Norwegian churches remain closed for non-Christian funeral
A large number of people pay their respects during a funeral at Nesodden Church just outside Oslo. Photo EPA, Terje Bendiksby
Northern Europe
Should churches become neutral premises for funeral ceremonies? That is the question the Church of Norway considered recently. Bishops now decided that the answer is no.
Before the Covid pandemic, the Church of Norway abode by the rule that its church buildings are Christian and should be used for the "glory of God and the edification of the congregation", Dagen writes.
However, during the pandemic, the Church expected a large number of deaths. It adopted a provision with an exception to this rule. Thus, they recommended that non-Christians should be able to use the church for funerals if they could not find another suitable premise. In the autumn of 2021, church council leader Kristin Gunleiksruk Raaum said she would like to keep this rule.
Exceptions
However, the pandemic is over, and the bishops indicate that the exception has been revoked. This was decided by the Bishops' Conference recently. The bishops recommended keeping the section in the church rules on the purpose of buildings unchanged. Yet, they leave some space for exceptions, about which a bishop will have to decide.
The President of the Bishops' Conference, Olav Fykse Tveit, thinks the decision settles the issue. "We clearly stand up for the current regulations", he says to Dagen. "When we discussed the matter at the last meeting, we agreed that the challenges related to this should not be solved by changing the regulations." Fyske Tveit adds that opening up the buildings for non-Christian events may lead to pressure on parish councils. "If they have agreed to a non-Christian burial once, it will not be easy to say no the next ten times." Therefore, the Bishops' Meeting decided that requests for exceptions must be brought before the bishop.
Assessment
Church council leader Kristin Gunleiksruk Raaum who started the discussion on the use of church premises, can find herself in the decision of the Bishops' Meeting. Therefore, she has dropped the idea of opening churches for non-Christian burials. "I believe that the Bishops' Conference has given a good justification for its assessment in that it is the bishops who decide whether there is a basis for dispensing with the rule", she says to Dagen.
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