Espoonlahti Church (, ) is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church situated in

Espoonlahti Espoonlahti ( Finnish) or Esboviken ( Swedish) (literally ''The Bay of Espoo'' or ''Espoo Bay'') is one of the five major urban areas of Espoo, a city in Finland. It lies along the south-western coast of Espoo, bounded to the west by the bay of t ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland. It was designed by architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, architects of the Rock Church ( Temppeliaukion kirkko), who were also members of the Espoonlahti congregation. The groundstone for the church was set in August 1979 and the building was completed in 1980. The organs were built and assembled in 1983.Back 2005, p. 7. As the number of members in the congregation grew rapidly, additional rooms were soon needed. This new phase of building was completed in 1987, also by the architects Suomalainen. The shape of floor in the church hall is a

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

, and positioned so that during

church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...

the Sun lights up the altar wall. The church hall itself seats 410 but when it is opened to the adjoining congregational hall, 710 can be seated. The building materials include

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and stone hewn from the

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

on the building site. The interior face of the exterior walls is mainly laid in roughly cut stone blocks, while parts of it are made from concrete elements. The style is modern and some parts of the building lie about one metre deep in the bedrock. A votive ship hangs above the altar.

Artwork in the church

Instead of a more conventional piece of art on the altar wall, churchgoers in Espoonlahti admire the work of nature visible on the roughly cut edges of red granite that make the lower part of the tall wall behind the altar. The original textiles for the church were designed by Oili Mäki in 1980.Back 2005, p. 8. The largest group of prominent utensils or pieces of decoration in Espoonlahti Church are made of wrought iron by artisan smith Kauko Moisio. He has been working on the distinctive look of the church from early on and in cooperation with the architects Suomalainen. His creations include the flower vases and chandeliers decorating the altar as well as the christening font and the big chandeliers on the floor. His work are also the 60 candle holders fastened on the nooks of the rock wall in the entrance hall where a churchgoer can choose a favourite spot to light a candle to offer.Back 2005, pp. 7-8. Originally, the only cross inside the church was the rather small and unpretentious crucifix on the altar called Christ of Compassion (Laupeuden Kristus) made by Kauko Moisio. This crucifix of steel has always been there, and it was the architects, who wanted it made unassuming, but at the same time strong and dependable. There the figure of Christ is suggested in the structure, but quite purposefully not clearly discernible so that everyone is able to can complete the figure according to one's own image of Christ. In 1999 a tall but light see-through likeness of a cross by Irma Kukkasjärvi was woven from threads of copper and hung behind the altar. This altar piece is called Mysterium Crucis, Spes Unica (Latin for ''Mystery of the Cross, the Only Hope'').

The organ

The Espoonlahti Church organ is situated in view full view of the congregation by the side wall on the right, opposite the pulpit. The organ was built by the Organ Building Company Veikko Virtanen of Espoo and fitted with a facade designed in cooperation between the architect brothers Suomalainen and the organ builders Virtanen. The instalment in the church started in the spring of 1982 and the instrument was in full working order the following spring. The organ was taken into use in a festive ceremony on May 22, 1983. The Espoonlahti organ contains 40 independent stops divided into five sets of pipes. There are all in all 2,942 pipes, 24 out of which are wooden. The tallest one placed in the facade measures 600 centimetres in height and has a diameter of 27 cm. The total height of the instrument is 11 metres. The disposition was planned by church musician Lasse Erkkilä. The choice of stops and the quality of sound has been described as representing in style ideals belonging to the neobaroque and Scandinavia, spiced with romance. On several occasions this instrument has been chosen for ''Kesäillan Urkumusiikkia'', a series of organ concerts given in summer evenings.

References

External links

* * Pictures of Espoonlahti Church on the homepages of the Espoonlahti congregatio

Citations

{{Coord, 60.1494, N, 24.6519, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures in Espoo Lutheran churches in Finland Churches completed in 1980 20th-century churches in Finland