The Turf Church of Hof — The Priest Who Would Not Stop

Hofskirkja, Hof, East Iceland

The turf church at Hof in East Iceland had a priest who refused to retire and continued conducting Sunday services for three weeks after his burial before the congregation agreed to lock the church and leave an empty pew in his memory.

The turf church at Hof in East Iceland — Hofskirkja — is one of the last intact traditional turf churches in the country, its grass-covered roof and walls emerging from the landscape as if the building is subsiding gently back into the ground that produced it. It dates in its current form to the 19th century, replacing a series of earlier structures on the same site. The priest associated with the haunting account at Hof served the parish for over forty years in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was described by parishioners as a man who understood his role as primarily liturgical: the correct performance of the offices was, in his view, the core of pastoral life, and he maintained the Sunday services with a punctuality and formality that the community found admirable if slightly oppressive. He died on a Thursday. He was buried on the Saturday. On the following Sunday morning, the congregation arriving at the church heard the service being conducted inside. The voice was his. The intonation was his. The specific rhythm of his reading of the liturgy — which had been distinctive enough to be imitated — was his. The church was locked. The windows showed nothing. The service continued for its normal duration and concluded at the normal time. This occurred for three Sundays. On the fourth Sunday, the church was silent. The congregation's response was recorded by the district minister who investigated: they had not been frightened, exactly, but they had found it irregular. After some discussion, they had decided to respect the apparent wish of the deceased to complete his liturgical duties and had refrained from attempting to interfere. An empty pew was set aside in the front row and kept clear thereafter. The church register notes this as a standard practice for 'clergy who have served the parish with distinction.'