Nord-Hålogaland () is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms and Finnmark counties as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø at the Tromsø Cathedral, the seat of the presiding bishop. After bishop Olav Øygard announced his plans to retire in august 2025, a process to elect a new bishop has been started. In September it was announced, that Stig Lægdene will succeed Øygard and become the 8th bishop of Nord-Hålogaland. Lægdene will be formally appointed as bishop at December 7th 2025 at the Tromsø Cathedral.
History Originally, this area was a part of the great Diocese of Nidaros, which covered all of Northern Norway from Romsdalen and north (Finnmark, Troms, and Nordland counties). On 30 December 1803, the King of Norway named Peder Olivarius Bugge the "Bishop of Trondheim and Romsdal" and also named Mathias Bonsach Krogh the "Bishop of Nordland and Finnmark", thus essentially splitting the diocese into two starting in 1804, although legally it was one diocese with two bishops. The newly appointed Bishop Krogh (in 1804) made Alstahaug Church the seat of his bishopric in the north, while Bishop Bugge stayed in Trondheim. The new diocese was legally created on 14 June 1844 as Tromsø stift and it was to be seated in the city of Tromsø. The new Tromsø Cathedral was completed in 1864. The name of the diocese was changed to Hålogaland bispedømme in 1918. When Svalbard became part of Norway in 1920, it also became a part of this diocese. In 1952, the Diocese of Hålogaland was split into two: the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland (Nordland county) and the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland (Troms, Finnmark, and Svalbard).
Bishops
The Bishops of the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland since its creation in 1952 when the old Diocese of Hålogaland was divided into two: 1952-1961: Alf Wiig 1962-1972: Monrad Norderval 1972-1979: Kristen Kyrre Bremer 1979-1990: Arvid Nergård 1990-2001: Ola Steinholt 2002-2014: Per Oskar Kjølaas 2014-2025: Olav Øygard since 2025: Stig Lægdene
Cathedral
Construction of the new Tromsø Cathedral began in 1861. It was designed by architect Christian Heinrich Grosch. The cathedral was built of wood in Neo-Gothic style. The interior is dominated by the altar, a copy of the Resurrection by Adolph Tidemand.
Structure The Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland is divided into nine deaneries (). Each one corresponds to several municipalities in the diocese. Each municipality is further divided into one or more parishes which each contain one or more congregations. See each municipality below for lists of churches and parishes within them.
Deanery ()Municipalities Tromsø domprostiTromsø, Karlsøy, SvalbardAlta prostiAlta, Hasvik, LoppaHammerfest prostiGamvik, Hammerfest, Lebesby, Måsøy, NordkappIndre Finnmark prostiKarasjok, Kautokeino, Nesseby, Tana, PorsangerIndre Troms prostiBalsfjord, Bardu, Lavangen, Målselv, SalangenNord-Troms prostiKvænangen, Kåfjord, Lyngen, Nordreisa, Skjervøy, StorfjordSenja prostiDyrøy, Senja, SørreisaTrondenes prostiGratangen, Harstad, Ibestad, Kvæfjord, Tjeldsund Varanger prostiBerlevåg, Båtsfjord, Sør-Varanger, Vadsø, Vardø
Media gallery
References
External links Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland website Tromsø Cathedral picture gallery