A Church in Copenhagen Caught on Fire  

“It is a great loss when a beautiful building that over the years has accommodated many people's joy, sorrow, despair, and longing is suddenly no more. A church is a place where hope is constantly expressed, and therefore it is also a great sorrow to see the building destroyed in such a way. However, it is a great relief during this chaos to know that no people were harmed”, says bishop Peter Skov-Jakobsen.

Extensive damage
Finn Vejlgaard has been both dean and priest at Hyltebjerg Church for 35 years, and he is naturally very affected by the events and says that there is extensive damage to the building and furniture. Police technicians have been working on the scene, but it is still too early to say anything about how the fire originated.

“When I had made sure that everyone had come out of the church safely, I went in through the back door and saved a large seven-armed candlestick as well as the church's original chasubles”, says Finn Vejlgaard.

Tuesday evening, the parish council in Hyltebjerg Church met to discuss and decide what comes next. 

“We must rebuild Hyltebjerg Church. But here and now we need to find out what is going to happen to the activities of the church during the next period. Neighboring churches have been quick to offer their help. Therefore, the church activities that are already planned will be moved to the neighboring churches”, says Finn Vejlgaard.

This article is a translation of Kirsten Weiss Mose and Ingeborg Marie Nielsen. Read the original article here.