Lakagígar

July 12, 2010

The recent eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland and the disruption of air traffic made international headlines. But Eyjafjallajökull is a blip compared to the cataclysmic event visited on Iceland in 1783. Over 130 craters opened up near Laki in a violent emetic fury that had geological, climatic, and human consequences extending well beyond Iceland, into regions as distant as Japan and India. Over a quarter of Iceland‘s population was wiped out, and an estimated 6 million worldwide were killed. Read the details here.

Laki was the largest eruption since the settlement of Iceland. Even the casual visitor cannot fail to notice the grim sight of Eldhraun (“fire lava”), a vast swath of moss-covered lava bisected by the Ring Road near Kirkjubæjarklaustur. As the lava came cascading down towards the village, Reverend Jón Steingrímsson and his congregation gathered in the local church where he delivered what has come to be known as the “Fire Sermon.” His eye-witness account, Fires of the Earth, is now available in English translation.

From: http://www.glenreva.com/gen/e001/runolf1772.htm (link now defunct) –
One Sunday, as the eruption reached its peak, Father Jón Steingrímsson held a service in his church in the small town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. A month and a half had passed since the eruption had begun. Father Jón considered the eruption to be a punishment from God for debauchery, laziness, and sinful living. The lava flow was bearing down on the town at speed with thunderous rumblings and crashes. The terrified residents believed their only hope lay in the church. A service began and Father Jón called to God, promising that his congregation would repent their wicked and sinful ways. As the service continued, the lava-flow reached the course of the Skaftá river near an outcrop called Systrastapi, just outside the town. And there it stopped. This remarkable event was attributed to Father Jón’s compelling prayers and his address to the congregation is now known as the “Sermon of Fire”.