Reverend Jón Steingrímsson chapel

The chapel at Kirkjubæjarklaustur was consecrated in 1974. It was built in the memory of reverend Jón Steingrímsson, fire cleric (1728-1791). He said the famous Eldmessa (Fire Mass) on July 20, 1783, in the church in Klaustur. Many believe that the Eldmessa stopped the stream of the lava that threatened habitation at the time. The place where the stream of lava stopped is now called Eldmessutangi and is to the west of Systrastapi, but the chapel is situated a little to the east of the old church site. According to the Icelandic church, there aren't many stories that are as powerful, clear, and reliable narratives of the value and power of religion and prayer like the ones associated with reverend Jón Steingrímsson and the church in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The old cemetery in Kirkjubæjarklaustur was fenced in with a concrete wall. There are a few gravestones in the cemetery, among them one at the grave of Reverend Jón Steingrímsson and his wife Þórunn.