Fervor In Norway
Norway hasn’t seen anything since the 1930’s to match the religious revivals now under way.
The harvest in the Hoyland Church, Jaeren, (western Norway) has been going on for more than six months. People from surrounding towns and far-off countrysides are attending the meetings. From 14 to 80, they are finding Christ.
Another big movement has been surging through the valley of Audnedal in the southern part of the country, led by a young lay preacher, John Olav Larsen and assisted by local ministers of the Lutheran State Church.
Larsen also preached to overflow crowds in the largest halls of Oslo.
—T. B.
‘Air Raid’ Church
A church 50 feet below ground is being planned for the rapidly growing Swedish industrial city of Vasteras.
The project is designed to meet two major needs of the city—an A-bomb shelter and a new church. Vasteras, with 70,000 inhabitants, has only one state church, its 700-year-old cathedral.
According to plans, only the belfry will project above ground. The church, which will seat 500, will be reached by stairs and elevators.
Barth Hits Tests
Dr. Karl Barth, famed Swiss Protestant theologian, has called upon people in leading public positions to “take matters into their own hands” regarding atomic and hydrogen tests.
He urged them to “appeal to mankind and not be satisfied with political appeasing assurances.”
Dr. Barth said these leaders “must use all possible means to make their governments and press understand they wish neither to exterminate nor be exterminated—neither in defense of the ‘free world’ nor in defense of socialism.
“They should cry ‘Stop,’ to pierce the eardrums of men with responsibility in the West and East; to halt preparations for war with weapons making it from the outset senseless for all taking part; halt experiments which clearly imperil us already in peacetime.
“People in the West and East must oppose the current lunacy.”
The theologian said the matter was not one of principles, ideological systems or considerations of power but “of life.”
“Mankind must help settle the matter before it is too late,” he said.
New Russian Bishop
Archimandrite Anthony Bartochevitch, formerly of Brussels, Belgium, was installed recently as Russian Orthodox Bishop of Geneva and Switzerland.
He was elected to replace his brother, Bishop Leonty, who died last summer at the age of 42.
Bishop Anthony, whose family comes from Yugoslavia, is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia which does not recognize the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate.
