The Church of Norway is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church became the state church of Norway around 1020, and was established as a separate church intimately integrated with the state as a result of the Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway which broke ties with the Holy See in 1536–1537; the King of Norway was the church's head from 1537 to 2012. Historically the church was one of the main instruments of royal power and official authority, and an important part of the state administration; local government was based on the church's parishes with significant official responsibility held by the parish priest.
Giorgio Borg Olivier, was a Maltese statesman and leading politician. He twice served as Prime Minister of Malta as the Leader of the Nationalist Party. He was also Leader of the Opposition between 1955–1958, and again between 1971–1977.
Miloslav Vlk was a Czech prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Prague from 1991 to 2010. He was made a cardinal in 1994. He was also the President of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (1993–2001).
Odd Bondevik was a Norwegian theologian who was the Bishop of the Diocese of Møre in the Church of Norway from 17 November 1991 until retirement in 2008. He also served as Preses of the Bishop's Conference of the Church of Norway from 1998 until 2002.
Borg is a diocese in the Church of Norway. The diocese includes parishes in the counties of Østfold and Akershus, excluding Asker and Bærum. It was created in 1969 by separation from the Diocese of Oslo. The cathedral city is Fredrikstad.
MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, formerly the Free Faculty of Theology and MF Norwegian School of Theology, is an accredited Norwegian specialized university focused on theology, religion, education and social studies, located in Oslo, Norway. It is one of three private specialized universities in Norway, alongside VID and BI.
Gunnar Johan Stålsett is a Norwegian theologian and politician. He was leader of the Centre Party 1977–1979, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation 1985–1993 and bishop of Oslo, in the Church of Norway 1998–2005.
Ole Christian Mælen Kvarme is a Norwegian bishop of the Church of Norway. He was bishop of Oslo in the Lutheran Church of Norway from 2005 and 2017. As Bishop of Oslo, Kvarme was the personal prelate of the Norwegian Royal Family.
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions.
Graham Richard James is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Norwich in the Church of England from 1999 to 2019.
Tor Berger Jørgensen is a Norwegian bishop who until 2015 was Bishop of the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland in the Church of Norway. Appointed in 2019, he now serves as the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain and resides in London.
Michael Francis Perham was a British Anglican bishop. From 2004 to 2014, he served as the Bishop of Gloucester in the Church of England.
Olav Fykse Tveit is a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and bishop, and the current Preses of the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway. He was elected to the post of general secretary of the World Council of Churches on 27 August 2009. He entered office on 1 January 2010, for a proposed term of five years, and was re-elected to a second term in July 2014. He resigned from the post in March 2020, having been elected Preses of the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway.
Christianity is the largest religion in Norway. Norway has historically been called a Christian country. A majority of the population are members of the Church of Norway with 64.9% of the population officially belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway in 2021. At numerous times in history, Norway sent more missionaries per capita than any other country. This changed considerably from the 1960s. In 2004, only 12% of the population attended church services each month. The Church of Norway receives a fixed sum from the Government not based on membership numbers. Other religious organisations receive approximately the same amount per member.
Helga Haugland Byfuglien is a bishop in the Church of Norway. She was the Preses of the Norwegian Bishops' Conference from 2010 until her retirement in 2020. Prior to that, she was the Bishop of the Diocese of Borg.
The Church of Norway held elections on September 11 and 12 2011. The election dates and poll stations were the same as those of the municipal elections for Norway).
Harald Sommerfeldt was a Norwegian businessperson.
Mor Chrysostomos Markose is a Syriac Orthodox arch bishop. He is the Bishop of E.A.E. Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox church in India .
