Ancient Diocese of the Faroe Islands

Diocese of Faröe Islands Dioecesis Phereyensis Færøernes Stift
Ruins of Magnus Cathedral, seat of the bishop of the Faroe Islands.
Location
Country	Then Norway, now Denmark
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	1076
Dissolved	1536
Cathedral	Magnus Cathedral

The former Catholic Diocese of the Faroe Islands existed from the 11th century to the Protestant Reformation. The Faroe Islands are now included in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen.

As recorded in the Færeyinga saga, Sigmundur Brestisson came to the Faroes and converted the people to Christianity more or less one by one. He was eventually attacked at his home by his first (forced) convert, Tróndur í Gøtu, swam to another island to escape, and was finally killed by a farmer for his gold jewelry.

There is some confusion as to when the first bishop for the islands was consecrated, as Adam of Bremen notes that a self-proclaimed bishop of Helgoland was referred to in Latin as the bishop of "Farria."

The bishops of the Faroe Islands were usually chosen from the canons of the Diocese of Bergen and were originally suffragans of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen. The diocese was granted to Lund in 1104 and then Niðaros after 1152. The see was based at Kirkjubøur, which legend holds was given to Bishop Orm by Gæsa Sigursdottir as a penance for her having eaten meat during Lent. Some of the bishops are known to have kept mistresses, and it was reported that clergy in the Faroes would on occasion demand prima nocte rights.