The consecration of a church is a serious thing. Not for nothing is the anniversary of a cathedral’s consecration held as a feast throughout its diocese. The dedication of the Lateran Basilica is a feast throughout the Latin rite of the Church, while the Eastern rites celebrate the consecration of the Holy Sepulchre on September 13, the eve of the feast of the Holy Cross.
On September 5, some 600 people gathered by the banks of the Ölfusá river in Selfoss – the largest town in southern Iceland – for the consecration of the island nation’s newest parish church. The Church of the Holy Cross serves over a thousand faithful scattered across a large expanse of the country, some of whom previously had to travel long distances to fulfil their Sunday obligation.
