Welcome to the night vigil in Nidaros Cathedral on St. Olav's Eve, with yoga and the music of Kristoffer Lo and Petra Bjørkhaug.
Night is the time for dreams and visions of the future. Night is the time of darkness and unrest. Night is the time to seek God together. The night before he died, Olav had a vision of a ladder to heaven. During the vigil in the cathedral from 28-29. July, we will seek the heavenly ladder which brings the peace of God closer to humans. Therefore, you are invited into Nidaros Cathedral to hold vigil during Olav's Festival.
In the vigil, medieval tradition and modern life meet in the present. Gregorian tones meet the electronic jazz of Kristoffer Lo and the improvisations on the Steinmeyer organ of cathedral cantor Petra Bjørkøy. Tales of Olav who defended what was right meet our prayers for justice and peace in the world today. Words and quiet prayer meet the physical exercises of yoga. Everything centered around what inspired Olav and what inspires the church today – Christ's good deeds in the world – but expressed in various forms. We humans are different, but we are all body, spirit and soul. And in holding vigil, as whole individuals, we can watch and pray, and be present and open to God's presence in the night.
The night vigil invites us to follow Olav. But today our response to the heritage of Olav must be a call for peace that can transform the world. A peace which never leans back in complacency, but which is a constant and lasting project. A peace which is not like "a gentle rain" or a "silent state", but like "fire" and "passion". Olav's royal mission was to stand up for his cause and a new law, and not to seek support on a world order which relied solely on victory and power. On the basis of this, we can today raise a vehment cry and a passionate prayer for peace. Can we, like St. Olav, be transformed into bearers of a message of peace for our world?
On St. Olav's Eve, pilgrims walk the last leg of their journey to Nidaros Cathedral and gather for the midnight mass at 23.00. The vigil starts just after midnight and lasts until 6 in the morning. Inside the cathedral we follow a pattern of music, prayers, yoga and silence. Yoga was introduced as part of the vigil in 2018 and continues this year, along with the mysterious Gregorian tones which belong to the tradition and the lighthearted and exploratory tonal language of Kristoffer Lo with cantor Petra Bjørkhaug's introduction on the organ. Here you can find a place. Here you can meet new impulses. Here you can join in the church's pattern of prayer which is followed day after day throughout the world. Here you can experience a touch of transformation.
Andreas Hilmo Grandy-Teig
Vicar, Nidaros cathedral and Church of Our Lady
NB! Bring your own yoga mat and warm clothes!
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