Church of Norway

The Church of Norway (Den norske kirke in Bokmål or Den norske kyrkja in Nynorsk) is the national church and the largest church in Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway in 1536–1537 broke ties with the Holy See. The Church professes the Lutheran Christian faith, with its foundation on the Bible, the Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, Luther's Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession. The Church is a member of the Porvoo Communion with 12 other churches, among them the Anglican Churches of Europe. It has also signed some other ecumenical texts, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church. Until 1969, the church's name was simply the State Church or sometimes just the Church. A constitutional amendment of 2009/2012 designates the church as "Norway's people's church" ("Norges Folkekirke"), which is also the name of the Danish state church, and the church remains a state-funded state church, but with increased autonomy in appointments of clergy.