In Överkalix you find Norrland's first Orthodox church. The church is one of the buildings on a farm, surrounded by lush meadows and pastures in the summer and a snow-covered landscape bordered by the forest in the winter. At the Sirillus cultural center, in addition to an Orthodox church with beautiful icons, there is also an art gallery and a literary work.

The beautifully decorated church was built and is displayed by the Pohjanens. The author, dramatist and poet Bengt Pohjanen writes novels, plays, film scripts, songs, poems and libretti in his three languages, Swedish, Meänkieli and Finnish. The visual artist and icon painter Monika Pohjanen paints icons in the Orthodox tradition.

Visit Sirillus

Groups can book an appointment for a presentation and viewing of the church, icons and art and meet the author Bengt Pohjanen, perhaps listen to his stories and look into his writing den.

As an individual visitor, you can also visit and look at the icons and art. Please contact us in advance: 070 5677529/070 3006908, info@sirillus.se

About Sirillus

The farm Sirillus in Tallvik in Överkalix, where the church is located, is named after Cyrillus Nyberg, who lived there during the first part of the 20th century. The Överkalix dialect lacks the y sound, hence the name Sirillus. A curiosity may be that the name Cyrillus is very uncommon in the Nordic countries but all the more common in the Orthodox countries. Considering that an Orthodox church was built on the site, it may seem like a providence or foresight.