding of the centrality of baptism in a Christian’s life. Our understanding is that baptism marks the beginning of a journey of faith, a pilgrimage through life, and in Kolbu we were given another reminder of this interconnectivity of faith and life.