The Altar and the altarpiece

The Altar is the heart of the church. The two Sacraments in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Holy Communion and Baptism, are celebrated at the Altar. The Altar is also the place where the masses are conducted from.

A Protestant Church usually has a cross at the Altar, but in the Old Church there is a painting as an altarpiece. According to Engel’s original plan, the Old Church was meant to have a gilded wooden cross, set against a sky-blue background but the plans were changed. The plans were revised when the Helsinki Cathedral got a new altarpiece as a gift from Tsar Nicholas the I. of Russia.

The new altarpiece replaced the intended painting for the Helsinki Cathedral, and the altarpiece, “Jesus Blessing the Children” (1846-1848), painted by Robert Wilhelm Ekman, was placed to the Old Church. 

The Old Church has also inherited other elements of the Altar, and for example its altar frame is from the Ulrika Eleonora Church.