Eastern Orthodoxy in Norway
| Orthodoxy in Norway | |
|---|---|
 Our Saviour's Orthodox Church in Oslo. | |
| Classification | Orthodox Church |
| Region | Norway |
| Origin | 1931 |
| Members | 8,492 |
Orthodoxy in Norway is a small minority religion in Norway with 8,492 members in 2010[1], up from 2,315 in 2000, making it the fastest-growing religion in Norway with a rate of 266.8% compared to Islam's 75.2%.[2]
| Year | Orthodox | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | ? | ? |
| 1990 | 1,222 | 0.02% |
| 2000 | 2,315 | 0.05% |
| 2010 | 8,492 | 0.17% |
History of the Orthodox Church in Norway
Since the Viking era Scandinavians and specifically Norwegians came into contact with both the Byzantine Empire and their neighbors, the Russians. Several of the Viking chiefs and kings not only resided in Novogorod but also helped to make Kiev an important medival center. At some point during the late ninth or early tenth century Kiev fell under the rule of Varangians and became the nucleus of the Rus' polity. Through political and cultural links, trade links, and dynastic marriages, Norway was introduced to Orthodox Christendom. In the 16th century a Russian missionary, St. Trifon the Petjenga, evangalized some of the Sami people of Norway and he built an Orthodox chapel along the Neiden River. Russian priests and monks visited Northern Norway until World War II. After the socialist revolution in 1917, a number of Orthodox refugees fled to Scandinavia, first to Sweden and eventually to Norway. The Russian Orthodox Church organized pastoral work among them through the church in Stockholm , founded in 1617. In 1931, St. Nikolai church was established in Oslo. This congregation of Russian tradition sorts under the Patriarchate of Constantinople and was the first modern Orthodox congregation established in Norway. The past decade has also seen the more permanent establishment of Orthodox communities of Serbain, Bulgarian and Romanian tradition, the priests of these communities sorting under their corresponding juridstrictions.
The Moscow Patriarchate
Through immigration from both Russia, the former Yugoslavia and other Eastern European countries the number of Orthodox Chritians in Norway has increased significantly. The main parish of the Moscow Patriarchate, St. Olga's, was founded in Oslo in 1996. Today, there are also independent churches under the Moscow Patriarchate in Stavanger, Bergen and Kirkenes. In addition, the Moscow Patriarchate sponsors work in Tromsø, Trondheim and in the Russian settlement of Barentsburg on Svalbard.
The Greek Orthodox Church in Norway
The congregation was founded in 1965 with main purpose to serve the Greek-speaking Greek Orthodox in Norway. Church fall under Metropolita Pavlos Menevissoglou of Sweden and Scandinavia, based in Stockholm. Parish priest Archimandrite Evmenios Likakis and others. It is one Greek Orthodox church in Norway (in Oslo). There is also a small congregation in Bergen with 98 members, St. Michael's Orthodox Church[3].
