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Against deep red curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Church of Norway offered an apology for discrimination and harm caused by the church.

“Norway's church has inflicted the LGBTQ+ community pain, shame and significant harm,” the lead bishop, Bishop Tveit, declared this Thursday. “This should never have happened and this is why today I say sorry.”

“Unequal treatment, harassment and discrimination” resulted in some to lose their faith, Tveit acknowledged. A worship service at the cathedral in Oslo was scheduled to come after the apology.

This formal apology was delivered at the London Pub, one among two bars targeted in the 2022 attack that resulted in two deaths and caused serious injuries to nine during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, who expressed support for ISIS, was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for the killings.

In common with various worldwide religions, the Church of Norway – a Lutheran evangelical community that is the biggest religious group in Norway – historically excluded the LGBTQ+ community, preventing them from serving as pastors or from marrying in religious ceremonies. In the 1950s, bishops of the church described gay people as “a global-scale societal hazard”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, becoming the second in the world to allow same-sex registered partnerships in 1993 and by 2009 the first Scandinavian country to legalize same-sex marriage, the church gradually changed.

Back in 2007, the Church of Norway commenced the ordination of gay pastors, and same-sex couples could have church weddings starting in 2017. During 2023, Tveit joined in the Oslo Pride event in what was called a historic moment for the religious institution.

Thursday’s apology was met with a mixed reaction. The director of a group of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie, herself a gay pastor, called it “a significant step toward healing” and a moment that “represented the closure of a painful era within the church's past”.

As stated by Stephen Adom, the head of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the statement was “meaningful and vital” but was delivered “too late for those who passed away from AIDS … carrying heavy hearts as the church regarded the disease as divine punishment”.

Internationally, a few churches have tried to offer apologies for their past behavior regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2023, the Church of England expressed regret for what it referred to as “shameful” actions, even as it persists in refusing to permit gay marriages in church.

In a similar vein, the Methodist Church located in Ireland in the past year apologised for its “failures in pastoral support and care” toward LGBTQ+ individuals and their families, but stayed firm in its conviction that marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman.

In the early part of this year, the United Church based in Canada offered an apology toward Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ individuals, describing it as a confirmation of the church's “dedication to welcoming all and full inclusion” throughout every area of church life.

“We have not succeeded to celebrate and delight in the beauty of all creation,” Rev Michael Blair, the top administrative leader of the church, stated. “We have hurt individuals in place of fostering completeness. We express our regret.”