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Set against deep red curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, Norway's national church expressed regret for hurtful actions and exclusion caused by the church.

“The national church has inflicted the LGBTQ+ community harm, suffering and humiliation,” the presiding bishop, the church leader, announced on Thursday. “It was wrong for this to take place and this is why I apologise today.”

The “discrimination, unequal treatment and harassment” resulted in a loss of faith for some, Tveit recognized. A religious service at the cathedral in Oslo was planned to follow his apology.

The statement of regret was delivered at a venue called London Pub, one among two bars involved in the 2022 violent incident that resulted in two deaths and left nine seriously injured during Oslo’s Pride celebrations. A Norwegian of Iranian origin, who swore loyalty to Islamic State, was sentenced to a minimum of three decades in incarceration for the killings.

Similar to numerous global faiths, the Norwegian Lutheran Church – a Lutheran evangelical community that is Norway’s largest faith community – historically excluded the LGBTQ+ community, denying them the opportunity from joining the clergy or from marrying in religious ceremonies. In the 1950s, bishops of the church characterized LGBTQ+ persons as a “social danger of global proportions”.

But as Norwegian society became increasingly liberal, becoming the second in the world to allow same-sex registered partnerships during 1993 and in 2009 the initial Nordic nation to approve gay marriage, the church slowly followed.

Back in 2007, the Norwegian Lutheran Church commenced the ordination of homosexual ministers, and same-sex couples could have church weddings starting in 2017. During 2023, the bishop took part in the Oslo Pride event in what was noted as a historic moment for the religious institution.

The Thursday statement of regret received a mixed reaction. The director of a group of Christian lesbians in Norway, Hanne Marie Pedersen-Eriksen, a lesbian minister herself, referred to it as “a significant step toward healing” and a moment that “finally marked the end of a dark chapter within the church's past”.

For Stephen Adom, the director of Norway’s Association for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the statement was “meaningful and vital” but arrived “too late for those who lost their lives to AIDS … carrying heavy hearts since the church viewed the disease to be God’s punishment”.

Internationally, several faith-based organizations have sought to offer apologies for historical treatment regarding LGBTQ+ individuals. During 2023, the Anglican Church apologised for what it referred to as its “shameful” treatment, though it continues to refuse to authorize same-sex weddings in religious settings.

In a similar vein, the Methodist Church located in Ireland in the past year issued an apology for “shortcomings in pastoral care and support” regarding the LGBTQ+ community and family members, but stayed firm in its belief that matrimony must only constitute a union between a man and a woman.

In the early part of this year, the United Church of Canada 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 all aspects of church life.

“We did not manage to celebrate and delight in the wonderful diversity of creation,” Michael Blair, the general secretary of the church, said. “We have wounded people rather than pursuing healing. We express our regret.”