Mora Church () is a

church building A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship services and Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. ''Church'' is also ...

Mora Mora may refer to: People * José Maria Mora (1847–1926), Cuban-American photographer, often credited as "Mora" * Mora (singer) (born 1996), a Puerto Rican singer * Mora (surname), a Spanish name (includes a list of people with the name) Plac ...

in Sweden. It belongs to Mora Parish of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

. It famous for being seen near the

Vasaloppet (Swedish language, Swedish for 'the Vasa race') is an annual long distance cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March. The course starts in the village of :sv:Berga, Malung-Sälens kommun, Berga, jus ...

finish line. The size and opulence of the church building, as compared to other churches in the region, is a result of the fact that in medieval times the whole of northern

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

was part of the Mora Parish and the church served as the seat of Mora Parish. The church has been dedicated to the archangel

Saint Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

since before the

Protestant reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and the establishment of the

in the 16th century. The effigy of Michael and the dragon, as seen in the statue south-west to the churches main gates, was adopted as the coat of arms of Mora in 1946 and continues to be in use to this day. The reason why the church is dedicated to Saint Michael is a mystery, the Mora Parish itself proposes a possible miss identification with the native Scandinavian Saint Olof but nothing conclusive has been put forward as to why this would be the case.

References

External links

{{Coord, 61.0072, N, 14.5414, E, source:wikidata, display=title Mora, Sweden Churches in Dalarna County Churches in the Diocese of Västerås