This project (ongoing) aims at exploring the role of women in ecclesiastic positions and the absence of gender balance within the Christian Church. As in many other professions and vocations, men are still the majority and sole holders of higher ranks in the Catholic Church. Norway is known to be a progressive country with a state-owned Church. Women do not choose to become priests only out of devotion, but also as a career, despite facing opposition from the more conservative communities in the southern, western, and northern regions of Norway. Yet, churches are mostly attended by women, inviting to reflect on the need for female priests in the religious sphere and leadership positions.

 

Meeting with Sunniva Gylver (58), a Norwegian Lutheran priest of the Fageborg church in Oslo, and lately appointed as bishop of Oslo, we get a glimpse into the life of a female priest in the capital. Sunniva not only represents the Church, proudly wearing the robe and preaching the Sunday mass, she also adopts some alternative approaches to priesthood by introducing more progressive activities like yoga in the Church. 

In her journey of faith, she faced a series of difficulties, including a dramatic bicycle accident in 2017, and the passing of her husband Lars Kristian from cancer in 2021.