St. Laurentius

St. Laurentius var en meget dyrket Helgen i Norden. Han var en av 7 diakoner i Roma. Det var den gangen en kirketjener. Til tross for at St.Laurentius var viktig for den nordiske kirken, er det få kirker i Norden som er viet til ham, mens i Roma er det mange.

Han var skytshelgen for blant andre diakoner, fattige, kullbrennere og brannmenn. Han var også vertshusholdernes skytshelgen. St.Laurentius delte ut Kirkens skatter til de fattige. Keiseren ble så rasende at han bestemte at St. Laurentius skulle lide en langsom og smertefull død ved å bli lagt på en rist og langsomt stekt over svak varme. St. Laurentius selv var glad for å ha blitt funnet verdig til den evige glede. Historien forteller at St.Laurentius etter å ha ligget en stund på risten ba bøddelen om å snu ham, for steken var ferdig på den ene siden. Deretter takket han Gud, ba for Romas omvendelse og døde. St. Laurentius død styrket de kristne i troen. Dette skjedde i Roma i år 258.

St.Laurentius har helgendag 10. august, og i Norge er navnet Laurentius blitt fornorsket til Lars.

Text in English:

St.Laurentius

The mediaeval church of Romnes is devoted to St.Laurentius. Most likely the church was erected around 1190. Who was St.Laurentius? He was a very popular saint in the Nordic countries. Despite of this, there is not many churches to his honor in Norway. As one of 7 servants of the Roman church, he has many churches devoted to him in Rome. He was the guardian of the poor, fire-men and coal-burners. He was also the protective saint of the innkeepers. His story is that he divided the treasures of the church amongst the poor. For this violation, the emperor was so furious, that he ordered St.Laurentius to be roasted over charcoals. The story goes on to tell that St.Laurentius rejoiced in this, happy to become a martyr for his belief. This event took place in Rome in the year 258 BC. St.Laurentius’ saint’s day is August 10th, and in Norway the name Laurentius is norwegianised into Lars.