Church relics and artwork

Experience art at Hallgrímskirkja

Hallgrímskirkja houses numerous works of art that bear witness to history and religious heritage.

Stained glass over the entrance to the church, glass artwork in the doors into the nave, pulpit and baptismal font are the work of artist Leifur Breiðfjörður.

The decoration of the pulpit includes glass images of Hallgrímur Pétursson's autograph of the Passion Psalms, as well as symbols of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The back of the pulpit is a glass image showing the mark of Christ's arrest, the Greek letters XP, and on both sides of it are the letters alpha and omega, reminiscent of the words in Revelation 21.6: "I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end." Above the pulpit is a hat and on it is carved the verse: "Let the hand of God lead you here..." from the 44th Passion Psalm. Under the hat is a dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The colors of the glass surfaces are the green color of hope, growth and maturity, and the purple color of repentance, the color of Lent. The pulpit is a gift from Sigurbjörn Einarsson, bishop, who was the first pastor of Hallgrímssafnad.

The church's baptismal font from 2001 is made of Icelandic columnar rock and Czech lead crystal. The crystal is inscribed with scripture from Mark 16:16: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." The stone is inscribed with a prayer by Hallgrím Pétursson: "Be God, my Father." The baptismal font is a gift from the Women's Association of Hallgrímskirkja. The font was consecrated on the 1st Sunday of Advent 2001.

In the nave on the left – when looking into the church – is the sculpture Píslarvottur by sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson (1908–1982). Opposite it is a small bronze statue in memory of Hallgrímur Pétursson by sculptor Einar Jónsson (1874–1954), and on the left as you exit the nave is a statue of Christ by the same artist, which he gave to the church in 1948. The statue shows Jesus Christ after his baptism in the River Jordan.

On the left side of the altar is a painting of the Virgin Mary with the Child by Guðmundur Einarsson (1895–1963), and on the choir walls are icons opposite each other by Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir (b. 1963) of the archangels Gabriel and Michael.

The main entrance to Hallgrímskirkja is adorned with imposing bronze doors, which form the lower part of a glass and bronze artwork by Leif Breiðfjörður. They were installed in January/February 2010. The doors were consecrated on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010. The doors are a gift from the benefactors of Hallgrímskirkja.

The church doors feature symbols from the history of Christianity and church art. The main shape is a four-leaf clover, which is an important symbol of the entire artwork. In the four-leaf clover shape of the doors, the image of Christ is on the right and man on the left. A crown of thorns intertwines these images. Thus, the suffering of man is at the same time the suffering of Christ. The intertwining of the crown of thorns ends in the doorknob. There, the hands of God and man meet. On the inside, the doorknob forms a cross, a symbol of unity in Christianity.

Part of the four-leaf shape is covered with red Italian glass mosaic. It is reminiscent of Jesus Christ, his love and sacrifice. The four-leaf shape forms the sign of the cross, the classic symbol of Christ's crucifixion, death and resurrection. The four surfaces on the inside of the doors represent the gospel and are also symbols of the church, which receives the word of God. The four archangels, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, each have their own symbol there.

On the door are the words: Come to me. They are Jesus Christ's words of encouragement to all people and a promise of his eternal love.

Above the door is an entrance verse by Hallgrímur Pétursson:

When you go to the house of God, be careful, my pious soul, that you do not honor your Lord there with empty bodily behavior.

Bend the knees of the flesh and the heart, let your prayer be a greeting of love. Hypocrisy will least befit you.

(Ps. 24).