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Amid crimson theater drapes at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Church of Norway issued a formal apology for discrimination and harm caused by the church.

“The church in Norway has brought the LGBTQ+ community pain, shame and significant harm,” the presiding bishop, the church leader, announced during a Thursday event. “This should never have happened and which is the reason I offer my apology now.”

“Harassment, discrimination and unfair treatment” resulted in some to lose their faith, Tveit recognized. A church service at Oslo's main cathedral was scheduled to take place after his statement.

This formal apology was delivered at a venue called London Pub, one among two bars involved in the 2022 violent incident that took two lives and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who expressed support for ISIS, received a sentence to a minimum of three decades in incarceration for the murders.

Similar to numerous global faiths, the Church of Norway – a Protestant Lutheran denomination that is the biggest religious group in Norway – had long marginalised LGBTQ+ people, refusing to allow them from joining the clergy or to have church weddings. In the 1950s, church leaders characterized LGBTQ+ persons as a “social danger of global proportions”.

However, as Norway's society grew more liberal, ranking as the second globally to allow same-sex registered partnerships during 1993 and by 2009 the first in Scandinavia to legalize same-sex marriage, the religious institution eventually adapted.

During 2007, the Church of Norway started appointing homosexual ministers, and gay and lesbian couples have been able to marry in church starting in 2017. In 2023, the bishop took part in the Oslo Pride event in what was called an unprecedented step for the church.

The apology on Thursday received differing opinions. The head of a network of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, a lesbian minister herself, described it as “a significant step toward healing” and a moment that “signaled the conclusion of a difficult period in the history of the church”.

For Stephen Adom, the director of the Norwegian Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the apology represented “strong and important” but was delivered “not in time for those among us who died of Aids … with deep sorrow in their hearts because the church considered the epidemic as punishment from God”.

Worldwide, several faith-based organizations have sought to reconcile for their past behavior concerning the LGBTQ+ community. During 2023, the Anglican Church said sorry for what it characterized as its “shameful” treatment, though it persists in refusing to authorize same-sex weddings within the church.

Likewise, Ireland's Methodist Church the previous year expressed regret for “inadequate pastoral assistance and care” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and their relatives, but remained staunch in its belief that marriage could only be a partnership of one man and one woman.

In the early part of this year, Canada's United Church delivered a statement of regret toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, describing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” in every part of the church's activities.

“We did not manage to honor and appreciate the beauty of all creation,” Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, said. “We have wounded people rather than pursuing healing. We apologize.”