Description

The Priorvej Chapel, which was dedicated as a meetinghouse in 1931, was renovated to become the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. It is one of only a few temples to be created from a preexisting building. The interior was entirely redone, and in a few places, elements of the former chapel were re-created as reminders of the original design.

Prior to the dedication of the Copenhagen Temple, members in the area had to travel to the Stockholm Sweden to attend the temple., dedicated in 1985.

History

The presence of the Church in Denmark dates back to the 19th century. Church leaders in Salt Lake City, Utah, called several missionaries to preach the gospel in Scandinavia, and the first of these missionaries, Peter Olsen Hansen, arrived in Copenhagen in May 1850. A few months later, a small congregation was organized in the city. Hansen was originally from Copenhagen and had begun translating the Book of Mormon into Danish in the United States after he joined the Church there. In 1851, this translation was printed by F. E. Bordings Bogtrykkeri, making it the first edition of the book to be translated into a language other than English.

Many of the early Latter-day Saints who joined the Church in Scandinavia immigrated to Utah to join other members of the Church, seek better lives and enjoy religious freedom. In 1852, the first of these converts left for the United States. By 1930, around 14,000 of the 26,000 Danish members had immigrated to the United States. The Scandinavian Latter-day Saints who immigrated helped bolster the early Church in America.

Eventually Church leaders encouraged converts to stay in their native lands to strengthen the Church throughout the world. The Priorvej Chapel, which was renovated into the temple, was one of the earliest meetinghouses in Scandinavia. It created a sense of permanence for the Church’s presence in the country.

During World War II the chapel was used as a bomb shelter, but the building managed to survive the war with little damage. After World War II the chapel was remodeled to hold more classrooms for the growing membership.

Denmark’s first stake (similar to a Catholic diocese) was organized in Copenhagen in 1974. It was also the first stake organized in Scandinavia.

The day the chapel was dedicated, June 14, was the eighty-first anniversary of the day that the first Mormon missionaries arrived in Denmark. As of May 2015, Denmark has a church membership of approximately 4,400.^[1]”Facts and Statistics: Denmark” , Mormon Newsroom.

Announcement

On March 17, 1999, Church leaders in Denmark learned that a temple would be built in their area through a letter from leaders of the Church.

Groundbreaking

On April 24, 1999 the site for the temple in Frederiksberg was dedicated and a groundbreaking ceremony held, with Spencer J. Condie presiding.^[2]”Copenhagen Denmark Temple“, Church News, archived from the original on 2016-10-22, retrieved 2018-12-27 About 700 church members from the area attended the ceremony.^[3]”Danish chapel will become new temple“, Church News, May 29, 1999, retrieved 2018-12-27

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Copenhagen Denmark Temple was held on the same day as the groundbreaking ceremony for the San José Costa Rica Temple.

The Copenhagen Denmark Temple was the second temple built from an existing building, following the Vernal Utah Temple (1997). The temple is a total renovation of the neo-classical Priorvej chapel, which was built in 1931 and dedicated by Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Construction on the Copenhagen Denmark Temple came to halt not long after renovation began when realizations were made regarding the building’s physical dimensions and the high water table in the area. Plans had to be redrawn, significantly increasing the cost of the temple.

The redrawn plans for Copenhagen Denmark Temple included demolition of an existing mission office and garage known as the “villa.” The baptismal font was relocated to a separate underground structure adjacent to the temple and marked with an above-ground glass dome. A similar dome was added to the temple over the Celestial Room.

A new meetinghouse, the Nitivej Chapel, was built near the Copenhagen Denmark Temple during the same time the temple was constructed. The chapel served as the starting point for tours during the temple open house.

Open House

From April 29 through May 15, 2004 an open house was held to let people see the inside of the temple. A total of 25,512 visitors toured the Copenhagen Denmark Temple during its two-and-a-half week public open house, resulting in 1,084 missionary referrals.

During the open house, an 8-foot replica of Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Christus statue was placed in the chapel entryway for visitors to see. The original statue stands in the Vor Frue Kirke (The Church of Our Lady), just a few minutes away in downtown Copenhagen.

Dedication

Several thousand Church members attended the four dedicatory sessions of the temple on May 23, 2004. President Gordon B. Hinckley, the Church’s 15th president, dedicated the temple. In the dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley expressed gratitude for Denmark and the missionaries who taught the gospel there. He also asked for God to “bless the nations of Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, whose people this temple will serve.” He also prayed “that hatred and prejudice may evaporate and be replaced by brotherhood and peace” in the world. Of the temple, he petitioned, “Let the presence of thy Holy Spirit be felt here at all times. Wilt Thou ever look upon it and keep it apart and sacred from the world.”^[4] Dedicatory prayer, Copenhagen Denmark Temple, Church News, l

During the dedication President Hinckley spoke of his testimony of eternal life with our loved ones, which had been an anchor to him in dealing with the void of losing his dear wife, Marjorie, who had passed away the month before.

Many members in the area feel a very strong connection to the chapel that has now become a Mormon temple. Ole Ravn-Petersen was baptized into the Church when he was 16. His baptism took place in the Priorvej Chapel and later, he baptized his father in the building. For Ole Ravn-Petersen having the building become a temple made the place even more special. Most of the renovation of the building was done on the inside. The Church wanted to keep as much of the outside looking as it did originally as was possible.

Dedication Order

The Copenhagen Denmark Temple was the ninth temple built in Europe and the second built in the Nordic countries, following the Stockholm Sweden Temple in 1985. It is the 118th operating temple dedicated by the Church in the world.

Presidents

Details

Location

The Copenhagen Denmark Temple is near a historic part of Copenhagen and is open to foot traffic in the city.

In the urban landscape of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Denmark Temple stands as a remnant of the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Scandinavia. Members of the Church from Denmark, Sweden and Iceland worship in this beautiful red-brick temple, which they consider to be a house of God.

Exterior

Neoclassical design elements can be seen on the temple exterior. Four cream-colored ionic columns on either side of the entrance complete the temple façade. The Danish inscription “Helliget Herren, Herrens Hus” decorates the frieze above the columns. Translated into English these two phrases mean “Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord.” These phrases appear on every temple, reminding Church members that temples are God’s sacred house.

A copper roof covers the building, and five art-glass windows are set into the brick on either side of the building. Other building materials include stone and cast stone. A single spire, which stands independent of the main temple structure, features a statue of the angel Moroni. This statue is covered in gold leaf. In front of the temple entrance, a landscaped courtyard welcomes visitors. Trees line the outer edges of the site, and flower-filled planters are placed at intervals within the urban garden.

Interior

Although this temple is small compared to some temples, the Copenhagen Denmark Temple contains about 25,000 square feet — more than three times the size of the Church’s smallest temple, which is located in Colonia Juárez, Mexico.

Within the temple are various beautiful rooms where worship takes place. These rooms include a baptistry, instruction rooms and sealing rooms. The baptismal font in the baptistry stands on the backs of 12 oxen made of fiberglass. The oxen symbolize the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, God’s covenant people, and similar features in baptistries date to biblical times. In the sealing rooms, a man and a woman can be married, or sealed, for time and eternity. The temple also has a celestial room, which represents eternal life, where patrons enjoy quiet reflection and study.