Diocese of Bjørgvin

Diocese of Bjørgvin Bjorgvin bispedomme
Bishop Halvor Nordhaug
Location
Country	Norway
Territory	Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane
Deaneries	10 prosti
Statistics
Area	34,083 km2 (13,160 sq mi)
Population - Total	(as of 2010) 584,255
Parishes	189
Members	489,044
Information
Denomination	Church of Norway
Established	1536
Cathedral	Bergen Cathedral
Current leadership
Bishop	Halvor Nordhaug
Map
Location of the Diocese of Bjørgvin
Website
kirken.no/bjorgvin

The Diocese of Bjørgvin (Norwegian: Bjørgvin bispedømme) is one of the 11 dioceses that make up the Church of Norway. It includes all of the churches located in the counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane in Western Norway. The cathedral city is Bergen, Norway's second largest city. Bergen Cathedral, formerly the Church of Saint Olaf, serves as the seat of the presiding Bishop. The bishop since 2008 has been Halvor Nordhaug.

Prior to 1536, the state religion of Norway was Roman Catholicism, but the government of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway joined in with the Protestant Reformation and in 1536 it declared itself to be Lutheran, and the Church of Norway was formed. In 1537, the diocese of Bjørgvin consisted of the (modern) counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane (with exception of the parishes of Eidfjord and Røldal).

The region of Sunnmøre (to the north) was transferred from the Diocese of Nidaros to the Diocese of Bjørgvin in 1622. The parish of Eidfjord was transferred from the Diocese of Stavanger to Bjørgvin in 1630. The parish of Røldal was transferred from the Diocese of Kristiansand to Bjørgvin in 1863. The Sunnmøre region was removed from the Diocese of Bjørgvin in 1983 when it, along with the regions of Nordmøre and Romsdal (from the Diocese of Nidaros), were established as a separate diocese, the Diocese of Møre.