As a child she played priest – now she holds church services

Nine priests stand erect in Hans Egede Church wearing black robes.

Among them, a woman in a long, white robe kneels. The priests place their right hands on her head.

The kneeling woman is Sanja Kristiansen, mother of two.

– It felt as if we were in the presence of something greater, she says later.

The unpredictability of life

Sanja Kristiansen’s encounter with the unpredictability of life began at her birth. When her mother was pregnant with her, the doctor told her that both she and the child were at risk of dying during childbirth. This was due to an accident where the ship "Sapangaq" ran aground on its way from Qaqortoq to Nanortalik, and her mother was thrown against a table, which she hit with her stomach.

Fortunately, both mother and child survived without injury.

“The intensity and unpredictability of life began there,” Sanja says, moved.

Childhood in Kuummiut

Sanja spent her childhood in Maniitsoq, Paamiut and Kuummiut, among other places. When she had just started primary school, the family moved to Kuummiut. Here she entered a whole new world.

“The children in Kuummiut were very interested in us, who came from outside. They gave us necklaces and small earrings and surrounded us. We quickly became friends and had fun together, she says.

At first she didn’t understand the East Greenlandic language.

– I couldn’t understand them, and I didn’t like it when they laughed. I thought they were making fun of me, and I cried to my mother. Later I found out that they actually liked me, she says.

Later she learned East Greenlandic, and she and her older brother spoke it at home, so their parents couldn’t understand them. However, her parents learned it later and were able to keep up.

The family had three dogs in East Greenland. When her dog, Milak, died, she and her brother drove the other two dogs to the fjord, sometimes very far away.

– When I was a child, we used to go dog sledding, just the two of us. It’s incredible how much trust our parents had in us. We drove to the fjord ourselves with two dogs, says Sanja Kristiansen.

Language, loss and separation

The family later returned to Nanortalik, where her parents separated. When she started school there, she discovered that her classmates could speak Danish, while she herself could not.

“When I got home, I told my mother to start speaking Danish to me,” she says.

She later went on a school trip to Roskilde, where she lived with a Danish family.

“My foster parents taught us Danish, and because they had a blackboard, I quickly learned adjectives. We only spoke Danish,” she says.

The teenage years were difficult, especially when her father moved back to Qaqortoq.

– It was very hard. I felt like a part of my identity was disappearing, and I became very confused, she says.

She was very close to her father. Together with her older brother, she used to go fishing with him on Sundays while her mother went to church.

– When my parents divorced, everything changed. My father moved away, and I felt empty inside, she says.

Today she has accepted the divorce.

– Now I can understand it. Back then I couldn’t, but today they are good friends and look after their grandchildren together.

A new direction in life

After primary school, she went to further education in Denmark to learn how to fend for herself.

– I had a hard time with even small things, like cooking. I remember having trouble making pasta, but the chef helped me and eventually I succeeded, she says with a laugh.

As a young woman, she was unsure of what she wanted to do. She started training as a dental assistant, but did not complete it.

However, when she became pregnant with her daughter, her life changed significantly.

– I got tired of the life I was living. I started listening to myself and decided to deal with my fears, she says.

After the birth of her daughter, she resumed her upper secondary education in Nuuk.

A childhood dream

Her grandfather was a janitor at the church in Nanortalik, and she often went to church with her grandparents in both Nanortalik and Qaqortoq.

– When I visited my grandparents, I often pretended to be a priest, she says with a smile.

The path to becoming a priest

After high school, she began studying theology.

– It was hard, but I felt it was the right thing for me.

The education usually takes three years, but because of her pregnancy, it took her five years to complete it.

After graduating, she did not immediately choose to become a priest.

– I am a sensitive person. You have to be strong when working with people, and I needed time to develop myself and get to know myself better while my children were growing up, she explains.

She then worked as a therapist, including at Allorfik, and later as a support person for young people at Kofoedskolen in Naput.

Faith as a foundation in life

Faith has always been an important part of her life.

– Every night I pray the Lord's Prayer because my mother taught me to. At the time, I took it for granted, but today the memories mean a lot to me, she says.

She has passed on the tradition to her children.

– My son knew the Lord's Prayer when he was five years old. What you learn as a child follows you throughout your life.

Hope is important.

– I find comfort in my faith, she adds.

A special experience at ordination

When she was invited by the congregation in Maniitsoq to become a priest, she prayed for strength and not to be nervous.

– As the ordination approached, I couldn’t sleep. Maybe because I was excited, but I felt full of energy. The morning I was to be ordained, I woke up without having slept much. It must have been because the prayers I had prayed for strength were answered, says Sanja calmly.

Her childhood dream of becoming a priest thus came true. As a child, she played priest in front of her grandparents’ house, and today she holds church services for the congregation.

– Of course, I was moved when we sang the hymn I had chosen for my grandfather’s funeral. It was while I was kneeling, she says with emotion.

– The experience was truly special. When the priests laid their hands on me and prayed for me, I could feel that I was filled with a strong and positive energy. It felt as if a great power was present. It was fantastic. It was the first time in my life that I experienced it so strongly, says Sanja Kristiansen.

Becoming a priest in Maniitsoq

Sanja Kristiansen and her children, who have lived in Nuuk for eleven years, will now move to Maniitsoq, where she will work as a priest.

– It is hard for my children to have to move from Nuuk. These days we are saying goodbye to their friends. I hope that they will quickly make new friends in Maniitsoq. I am looking forward to getting there and am looking forward to it, she says with both emotion and anticipation.

Newly qualified priests who have left their hometown to begin their work have told her that it is a personal and memorable learning experience.

– It will also be difficult to leave what you know, but what else can you do, says Sanja Kristiansen with a laugh.